Thread: Need help how to make tomstones stay up against strong winds.

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I need help trying to figure out how make my tombstone secured from the wind for next year. I have now 19 tombstone, all different in sizes and one zombie sortatombstone. I notice some are made of various kind of styrofoam, all bought from vaious stores over the last 4 years.

Dealing with the wind is the most headach for us (I rather deal with snow actually than wind). This halloween, more than 60% of my props were ripped apart due to extreme winds.

I thought I was being smart this year by buying heavy duty velcro and gluing it to the wood poles and attach the tombstone to it (gluing one side to the tombstone, the other side to the wood pegs).

Sadly, it only worked on half of the them. The glue of the velcro came undone when it rain more than two days in a row.

Here what I tried and did not work well up to date.

Velcro, green tape, ducktape, clear tape, and white glue.

I still didn't try my gluegun yet on the tombstone, because I think it would be hard to store my tombstone if the wood pegs would be permanate be stuck on them.

Do you any suggestions and wich techniques did you used to make your tomstones wind resistant?

Thank you for any help you can offer.

I have used sections of 1" pvc pipe attached to the back of the tombstones with Liquid Nails for Projects. This does not attack the foam. Then I drive a piece of re-bar into the ground and slip the pipe over the re-bar. It works like a charm.

Eric

There is a tutorial or thread in here somewhere with ideas of how to wind-proof your tombstones. We used the idea that I found on here which is similar to what Wolfbeard did.

What we ended up doing was gluing plywood to the back of the tombstones and then screwing in metal pipe fitters. We were going to use the PVC piping but we didn't do that step. We just screwed the fitters into the plywood in line and then staked the ground with the rebar and then fed the rebar through the pipe fittings. A coat of grey paint and voila, you could hardly see it and it worked great!!

We only lost one in a huge windstorm we had and that was only due to the fact that the glue hadn't set completely...all we had left standing was the plywood and rebar...lol

I attached a pic because in case I'm not describing it very well...lol

Hallow and we too have battled Mother Nature's furious winds nearly every Halloween. Just when we think we have thought up a new way to hold 'em down - poof! Off they fly! We have tried invisable fishing line strung down over the top of the stones at all angles and staked into the ground, re-painting all the stones with Styro coat or DryLock to add weight, lashed them to poles, sticks, rebar, even put bricks on top! (unsightly and not reliable as even these topple off when the stones lift up and flop over...) WE have even given up on buying the store stones and totally make our own now, using the thickest foam panels we can get our hands on. . . Otherwise - we are always on the lookout for sales on garden angels, garden stone statuary - anything made of real or real-ish stone. Urgh!

I love Wolfbeard's rebar and PVC idea - and that sounds like the perfect solution - BUT - for some of the delicate stones - especially the thinner store bought ones - even the wind will rip the styro foam away from the plastic PVC in 30-35 mph gusts. We have used a few other techniques - but I feel the only way to go is to build up the back of the styrofoam with... you guessed it ... STONE!

Next year - we are going to build our styrofoam stones around bricks, rocks, boulders or cement building blocks - anything rock solid and HEAVY. The rebar or thinner metal dowel/pipe will be inserted deep inside the foam and then pounded into the ground with metal stakes bracing each side at the base. . .

After that - I give up. The only thing left to do short of raiding a nearby cemetery is to start ordering the real thing from your friendly nearby stone mason. After all the work that goes into securing a yard full of fake headstones - you will probably feel like being buried six feet under with your own authentic headstone! LOL!!

Good luck and let us all know how you make out!

BOO!

BOO BABY has the right idea! Great links and we have also tried the plywood method. Works great for most stones - but the wood can get a bit pricey. OF course - so does anything else we do. . .
I have even tried duct tape and taping the entire stone or monolith to a pipe in the ground. Maybe I should note that we live within the geographical lines of what some Ohioans refer to as Tornado Alley!

I cut plywood the shape of the tombstone and glue it to the back. Then I attach 2 pieces of 1/2" pvc spaced 10" apart to the plywood. I have a block of wood 8" high with 2 holes 10" apart (to match the spacing on the tombstones). I place the wood where I want to stand the tombstone, insert 2 16" sections of rebar and pound them flush with the top of the block. Pull off the block of wood, slide on the tombstone. Since they are all spaced the same I don't waste any time trying to line up the spacing of the rebar and I can swap stone around without having to repound in rebar. I have been doing this for the past 12 years and haven't lost anything even with 60-70 mph wind storms. The only damage I've gotten is from large tree limbs breaking from the wind and falling onto the props/tombstones.

Oh POD!!! ME Likey this idea!
You may have saved us all!
Take THAT Mother Nature!!

Thank you already for all the info, will try to put maybe wood and rebars.
What kind of glue you guys used for the wood or anything to stay glued to the styrofoam? I tried various, and like I mention, after one or two days or rain, some of the tombstone obsorb the water so much, that the glue simply stop working on the them. Maybe I need to coat also the tomstones with something?

I use the PVC on the back and rebar pounded into the ground method.

I saw a method somewhere on the web where you put the rebar in the ground next to the tombstone on the sides and then run fishing line around all three pieces together. That way you get the stability but the rebar isn't attached to the tombstone.

I use Wolfbeard's method and it has been rock soild!