The garden suffered a casualty over the winter: an oak-leaf hydrangea just couldn't stand up to the daily pee barrage of Lucky dog. Honestly, I don't think any plant could.
We discussed asking the city for a fire hydrant, but decided that a statue or a planter would probably be more practical. I've been shopping around for a while, but everything I like is in the $100 range, which seems a little steep for a doggie pee-spot!
Then I saw it on Pinterest - a planter made from stepping stones! It would be cheap, easy, and durable - just my kind of project.
I was up at the hardware store that same night to buy all my goodies. I got five 16" concrete step stones, a tube of Liquid Nails, a bag of potting mix, and an orange begonia, for a total of about $30 (and I still have soil and glue leftover!).
Assembling the planter went super fast - like under 10 minutes fast. I balanced the step stones on their sides, ran a line of glue down the side, and smushed them together. I overlapped each stone only once, so the sides would all be the same. I wrapped it in a bungee cord for good measure, but I bet clamps would be better.
Then I put dots of glue on the top inner edge, and smushed the fifth stone on top. You use dots of glue here so that water can drain through.
I let it dry for three days, mostly because I didn't get around to moving it sooner.
Then....
I talked Tommy into moving it for me...that sucker was HEAVY! About two steps into the garden, it crumbled. Thankfully Tommy jumped out of the way and wasn't hurt.
So...definite project fail here. Planters made from stepping stones = NOT WORTH IT!
I have been looking at this DYI project for a while and was really interested to see that there was a failure prior to me going out and buying all the supplies. I plan of painting mine blue so they will go with the landscaping. I have not does this project so I would not consider myself an expert by any means, however your pavers differ from all the other DYI videos I have seen in that they have ribbing on them.
ReplyDeleteMost DYI videos for this project call for a paver with a smooth edge so they will adhere better. Here is a link for a model that may have worked better:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-11-7-8-in-x-11-7-8-in-Red-Concrete-Step-Stone-71251/100333084?N=5yc1vZbx4b
In addition, most videos call for a you to use a crank strap. These are pretty cheap. Again a link:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-15-ft-x-1-in-Ratchet-Tie-Down-FH8102/203412788
Like I stated, I am not an expert nor have I done this project but I feel most of these fail due to not following the instructions. But hey we learned from your failure soooo maybe my planters will be awesome. I want to put bamboo in them.