tooninoz
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Lots of info out there on how to make these, so I thought Id throw in my 2c 
For my first attempt I tried the thinners on polystyrene method, but I was waaay too heavy handed, and ended up with this monstrosity. I has one coat of tile grout and wont be finished..
Back to the drawing board... tried again with thinners, but using a fine brush. I coated it with 3 coats of tile grout, sealed it with an expensive grout sealer and slapped on a very basic paint job using non-toxic, cheap artists acrylic. getting closer to what I want.....but still no dice.
The issues are;
- For starters, it is 1200mm long x 400mm high, so fitting it in an enclosure in one piece would be a problem (bearing in mind I dont want to build it in the enclosure like most other methods do).
- Tile grout is still a little spongy. You can easily make indents with your thumb. Probably not a big problem with snakes, but lizard claws would rip it up Id think?
I decided to use cement instead. Ive completed a few of these now and the cement makes all the difference! Not to mention it is way cheaper than grout. Grout is about $10 for 5kg, cement $5.50 for 20kg.
So, here's the step-by-step;
I got a huge slab of polystyrene from a mate who is a brickie. Its 2.4m x 1.2m x 180mm thick. If you go to a supplier, you'll find that polystyrene is bloody expensive. My suggestion would be to visit building sites when they are pouring house slabs. You'll generally find excess waffle pods and you should be able to get a few of someone. Failing that, try out the back of electrical stores (Harvey Norman, Chandlers etc) as you may get some large thick pieces you can use. Just depends on your requirements.
Ok, I got a cheap handsaw and a rasp from Bunnings (total of about $30?)
I wouldnt use any power tools at all during the process; the dust is bad and a fast spinning blade melts the poly. I wear a dust mask when cutting/rasping as the dust is ultra-dangerous to your lungs. Cant stress that enough.
I cut two small pieces. In the pic below, the angled piece is approx 500mm long x 300mm high. The squarish bit is 400mm x 300mm.
***Its really important to ensure that your edges on the bottom, and any side that will be fixed to the enclosure are SQUARE. Apart from the fact that when you seal the joins with silicone it will look a more professional, any gaps may mean that smaller snakes like Childrens, Stimmis or Spotteds may be able to get in under/behind!***
For these rocks, Im working on the angled rock to be fixed to the left hand corner of the enclosure, whereas the squarish one will not touch on the side. It will be standalone. The eventual idea is that I will paint a sky background on the back of the enclosure, then fit the rocks.
Next, I begin hacking and gouging at the foam to give it a look something like rock. Dont have to be too fancy. I try not to make ultra-deep grooves because;
a. Nearly impossible to force the mortar in
b. It'll be a bitch to clean down the track
Here's what it looks like after hitting it with the rasp;
Thats my rough shape. I get rid of as much of the loose foam beads with my hand, but there is still lots to deal with. You need a 'stable' surface to ensure the mortar sticks and doesnt flake off later. To do that, I bought a cool little tool from Bunnings. It's a cheap butane torch (abt $15 + $6 for a refill bottle of butane). It works off a modified cigarette lighter and burns at 1300degrees.
If you get one and it doesnt seem to work, crank the gas up to full. Dont do what....ah...someone did and return it to Bunnings for another one....
Anyway, I run the flame fairly quickly over the crevices and the rough areas, and then gently over the areas that are too flat (to make it look more realistic). The photos below are before and after. The difference isnt as obvious in the pics as it is in real life;
It has removed all the loose particles, and given it a better shape.
So now I am ready to put my first coat of mortar. I mix up a ratio 2:1 sand/cement mix. I am using Ivory cement (white as opposed to the usual grey), but it doesnt matter. Im using the fine white sand too - you can use brickies loam, and I dont think it really matters. Most building sites will have a pile of sand somewhere, and I doubt anyone will mind you grabbing a cpl of shovels.
For your first coat, mix in a little water slowly. You really want this first coat to be fairly liquid so it soaks into the foam a little and seals it. To apply it, I just bought a pack of three cheapy brushes. I use a 2" brush to apply it. Make sure all crevices etc get a good coating. **Keep using the brush to stir up the mix in the bucket regularly so you arent just applying water**
The first coat will look a bit patchy, but this wont be the case after your second coat.
For the second and third coats I will be adding PVA glue to the mix to give it extra strength. You could add Brickies Own etc, but they are expensive and basically glorified PVA glue! You can pick up non-toxic waterbased glue at Crazy Clarks etc for $5 for a litre?
