After posting about my butterfly garden and mentioning my beautiful butterfly bath, I recalled pictures I took last summer of my dad making the bath for me.
One thing I admire about my dad is he digs in and does things when he has an idea. I tend to contemplate my ideas for a long time before actually working on them. Don't get me wrong, dad is a real thinker and perhaps he thought about creating concrete baths for 10 years before making them but I don't think so.
Since I have a lot of pictures of the process, I made a photo album. It isn't as hard as it looks and really just takes a bit of space outside to make them.
Dad, I have a couple questions for you about this process but since it is after 2 AM, I decided not to call you with them. Here they are: 1) How long does it take for the concrete to dry? 2) How thick do you mix the concrete up? 3) What type of paint do you use on them? 4) Could you color the concrete when mixing somehow instead of painting them? 5) Um, was it OK that I used your picture?
Update from Dad: I use a combination of sand mix and vinycrete to get the definition. You could use either and I have, the vinyl is a finer mix but is 2-3 times as expensive as a bag of sand mix when you cost it by the pound. You could tint the mix but it would take quite a bit of it and wouldn't necessarily improve the appearance. You can use any water-based paint and dilute it to the desired degree of tint. The concrete mixture should be 1" to 1.5"thick and should cure for at least 2-3 days. (Concrete never stops curing, even under water) The Tint dries in a day and then a coating of Thompson's Water Seal is applied.
Check out the process here.
hi i did this same thing the other day with a ruhbarb leaf awsome i tinted the mix with leag green paint and then sealed it with ultra gloss sealer now i want to no how do i go about putting a picture i have photo i would like to put on there can i use the same sealer or something thicker? vickie
Posted by: vickie | June 28, 2010 at 05:48 PM
Hi,
You need more rest i think
Thanks
Dirnov
Posted by: Dirnov | February 04, 2009 at 03:37 PM
I am looking for the directions to make a mirror with concret around it. You use leaves in the concrete frame around the mirror. It is beautiful to hang on an outdoor fence.
Posted by: nancy | July 01, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Your Dad loved the article and says you do a wonderful job with your blog. Ditto!
Posted by: Mom | June 26, 2008 at 07:34 AM
I, too, love my bath!
Posted by: Melissa | June 23, 2008 at 11:28 AM