Thread: how do you secure your tombstones?

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Was going to try my hand at carving some tombstones with styrofoam this year. How do you guys secure yours to the ground without the wind blowing them away?

Get ahold of some 1/2" steel reinforcing bars, maybe 24" in length. Drive them into the ground at least 8". There are several ways to secure the tombstones to the bar. We have long holes running along the centers of ours.

All my tombstones have a 3/4 inch pressure treated plywood base. Most also have a wooden back incorporated into them as well, but that is usually 1/4 inch plywood. They are heavy enough that I do not worry about the wind. If I am going to the trouble of making them, I am going to make them tough.

I use 1/2" PVC pipe glued on the back of the stone with Liquid Nails Construction Adhesive.
Hammer a stake or some rebar in the ground and stick the PVC pipe over it.

Originally Posted by DaveintheGrave

I use 1/2" PVC pipe glued on the back of the stone with Liquid Nails Construction Adhesive.
Hammer a stake or some rebar in the ground and stick the PVC pipe over it.

That's the same method that we use... it's worked great so far, we've only had to re-glue two of our tombstones so far. If you have thin wire you can also drive that into the tombstones and then anchor that in the ground. (extra support for larger more "air-catching" tombstones)

Just zap the PVC and the rebar with a bit of spray paint and they blend right in.

I'm using Wolfman's approach this year. Each of my homemade tombstones have two 18" long 1/2" PVC pipes sandwich between two pieces of glued foam. I slide the tombstone over two 1/2" x 24" steel rebar in the lawn. The only problem is if your lawn contains a lot of clay, as mine does. Driving the rebar 6-8" into the lawn is difficult.

This is a great way to secure your stones from the wind, but it doesn't do much for preventing theft.

Originally Posted by DaveintheGrave

I use 1/2" PVC pipe glued on the back of the stone with Liquid Nails Construction Adhesive.
Hammer a stake or some rebar in the ground and stick the PVC pipe over it.

I tried that method for the first time this year to my newest tombstone " Lizzy Borden" I think when I bring down my other stones from the atic this year I will do the same to them. I have come to the point that all the tombstones I make in the future will have a base I think they are more stable that way.

Originally Posted by Haunter

I'm using Wolfman's approach this year. Each of my homemade tombstones have two 18" long 1/2" PVC pipes sandwich between two pieces of glued foam. I slide the tombstone over two 1/2" x 24" steel rebar in the lawn. The only problem is if your lawn contains a lot of clay, as mine does. Driving the rebar 6-8" into the lawn is difficult.

This is a great way to secure your stones from the wind, but it doesn't do much for preventing theft.

Your yard is clay and my yard is on a rock quarry, I will start to pound the rebar in a few inches and there it is a huge boulder, it is so irratating.

I have always placed a hallow PVC spine inside my stones and then I just slide them over a piece of rebar. I have done this in the past with all of my foam stones and it never fails to work.

I do however have some Target ones which are just hollow resin. These you can't drill into because the resign will shatter. So with these I hot glued some extra pressure treated boards to the bottom to make the base deeper and just burred them in the dirt like a real stone.

In addition to using rebar pounded into the ground. I came up with this method:

Tombstone Anchoring