TROUGHS

[Ian Y]

David and Luc, I know you can do it have a go or come to a workshop.


The next day the trough should be dry enough to slide to the edge of the board but the mix is still soft enough so you can shape the bottom edge.


Also you can make any refinements to the sides such as fake chisel marks chips etc to help make it look real.


This is a week old trough and the surface has a sharp grainy surface that does not look like it has been weathered at all so I smooth it all over by rubbing it with a smooth bit of stone.



Even after a week the trough has not hardened completely so you can still make some more marks if you wish. If by any chance you cut too deep trough to the polystyrene just repair it with the mortar as I showed above.
I also use a wire brush to smooth and texture the surface I will show more details of the finishing process later - then I will move on to landscaping and planting.

[art600]

Ian

How heavy were the finished troughs shown in your workshop? 

[Katherine J]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU IAN for these pics and log. For us who haven't been able to be at Pithlochry on that day this is so useful. And your plantings are real beauties!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

David and Luc, I know you can do it have a go or come to a workshop.

Thanks for the confidence Ian ! 
Some day..... 

[mark smyth]

I asked a local builders supplier for the sand cement mix. They said their wouldnt recommend it for making larger troughs and should mix my own.

[Ian Y]

Arthur, I have not weighed a finished trough but I would guess empty it would weigh around 12-13kgs as I make 2 from a 25Kg bag of the motar mix.

Mark, If you are making lots of troughs or large ones then you will be cheaper mixing it your self.
I wanted to make things nice and simple so that every one could do it. I have made some bigger troughs from these mixes over a number of years and not had and problems yet.

Thank you Katherine, I am glad you are enjoying the thread - I will show a lot more plantings in the coming weeks.

[David Shaw]

This is a wonderfully instructional thread, Ian, thank you.
I would like you to give a little more advice on colouring the concrete to come out in the brown, stone shade rather than cement grey!
We don't all have ready access to artists pigments or the skill to blend them in the way that you do. Further advice welcome, please.

[art600]

Arthur, I have not weighed a finished trough but I would guess empty it would weigh around 12-13kgs as I make 2 from a 25Kg bag of the motar mix.

Ian

My brain must have been on standby ... 

[Ian Y]

Not to fear Arthur it happens to all of us

David, I will deal with the final finish and colouring in coming posts before I go on to the landscaping and planting.
 I will need to take some more detailed pictures of the process first and I  made some more troughs yesterday to allow me to do that.

[Linda_Foulis]

Ian,
Will you also go over the consistency of the mix? 

Having become one with mortar mix over the past two summers, I learned the hard way what the mortar should feel like when it was ready to be used.  I would describe it as slightly dryer than a drop cookie mix, if that makes any sense.

[Ian Y]

Linda it is a good point about the consistency of the mix and as you say it comes with experience.
The best advice is to add water slowly to the mix and watch for the point where it stops falling apart and just starts to bind. At that stage if you take a handful, remember to wear gloves, and squeeze it lightly it should hold together when you release it.

Now for some more details about making the trough.


The last stage before I finish building the trough sides is to make some cuts with a trowel often at the base or across a corner.


I pick up the removed section on the trowel.


Choose a suitable place on the side to add a ridge and hold the cement on the trowel there.


Carefully rubbing with a finger will bond this addition to the side.


Carefully remove the trowel.


Then smooth the addition along the bottom to bond it and make any adjustments to the shape.

This method helps get a realistic look of a carved stone trough.

[Ian Y]

Now a bit more detail on the weathering of the surface.
After leaving the trough to dry for a few days, or longer if the weather is cold and damp, you can start the next stage.


Notice the grainy surface of the newly dry trough.


I prefer it to look a bit more smooth and weathered like this.


The trough should be hard enough to allow you to turn it upside down now so that you can further carve the bottom edge with a trowel, stone or other tool.


Also it is at this stage that I use a wire brush circular strokes will remove the grainy surface and parallel strokes will create a series of scores like the strata in a rock.


Rubbing and polishing the surface with a smooth stone at this stage also helps with the weathered effect.


Here it is after polishing the higher areas with a stone.


Rubbing hard with an old towel or other rag removes the surface dust and will leave a nice finish.


Now we have reached the final stage before I add the colour wash.

[Maggi Young]

I have just realised I am signed in as Maggi!!

Now some details of how I colour the trough.

Here is a selection of the powder pigments I mentioned. As an artist that works in many mediums I buy my colours as powder pigment and then I can mix it with what ever medium I require, gum Arabic for water colour, oils for painting and various print making, acrylic also for painting etc.
The colours I use for colouring the troughs are the earth colours that are made from stone such as ochre, umber and sienna. You could use the bright colours if you want a psychedelic effect


If you do not have powder pigments you can make your own by collecting different coloured earth and clay.


Dry it out and pass it through a series of sieves until you have seperated the finest particles to use for colouring.


If you can you can grind your colour in a mortar and pestle as the finer you can get the mix the better.


Mix some 1 part cement with 2 parts of fine sand and add water to make a wet mix.


Make a few small piles of pigments that vary slightly in tone and hue and wil give a subtle variation of colour.


Start to cover a side with the cement mix.


Now while the cement wash is still wet pick up some pigment on your brush.


And with a stabbing motion work the pigment into the surface Do not make strokes with the brush as that will spoil the effect you are  after.


The finished effect.

[Ian Y]

A final refinement is after the cement wash has dried bt before it has fully hardened rub the surface with a rag.


A look at the finished trough.


The other side.
These troughs are ready to be planted up after about two weeks in the summer but it may take longer for the cement to fully cure in the winter months.

[ChrisB]

Is it my screen, or are these pictures really dark?  I can usually see any pictures posted to the forum, but somehow I can't see any detail in these pics.  I guess it will mean the sinks are much heavier than the old fish box ones, though they look, from what I can see of the pics, quite a lot more attractive.