Water fountains add beauty and motion to your lawn or garden. While pre-made fountains are available for purchase, you could also utilize concrete molds to throw your fountain in the home. There are several different mold types available and depending on the form of fountain you want, you may be able to produce your own mould yourself. All molds should allow room for your pump and water heater to ensure appropriate fountain work.
Fountain Molds
Fountain molds permit you to cast your fountains from concrete in various sizes, shapes and fountain styles. Molds typically come in two bits, though more bits might be used for particularly elaborate heaters, to make sure that no details are damaged while removing the mould. Some molds feature intricate designs on their internal surface, creating fountain pieces using a significant amount of detail. Molds typically call for a spray-on or liquid release agent to keep the concrete from sticking to them, but family goods such as cooking spray or margarine could be used if necessary.
Mold Materials
There are several different materials that are used to make fountain moulds. Commercial molds can be made from metal, various forms of plastic, rubber or other materials. Homemade molds may include some of these very same materials and may also be made from styrofoam, extruded foam insulation, sheet metal and even wood or heavy cardboard. Different materials affect the water content of the concrete in various ways, resulting in important gaps in concrete drying period between moulds that absorb moisture and moulds that are water-resistant. Irrespective of the mould material used, care ought to be taken to fill the mould completely and to tap or shake it to remove any air bubbles that can cause holes or surface voids in the finished product.
Sand Molding
It’s likely to make a copy of an current fountain using a technique known as sandcasting or mud molding. The existing fountain bits are pressed to damp sand and carefully removed, leaving an impression in the mud that matches the size, shape and basic design of the existing bits. Wet concrete is then added to the belief and permitted to set until dry, recreating the original layout. The new concrete slice is then removed from the sand. Plastic wrap can be placed on the mud before the impression was designed to make a smoother concrete layer, though this might increase drying period.
Assembling a Fountain
Even single-piece fountains produced from moulds require some assembly to install the pump and any other hardware used by the fountain. Larger flats typically require the assembly of several bits and might need mortar or alternative materials to hold the individual pieces together. Fountains have to be constructed in the bottom up, together with the fountain piping and pump put in place early. Once constructed, the mortar must have sufficient time to dry prior to filling the fountain and also begin the pump, to stop the water out of weakening the fountain’s joints.