Tips To Make Hypertufa Containers

When you are making a hypertufa container then you will want to make sure that your project will actually be usable when you get done.

Choose a mold that fits whatever shape you desire. Start off with the bottom of your container first and then work your way up to the walls. You may also want to use a box or bowl that will go on the inside of your hypertufa container to help shape the inside of the container.

Most of the time you will be using these containers outside so there is something very important that you will not want to forget. Put drain holes in the bottom. You can use some small pieces of pipe or just about anything else that is round so that you can put uniform holes in the bottom while you are building your container. Forgetting to do this makes a very good place for mosquitoes to live after it rains.

You may also want to add some nylon fiber mesh to your hypertufa mixture to add to the strength a little bit. This will help make the walls of your container more sturdy as well.

Usually about 1.5 inches thick for your walls are good enough but remember that if you are making a tall container you will probably need to increase the thickness of your walls for some added strength.

Hypertufa Directions

Hypertufa is not really all that hard to make and here are some simple hypertufa directions. Granted as you get more experience you may want to start making a few changes to customize your projects.

First off you will need a wheel barrel or something similar for mixing everything up. You will want to mix 1.5 parts of Perlite, 1.5 parts of Peat Moss, and 1 part of Portland cement in the wheel barrel.

After you have mixed all of your dry parts then it is time to start adding in the water. You may want keep some of your dry mix off to the side so that if you get too much water in it you can thicken it back up. Mix the water in slowly using a small amount of water each time and then mixing it. Keep doing this until you have a mixture that you can squeeze into a ball and it does not come apart. This way it will be thin enough to work with but thick enough to hold the shapes you want.

After this then it is time to start adding the hypertufa mixture into your mold. You will want to cover the inside of the mold with a plastic bag so that your hypertufa mixture does not adhere to it and make it impossible to get it back out of the mold.

Let the mixture cure for a couple of days until you can no longer make an indent with your finger but you can still scratch the surface of it. When it has set up to this point then go ahead and turn your mold over and remove the hypertufa from the mold carefully. Also remove any of the plastic bag that is stuck to it.

Let the hypertufa mixture continue to cure for at least a week in a shady spot and you are done. Your hypertufa planter or birdbath or whatever else you decided to make should be ready for you to use now.

One thing that I should have mentioned earlier is make sure that you are being safe while you are working with the hypertufa mixtures. Always were gloves and a dust mask, safety glasses are a good idea as well.