Thread: Wishing well and stone

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I need some help building a well. This isn't actually for Halloween, but I thought I could get some input here.

I'm building a well. It will be about 4 feet across and just under 3 feet high. It isn't like a wishing well with a bucket or roof. It's a stone circular well, possibly with a small 'ledge' of stone on top so that you could sit on it.

It's actually a prop for my church. It's for the story of the woman at the well.

I have a design that I want to use involving plywood cut into a circle 4 feet wide, with a 2 foot circle cut out of the middle. So basically a donut... two of those. Then 30 inch 1x2's (or something similar) that attach to the bottom donut. The top donut will rest on the 1x2's that go around the circumference. It'll end up looking like a circular cage. That's the foundation.

My problem lies in what I'm going to use to make the well look like stone. I want it to look like stacked rectangle stones - very old, not chiseled from a machine - very rough... think 2000 years ago made by a poor village - not something made by Rome.

My first idea was to make the foundation like I explained, then wrap it in visqueen (heavy plastic), then with wire mesh. From there I'm stuck on what material to use to make it look like stone. I don't think foam will wrap around a circle that small without breaking. What about monster mud? Is that a possibility to mold/carve into rectangle stone? I've never worked with it.

Any ideas? Stone walls on flat surfaces are no problem, but this round wall is getting me stuck. Weight becomes an issue as well, so keep that in mind.

Thanks for the help.

This picture resembles, roughly, what i'm looking for - except mine will be much much smaller!

Something like this? Haunters Hangout The Ring Well

Thanks billman,

I hadn't thought of stacking foam like that. That may be a better option, if even for it weighing less.

Does monster mud get heavy?

Edit: The only problem I foresee is how much foam I'm going to have to use. I want it to be 30" high. 2" foam means 15 stacks. 1 sheet of 8ft foam per 2 stacks (4ft diameter) = 8 sheets of foam. At $11 a piece is $88 for just the foam alone. Then the joint compound and paint. I also don't have a blow torch.

I guess not outrageously expensive, but I'd like to hear more ideas. This one, though, has the greatest potential from me being able to create exactly what I want.

Does the Well have to be Fully enclosed or just facing the audience like a semi-circle?

Originally Posted by billman

Does the Well have to be Fully enclosed or just facing the audience like a semi-circle?

It really doesn't HAVE to be one or the other, but I'd like to make it so that it's enclosed. If I'm going to spend the time to work on this, I want the church to be able to use it in the future for whatever they want.

My wife and I did discuss just making a half wall, but I'm deciding against it. And I'm probably just going to use the idea you posted. Thanks!

I'm still looking for ideas so I'm going to bump this thread.

I'm not sure what I was originally thinking, but that 2" beaded foam is $22 a sheet. I need 8 sheets and that = too much.

SOoooo, I'm back to the drawing board. My thoughts: Piece of plywood cut in half (to make 2 4x4 ft sections). 2x2's secured vertically around (round cage)... that's about where I'm at to make the foundation to this fountain... my biggest problem is how I can make the stone.

There is a product at Lowes - it's foam, but it's super thing foam padding used in window sills and such. The reason I thought of it is because it's flexible and can wrap around the foundation without breaking (unlike the 'normal' insulation foam sheets). However, it's only a 1/4" thick (or so). How do I carve/make that to look like rectangle stone?

OR - any other ideas, tips, thoughts would be helpful.

Hot wire foam cutter or Electric Knife should work. For foam you might want to check the fabric stores for furniture foam not sure of the price difference or go to a furniture company close by to get their scraps.

You could try dumpster diving for beaded foam -
When you have enough, break it into rock size pieces.
Build the well walls as in the picture, using sticks to space the foam rocks apart.
then fill in between the foam rocks with great stuff.
after the great stuff dries - paint the whole thing.

Or you could use soft foam from old couch cusions. They also paint up to look like stone, they're flexible, and they're FREE.

How easy is great stuff to mold and shape? I was thinking of making a thin rectangle box template, filling with great stuff, then carving out grout lines.