No pics at this stage, but I will post up the next part this afternoon and hopefully that will complete it!
cheers, toon
For my first attempt I tried the thinners on polystyrene method, but I was waaay too heavy handed, and ended up with this monstrosity. I has one coat of tile grout and wont be finished..
Back to the drawing board... tried again with thinners, but using a fine brush. I coated it with 3 coats of tile grout, sealed it with an expensive grout sealer and slapped on a very basic paint job using non-toxic, cheap artists acrylic. getting closer to what I want.....but still no dice.
The issues are;
- For starters, it is 1200mm long x 400mm high, so fitting it in an enclosure in one piece would be a problem (bearing in mind I dont want to build it in the enclosure like most other methods do).
- Tile grout is still a little spongy. You can easily make indents with your thumb. Probably not a big problem with snakes, but lizard claws would rip it up Id think?
I decided to use cement instead. Ive completed a few of these now and the cement makes all the difference! Not to mention it is way cheaper than grout. Grout is about $10 for 5kg, cement $5.50 for 20kg.
So, here's the step-by-step;
I got a huge slab of polystyrene from a mate who is a brickie. Its 2.4m x 1.2m x 180mm thick. If you go to a supplier, you'll find that polystyrene is bloody expensive. My suggestion would be to visit building sites when they are pouring house slabs. You'll generally find excess waffle pods and you should be able to get a few of someone. Failing that, try out the back of electrical stores (Harvey Norman, Chandlers etc) as you may get some large thick pieces you can use. Just depends on your requirements.
Ok, I got a cheap handsaw and a rasp from Bunnings (total of about $30?)
I wouldnt use any power tools at all during the process; the dust is bad and a fast spinning blade melts the poly. I wear a dust mask when cutting/rasping as the dust is ultra-dangerous to your lungs. Cant stress that enough.
I cut two small pieces. In the pic below, the angled piece is approx 500mm long x 300mm high. The squarish bit is 400mm x 300mm.
***Its really important to ensure that your edges on the bottom, and any side that will be fixed to the enclosure are SQUARE. Apart from the fact that when you seal the joins with silicone it will look a more professional, any gaps may mean that smaller snakes like Childrens, Stimmis or Spotteds may be able to get in under/behind!***
For these rocks, Im working on the angled rock to be fixed to the left hand corner of the enclosure, whereas the squarish one will not touch on the side. It will be standalone. The eventual idea is that I will paint a sky background on the back of the enclosure, then fit the rocks.
Next, I begin hacking and gouging at the foam to give it a look something like rock. Dont have to be too fancy. I try not to make ultra-deep grooves because;
a. Nearly impossible to force the mortar in
b. It'll be a bitch to clean down the track
Here's what it looks like after hitting it with the rasp;
Thats my rough shape. I get rid of as much of the loose foam beads with my hand, but there is still lots to deal with. You need a 'stable' surface to ensure the mortar sticks and doesnt flake off later. To do that, I bought a cool little tool from Bunnings. It's a cheap butane torch (abt $15 + $6 for a refill bottle of butane). It works off a modified cigarette lighter and burns at 1300degrees.
If you get one and it doesnt seem to work, crank the gas up to full. Dont do what....ah...someone did and return it to Bunnings for another one....
Anyway, I run the flame fairly quickly over the crevices and the rough areas, and then gently over the areas that are too flat (to make it look more realistic). The photos below are before and after. The difference isnt as obvious in the pics as it is in real life;
It has removed all the loose particles, and given it a better shape.
So now I am ready to put my first coat of mortar. I mix up a ratio 2:1 sand/cement mix. I am using Ivory cement (white as opposed to the usual grey), but it doesnt matter. Im using the fine white sand too - you can use brickies loam, and I dont think it really matters. Most building sites will have a pile of sand somewhere, and I doubt anyone will mind you grabbing a cpl of shovels.
For your first coat, mix in a little water slowly. You really want this first coat to be fairly liquid so it soaks into the foam a little and seals it. To apply it, I just bought a pack of three cheapy brushes. I use a 2" brush to apply it. Make sure all crevices etc get a good coating. **Keep using the brush to stir up the mix in the bucket regularly so you arent just applying water**
The first coat will look a bit patchy, but this wont be the case after your second coat.
For the second and third coats I will be adding PVA glue to the mix to give it extra strength. You could add Brickies Own etc, but they are expensive and basically glorified PVA glue! You can pick up non-toxic waterbased glue at Crazy Clarks etc for $5 for a litre?
No pics at this stage, but I will post up the next part this afternoon and hopefully that will complete it!
cheers, toon
