[Sirmeili]

I hadn't run across this solution yet, so i thought i would share.

I have pretty thick grass and for years I've been trying to figure out a way to keep my resin tombstones from falling over constantly (even with no wind!). I was going to make elaborate bases with stakes, but to save time this year I just got some rebar and leaned them against it. It worked pretty well and was pretty inconspicuous, but they still fell over occasionally.

So, I attached some pipe brackets to the back with jb weld so I could slide the tombstones over the rebar. It actually works quite well. I would have liked a fully hidden solution, but I think this was a great compromise! Once I paint the brackets black or grey (to keep them from rusting and to camouflage them), I think it will be perfect.

 

[JCO]

I do it that way, too. I use half-inch pvc instead of rebar because it's a little cheaper but it's the same principle. Works quite well.

 

[Sirmeili]

I do it that way, too. I use half-inch pvc instead of rebar because it's a little cheaper but it's the same principle. Works quite well.

I went with rebar because it's easy enough for me to pull out and move around. I don't like the tombstones killing the grass so I go out there every couple of days and just move the tombstones to one side or the other. The rebar is pretty easy to push into the ground whereas pvc takes a mallet for me to get in the ground around here.

But, yeah, same principle. I wish I had thought of this years ago!

 

[Forhekset]

Damn, great idea. Simple and cheap. I'm definitely doing this for my tombstones this year.

 

[Sirmeili]

I do it that way, too. I use half-inch pvc instead of rebar because it's a little cheaper but it's the same principle. Works quite well.

It dawned on me literally 2 minutes ago that you probably meant pvc on the back of the tombstones not for the stakes. I went with the brackets because not all of my tomb stones have flat backs. This gives me I bit of play on the positioning while giving me flat surfaces to attach the brackets.

For example:

 

[Sirmeili]

Damn, great idea. Simple and cheap. I'm definitely doing this for my tombstones this year.

Yup, however I did get some spray paint and primer yo paint the next ones with. I'm hoping it will prevent rusting.

All in all I think it was like $30-40 for my 10 resin tombstones (including rebar). The JB weld was a bit pricey but it seems to really hold well.

I'm also thinking of adding some padding to the inside of the brackets to help prevent scraping the paint and allowing rust to form. Right now I have 2 costs of primer, 2 costs of paint, and 2 costs of clear coat. They aren't for looks but for durability and rust prevention.

 

[Forhekset]

So I picked up some 1ft and 2ft pieces of rebar at Home Depot today, along with a bag of 25 1/2" plastic pipe straps (went with plastic to avoid rusting). All in all, it cost less than $11 or so. I'm wondering though how well the plastic straps will adhere to the tombstones. What I'd really like to do is just use some screws to attach the straps, but I've never drilled into resin before. Any tips? Am I going to crack it when I try to put screws into it?

In case I end up gluing, I also got some Loctite indoor/outdoor construction adhesive...$5 for a large tube. No idea how well it'll work, but I've had good luck with Loctite before.

 

[Sirmeili]

I went with jb weld epoxy and its working great. I wend back and got more, but its the clear one that sets in 5 minutes instead of hours. The downside was it was more runny. I went with the epoxy because the surfaces are irregular and I felt it gave me a better bed to put the straps in. I'm sure construction adhesive will work just as well. I know the jb weld will handle up to 4400 lbs of pressure and I was thinking I'd need it because they are basically sails now.

Good idea about the plastic straps. I should have thought of that! If I do more, I am going to do plastic instead. It would have been a big time saver!

 

[Forhekset]

I read up on drilling into resin, and I think I'm going to risk it with one of my tombstones in the next couple of weeks. I plan on going SLOWLY and using a 1/16" bit, then using wood screws. I'll report back here on whether or not it works. I'd really rather screw down those straps than mess with the adhesive (plus, like most guys, I've got thousands of spare nails and screws just lying around my garage, unused).

I also found a package of bamboo stakes in the garage last night that I'm going to try instead of rebar. I set up my tombstones in front of shrubbery and trees, so wind isn't quite as much of a factor for me, so I think the bamboo might be good enough to hold them up. This might turn out to be a really, really cheap fix (~$3 for the package of straps).

 

[Sirmeili]

Please do let me know. I had also considered screwing them in but I was also concerned about cracking them.

 

[Ugly Joe]

I read up on drilling into resin, and I think I'm going to risk it with one of my tombstones in the next couple of weeks. I plan on going SLOWLY and using a 1/16" bit, then using wood screws. I'll report back here on whether or not it works. I'd really rather screw down those straps than mess with the adhesive (plus, like most guys, I've got thousands of spare nails and screws just lying around my garage, unused).

