How To Repair Concrete Statue

How to repair broken concrete statues

A broken heron statue. (Reader Submitted Photograph)

QI have a statue of a blue heron, only the cervix is cleaved. The statue is about 4 feet tall, and I think it is made of concrete or a composite of concrete and some other material. I would like to take information technology repaired, but I have contacted a few lawn and garden centers that acquit statues and as well a memorial headstone visitor to no avail. Do you know who tin can do this? I would be willing to travel to other parts of Virginia, Maryland or West Virginia.

Herndon

AYou're right: Many lawn and garden stores that deport physical statues don't exercise repairs. One that does is Harper's Bronze & Water Gardens in Harrisonburg, Va. (540-434-8978;www.harperslawnornaments.com). Only it's a two-hour drive from your home. Owner Doug Harper said the repair would toll almost $100. That's probably more than than it would cost to replace the slice.

To save you the drive and maybe cut the repair pecker, Harper suggested taking the statue to a local auto repair store and asking them to straighten the metal reinforcing in the neck and patch around it with Bondo Body Filler.

Bondo is as well amidst the recommendations from Lisa Puentes, a representative for Massarelli'south (609-567-9700; www.massarelli.com), a manufacturer in New Jersey that supplies physical statuary and garden ornaments (including 4-foot-tall heron statues) to the Meadows Farms Nurseries stores in the Washington area. Puentes suggested Bondo especially for clean breaks. For pocket-size cracks, she recommends using a concrete fissure sealant that comes in a tube. For breaks where chunks are missing, equally in your statue, she suggests InstaCrete, an epoxy made by Polymeric Systems (www.polymericsystems.com). "It's almost like a putty, only information technology dries hard like concrete," she said. "Pause off nonetheless much you need and mold it to fit in around the neck." Once the patch hardens, you lot tin sand information technology then pigment the whole statue with an outside latex acrylic paint to requite information technology a uniform appearance.

Charles Sthreshley, who makes concrete garden ornaments at Sthreshley Studio in Ashland, Va., (804-752-7888; www.concrete-art.com) but repairs simply pieces he'southward made, said you might need to add some reinforcing, such as quarter-inch metallic mesh (sold as "hardware textile" at hardware stores) before you add the patch material. Be sure to clean away whatsoever loose textile first. He suggests using a concrete patching production without gravel, such equally Quikrete Concrete Resurfacer or Quikrete Quick-Setting Cement).

If y'all take that approach, seal the existing concrete edges get-go with a concrete primer, available at edifice supply companies. And so prepare the concrete patch textile, mixing in as piffling water as possible. Wear safety gloves so you can press the textile into place and smooth it with your hands. Yous might also want a small trowel or an erstwhile kitchen knife or spoon for adding surface details. Products that contain Portland cement gain force if they stay damp while the concrete is curing. So mist the expanse periodically over the next six hours or so, and keep the statue covered with plastic for several days. Wait a month for the concrete to cure thoroughly before you seal or paint.

YOUR TURN

Three readers offer their own solutions to the problem of having garage doors stained by birds that perch at that place to see their reflection in the door's windows (How To, Apr 11).

One reader in Haymarket uses scare tactics. "I thought all your solutions were good, simply my solution . . . is a $one prophylactic snake purchased at a dollar shop. No joke, the snake has worked at our front end door, small basement window and near the outdoor AC unit. Of course it startled the UPS guy the outset time he saw information technology on the front step and the domicile inspector fabricated mention of it last week in his report, but the birds stopped immediately pecking at their reflection. First sign of robins in the spring, the ophidian comes out, remaining on duty until winter."

Another reader in Haymarket recommends wiping the outside of the windows with a bar of soap. "This dulls the reflective surface of the glass and prevents the birds from seeing what they think is a rival bird invading their territory. Birds are ordinarily territorial during their nesting season. Once it'southward over, they stop chasing rivals abroad. This won't help with the staining problem, but should assist them lose interest in the 'invaders,' "

And a third idea comes from Fairfax Station, where a reader suggested following the Audubon Club'southward advice of putting decals of bird shapes on the glass. One neighbor had skilful results with a simple bird prototype downloaded online.

Take a problem in your home? Send questions to localliving@washpost.com. Put "How To" in the discipline line, tell usa where y'all live and try to include a photo.

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Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/how-to-repair-broken-concrete-statues/2013/05/14/6648ca0e-ae8b-11e2-8bf6-e70cb6ae066e_story.html

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