Hypertufa is a cement-based mixture that is as versatile as it is strong. This incredibly durable material can be molded into any desired shape or size. Hypertufa is a great option to get the look of stone without all the weight. Plus, it can withstand all the outdoor elements and it only gets better with time.
I was completely inspired by a hypertufa planter made by the one and only Jenna Sue. I’ve been scheming up a plan to make one for some time now. Jenna has an excellent tutorial on her blog. I’ll be sharing my experience with making my own hypertufa pot, with a twist, and turning it into a water fountain.
Today I’m sharing the first part of the process; making the hypertufa pot. I’ll be following up with a part two blog post on the actual water pump/fountain.
THE SUPPLIES
- Large container for the outside mold (I used this large green bin)
- Smaller container for the inside mold
- Plastic
- Perlite
- Peat moss
- Portland cement
- Wire brush drill attachment
THE PROCESS FOR MIXING AND MOLDING THE HYPERTUFA POT
Start by lining the big green bin with plastic and give it a good spray with some cooking oil. This will prevent the hypertufa mix from sticking to the sides of the bin. We will also be covering the smaller inside mold with plastic as well for the same reason.
Now the fun part! We’re going to start by adding in all of the dry ingredients. You’ll definitely want some gloves for this part. With this size mold, I suggest mixing everything together in a wheelbarrow if you can. Basically you will be mixing equal parts of peat moss, perlite, and Portland cement. To do this, I used a 5 gallon bucket as my measuring cup. I dumped a bucket of each ingredient into my wheelbarrow and did a quick dry mix. Once the dry ingredients we combined, I added some water, just a little at a time, until the mixture reached the desired consistency. You’ll want to be able to pack the hypertufa mix in your hands without it crumbling and falling apart. Think of making a snowball.
And now you’re ready to start adding the mix to your mold. I started by adding a good base layer to the big green bin. It’s probably 4-5 inches thick. I used my hands the pat and compact the mixture.
Once you have a good base layer, you can place your smaller mold inside the big green bin.
At this point, if you’re making a fountain (not a planter), you’ll want to plan a hole for the fountain pump plug. You can skip this part if you are just making a hypertufa planter and not a fountain. If you are planning on turning your hypertufa pot into a fountain, use a small piece of 3/4” PVC pipe and place it near the bottom of the mold as you’re filling it with the hypertufa mix.
Use what hypertufa mixture you have left and start filling the sides of the mold. Continue to pat and compact the mixture as you work your way up.
In the end, for this size mold, I mixed a total of 3 batches (or wheelbarrow fulls) of hypertufa mix. Each batch consisted of half a bag of Portland cement (94lb. bag), two 8 qt. bags of perlite, and two 8 qt. bags of peat moss. In total, I used 1 ½ bags of Portland cement, six 8 qt. bags of perlite, and six 8 qt. bags of peat moss.
REMOVING THE HYPERTUFA POT FROM THE MOLD
Once you’ve reached the top of the mold, or run out of mix, haha whichever comes first, you’ll want to cover the top with plastic and let it sit for 1-2 days. After a total of 48 hours, it was time to remove the fountain completely from the green bin.
Now that your hypertufa pot is out of the mold, you’ll want to roughen up the surface while the hypertufa mix is still soft and not fully cured. To do this, I am using a wire brush attachment on my drill. This is a key step to achieving that aged stone look.
Once you’ve reached your desired texture, it’s time to give it a mist with water and wrap the entire hypertufa pot in plastic again. This time you need to let it sit for 2 whole weeks. Longest 2 weeks of my life, haha! About a week and a half, I decided to uncover the plastic and let it sit uncovered for the remainder of the 2 weeks.
FINISHING THE HYPERTUFA POT
There are many different options for finishing your hypertufa pot. I’ve seen some limewashed, painted, grouted, and more. You can have lots of fun experimenting with different finishes or simply leave it as-is. I decided to limewash mine with a very diluted mix of Romabio Classico Limewash in Avorio White. I also went over the whole thing with a wire brush to soften the limewash.