One thing I'll say to this (due to previous experience working with resin pieces); the resin is going to be rather thin, regardless of where you mount the brackets, due to how cast resin pieces are created.

If I could give some advice, I'd suggest using some epoxy as well as the screw - you won't need as much, as you'll have a mechanical fastener as well as an adhesive, but the screw alone is putting a lot of pressure on a small area...adding the epoxy helps spread the pressure over a larger area, giving better overall strength.

 

[Forhekset]

One thing I'll say to this (due to previous experience working with resin pieces); the resin is going to be rather thin, regardless of where you mount the brackets, due to how cast resin pieces are created.

If I could give some advice, I'd suggest using some epoxy as well as the screw - you won't need as much, as you'll have a mechanical fastener as well as an adhesive, but the screw alone is putting a lot of pressure on a small area...adding the epoxy helps spread the pressure over a larger area, giving better overall strength.

Thanks man, I'll give it a shot. Since I'm going to be using screws anyway, I wonder if some Gorilla Glue might be good enough. I've already got an open bottle of it.

 

[disembodiedvoice]

I just saw a link to this on a different thread. I've always struggled with what to do with my resin stones. I don't have many ( I seem to collect them after halloween, michaels marks theirs down really cheap don't think I've ever paid more than 6 bucks) But like others mine will not just sit on my lawn, I'm so glad to see some solutions. I'm not skilled enough to screw them in so I want to use the plastic straps. What kind of straps are the exactly? in what section of the store? and does Lowes or Home Depot sell the short pieces of rebar? I have no way of cutting rebar.......oy

 

[Forhekset]

I just saw a link to this on a different thread. I've always struggled with what to do with my resin stones. I don't have many ( I seem to collect them after halloween, michaels marks theirs down really cheap don't think I've ever paid more than 6 bucks) But like others mine will not just sit on my lawn, I'm so glad to see some solutions. I'm not skilled enough to screw them in so I want to use the plastic straps. What kind of straps are the exactly? in what section of the store? and does Lowes or Home Depot sell the short pieces of rebar? I have no way of cutting rebar.......oy

This is what I used, along with some Loctite construction adhesive (found at HD in the section with all the glue) and it worked great. I skipped fastening the straps with screws since I was going to end up gluing them anyway and I didn't want to risk cracking the resin.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-1-2-in-PVC-Non-Metallic-2-Hole-Strap-25-Pack-CL2050-CECP25/205727647

These straps are found over with the conduit, electrical boxes, etc. at Home Depot. I don't shop at Lowe's much but I'm sure it's similar there. HD does sell short pieces of rebar (found near the aisles with the flashing and roofing materials, at my store at least), so you can get 1' pieces, or 2' pieces and so on. In my case, I had some bamboo plant stakes lying around so I'm using those. I'll try to remember to take a picture of my tombstones and post it here so you can see how they turned out.

 

[Sirmeili]

This is what I used, along with some Loctite construction adhesive (found at HD in the section with all the glue) and it worked great. I skipped fastening the straps with screws since I was going to end up gluing them anyway and I didn't want to risk cracking the resin.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-1-2-in-PVC-Non-Metallic-2-Hole-Strap-25-Pack-CL2050-CECP25/205727647

These straps are found over with the conduit, electrical boxes, etc. at Home Depot. I don't shop at Lowe's much but I'm sure it's similar there. HD does sell short pieces of rebar (found near the aisles with the flashing and roofing materials, at my store at least), so you can get 1' pieces, or 2' pieces and so on. In my case, I had some bamboo plant stakes lying around so I'm using those. I'll try to remember to take a picture of my tombstones and post it here so you can see how they turned out.

Another note is that on my last few, I only placed 1 of the straps around the middle instead of using 2 (like I did in my original post). It still supports it and it costs even less to do. I agree with @Forhekset to use the plastic ones. If I had thought about it, I would have used those instead of the metal ones. However, even the ones I didn't paint have shown no sign of rust yet (And it's rained quite a bit here in my part of FL).

 

[Forhekset]

Yeah, on my smaller ~14" tombstones, I just used one strap each. I have a larger one that's basically a celtic cross, and on that one I used two (although I could probably have gotten away with one). That one seemed to adhere the worst out of the 4 that I did, possibly because the surface of the resin was a little smoother, but after 24 hours it seems pretty solid. I didn't think it was taking, so I pulled the straps off and globbed on some more adhesive, then stuck them on again.

One good thing about having a flexible support, like a plant stake, is that it can bend a little bit to fit through the strap and into the ground. One thing I noticed is that basically all of my tombstones have pretty large bases, so I was worried that the bases would stick out too far past the pipe straps, since I only bought 1/2" straps. It looks like it's going to be fine, though. If it's a little tight hopefully I can bend the stakes just enough to make it work.