Thread: How to secure styrofoam headstones?

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Hi there everyone. I was just wondering for those of you who have made headstones out of styrofoam, how do you secure them into the ground without damaging the prop itself? I keep thinking of I put a couple small stakes into the headstone itself and then try and shove them into the ground, it'll just drive the stakes up into the headstone more & maybe damage it.

Try searching "rebar". Need help how to make tomstones stay up against strong winds.

Before I carved my stones I drilled two holes in the bottom, up through the stone, about a foot deep. Those holes were made big enough to slide a piece of PVC pipe in each one (I put the holes in before carving so if I accidentally drilled through the front it wouldn't ruin all that work!).

When it's time to put them out I drive rebar into the ground, spaced for the holes and pvc in the bottom of the stones, and then just slide the stones on.

i made some wood bases out of scraps from doing my deck,, so,, i used 5/4 board (thats roughly 6 inches wide, by 1 inch thick) for the base,, then i made some 1x1 stripes that i cut and screwed to the 5/4 board base, that the stone could be slipped into (super tight and glued in). Once that was done, they were painted to match the stone (these were used on my store bought stones) and had no issues with wind knocking them over after that.. and we had some strong winds come through last year (2009). This made it nice cause i ended up moving my stones around a few times before i got it set up the way i wanted.

here you can see the base on the stone next to the candles,,

Tumblindice, is the pvc pipe just glued to the back of the tombstone?

Originally Posted by Kymmm

Tumblindice, is the pvc pipe just glued to the back of the tombstone?

Looks like he uses some hot glue to attach them.

Originally Posted by Kymmm

Tumblindice, is the pvc pipe just glued to the back of the tombstone?

Yup just hot glue the pvc to the stone, buy some precut rebar at Lowes or Home Depot, 2 foot lengths and your good to go. If you want you can spray paint the pvc grey or black to blend in.

I use the same method a Tumblin and it works great. Gorilla Glue works great for us and we do spray paint the PVC grey to blend in better.

..has much to do with how we will attach dissimilair items and materials.
I once was asked to give some Cub Scouts a lecture on this and their attendance went toward their art badge completion.
Being open for business I attach things possibly more in a heavy-duty fashion because I hate doing the same job twice!
Believe it or not, I have never owned or used a hot glue gun.
Nails, screws, Bondo,welding, pop rivets,bolts, them is my friends.