Artificial Fake Rockmaking Information Sheet

Upcoming Rockmaking courses

Keith Tutor will be conducting a series of Two Day hands-on training courses commencing in August 2008 near Urunga on the NSW mid coast, Australia.

Make your own Staircases and Stepping Stones in Artificial Rock
Dates for these courses
August 18 and 19 2008
August 25 and 26 2008

Course Fee per participant $320.00.00 payable before commencement of course

Build solid boulders and Feature for Garden and Landscape'
Dates for these courses

August 14 and 15 2008
August 28 and 29 2008

Course Fee per participant $320.00 payable before commencement of course.

If you choose to attend for one day only which you are also welcome to do the fee is $190.00

Please Note. These courses are introductory courses catered more for the home DIY person. They are however an 'intensive' introduction to Keith's unique and functional methods of creating life like artificial rock. Any one interested in learning and developing further skills in this art is invited to participate but please take note that business aspects in Rockmaking as would be found in longer professional courses will not be addressed in the two day workshop series.
For further information and a course outline contact Keith by email at... keith@artificialrock.com.au

Guide to sourcing materials for artificial rock making

One of your most resourceful and helpful guides to finding the majority of materials used to make life like fake rock as shown on our artificial rock making DVD's is the internet.
There are some materials that may go under a trade name difference depending on the country. A list of trade material names is set out below so that you will know what you are looking for and what name to type into a search engine to track down product in your vicinity.

Keiths materials update

As your skills and experience grows with any subject as mine has with Rockmaking you learn what is needed and what is not needed to refine and maintain a quality of work.
In this case I have come to the conclusion that Solid rock ie 'Fabulous rock' holds up to the test of time ( well,over the last 13 years) with or without rockbonding fibre / fibremesh in the concrete base mixes.
If we can make your Rockmaking experience more economical we certainly will.
As such Rockbonding Fibre / Fibremesh is one material we can rub off the Rockmaking shopping list for materials.
Contact Keith with any further queries that you might have.

COLOUR LAST POWDERS in the trade are known as COLOUR HARDENER POWDERS this is the term to enter in your search. Other names to enter to narrow it down to a local supplier is STENCILCRETE SUPPLIERS and or STAMPED CONCRETE PRODUCTS.
Colour hardener locations:
For Australian rockmakers log onto www.texcrete.com.au and press on locations
For U.S. rock makers look up www.stampcrete.com
Also type in Bomanite and also try Coloration Systems
for other countries type in colour hardener powder.

NATURE TINTS Since the original dvds were produced there has been a move away from liquid tints and for my tinting I now mainly use colour powders that I mix with water to a thin consistency. I use oxides such as black, green and yellow and are available at most hardware's.
You can even use different coloured tiling grouts to make a tint with say for your orange for example

BOND AND SEAL is basically an acrylic based PVA glue and as shown on the dvds is of a runny consistency. I have had excellent results with Boncrete which is available at most hardware's universally. This will come in a much thicker consistency and can be watered down to the perfect blend for all your rock making uses by mixing 1 part PVA ie Boncrete with 4 parts water.

EZY PLIERS EZY CLIPS in Australia are known as Maspro pliers and clips and are available from most produce stores and some Hardwares. They are also known as hog tie pliers and clips in the U.S.. Other names "wire clip pliers" "wire net pliers" Pliers are used to clip two pieces of wire together with a "C" shaped clip.

Mr Tutor,
I purchased and watched your video's they are genius in their simplicity.
Where do I purchase rendering cloth in the state of oregon, U.S.A?
Thanks
Charles Finnigan

EZYMAT is known as Nylon Enkamat can be purchased by U.S customers in 2,5 and 8yd lengths at www.aquaticeo.com and what you would be after is the .25" nylon enkamat thickness. Enkakmatat can be purchased by U.S customers in 2,5 and 8yd lengths at http://www.aquaticeo.com and what you be after is the .25" nylon enkamat thickness.
The address below will take you to the Supplier.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/4323

Poly Enkamat -. Enkamat is made as an erosion control mat. There are several methods of making hollow form rock and along with the varying methods are different materials that can be used to achieve an outstanding result. What I want to avoid is presenting concepts that are bound to only one use of a material or method and in the faux hollow rock components. As some materials may and have over a period of time have become more difficult to obtain and this is now the case with Enkamat ( Ezy Mat ). I have for many years built transportable boulders successfully with a fabric called "wadding". Please refer to the web page on Building hollow rock and you will find a visual description on the second page.
Please contact us for any further details.

We hope that you enjoy the learning aspects of this amazing and very rewarding artform. From a design point of view we are of the opinion that our methods of Artificial Rockmaking can allow you to use your imagination to fulfil many ideas you may visualise or have in mind in the garden and landscape. Please enjoy.

Children

Kids love a bit of artificial rockmaking. Make sure you have young ones protected in appropriate clothing and safety attachments. Be sure to keep them away from neat portland cement and colour hardeners, particularly if there are a few children who might start throwing cementous powders around or accidentally rub some in their eyes. The same applies to mortar and concrete mixes.

DISCLAIMER.
Rockmaking as revealed in our dvd titles, written text and photographic images does not require a high degree of physical fitness to undertake however it does involve
physical involvement including bending, lifting and general landscaping preparations. As much of rockmaking is likely to be outdoors we recommend you take into account
dressing for protection not only against the elements but that a consistent part off your hands on attire are protective gloves, safety glasses and dust mask particulary when you are
working with and shaping wires, using cements, concretes, colour hardeners and using a cement mixer. Have the wind to your back when you are using colour hardeners.
We do not recommend nor endorse the construction of any structure over one metre or 3.3ft in height without qualified and approved guidelines and qualified assistance
Attempting to construct artificial rock in or around swimming pools and or building overhead structures such as caves without qualified experience is definately not recommended nor endorsed or suggested in any way by the authors of and in the artificial rock instructional series nor its distributors or resellers.