Lastly, on the inside of the fountain, I sealed it with Flex Seal to prevent any water leaks.
Stay tuned for part 2 of the Hypertufa fountain. I’ll be adding all the details about the water pump and fountain materials used.
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52 Responses
Can’t wait for part two!
Aw thank you Ashley! I feel like we don’t have it quite perfected yet and I want to make sure I’m giving everyone the best tutorial on it. We will get it figured out!
Has part 2 been posted? I’d love to try and make this!
I am sorry I have not posted part 2 yet, but it is definitely in the plans for this spring so stay tuned!
Hi
Love the idea for the limestone wash.
Does the container need to be sealed for holding the after. If so, what can we use?
Thanks
Thank you Elizabeth! Oh what a good catch!! I will add that info into the blog post now. Yes, there was a spot or two where the water would leak out. I used Flex Seal all over the inside of the fountain and it worked beautifully. Great question!
Curious where you bought the brass nozzles? I can’t find any that I like but maybe I do not know where to look!
The copper nozzles are just 1″ copper pipe that we slid over PVC pipe. The pump/fountain part is not functioning as we would like it to. We will be re-doing it sometime soon and I will have a “part 2” blog post all about it.
I don’t understand where you put the cord for the pump. Any further explanation would be appreciated. Thanks
If you look closely at the set of pictures (right after I pulled the green bin off), you’ll see the small piece of pvc pipe that I added to the bottom side of the fountain. This is where I pulled the pump cord through and sealed it. Hope that helps! I’ll touch on this a little more in part 2 of the fountain.
Where is part 2 please
I am so sorry, I don’t have part 2 figured out yet. I will share once I do!
Your fountain project turned out lovely. I am so pleased with your instructions along with the pictures of the process beginning to end. They were so very well done and also took a lot of the guess work out. Thank you. What’s next?
Aw thank you so much Roberta! I appreciate the kind comment. I need to do a follow up post on the actual water pump part of the process.
I’m thinking of making a fountain for my yard in this style, and I’m so glad I found your post! I would love to know how it’s holding up over time and if you would recommend this method. Thanks!
So glad you found this tutorial as well! It has held up perfectly, not issues. I hope you give it a try!
How long can you expect your fountain to last? If a planter, how long would it survive? You used flex seal since you wanted a fountain, but would you do the same for a planter to keep the sides from falling apart? Does it matter what state you live in? Can it survive in freezing temps as a planter? Can it be left outside in freezing temps? Have always wanted to try this and have kept so many articles on it. Now is the time in the coming months looks promising.
I did this DIY almost exactly two years ago now and it is still in perfect condition, no cracks. I only did the flex seal so that it can hold water. I would probably not do that for a planter. I’ve left this outside, full of water, all winter long and it froze/thawed and withstood all the elements. I hope that help! And I hope you give it a try!
Looking forward to part two. How did you put the copper pieces in?
Hi Susan! I apologize, but I haven’t quite perfected part 2 yet. I don’t feel comfortable sharing until I get it just right, with parts that my readers can purchase. I am looking forward to attempting again this spring and I hope to have a part 2 to share by then.
Hi Erin,
just discovered your blog/post. Are you able to share how you did the pump and copper pieces. I don’t think your audience would care if it was perfect. that’s DIY, right? 😉
Aw thank you Kari! I promise I will put together a detailed blog post. It’s basically one pump with pvc piping split three ways with valves to control the flow. The copper slips over the pvc. We still cant’ get an even flow even with the valves. I think I’m going to just put in three small separate pumps the next time I try this.
Would love to know how you assembled the interior etc. Could you please post part 2?? Planning on starting to make one within the next few weeks and this would be very helpful. Thanks!
Hi Mel! I apologize, but I haven’t quite perfected part 2 yet. I don’t feel comfortable sharing until I get it just right, with parts that my readers can purchase. I am looking forward to attempting again this spring and I hope to have a part 2 to share by then.
Hello! love this!! Have you shared part two with the fountain portion? Thank you so much for the inspiration!!
I apologize, but I haven’t quite perfected part 2 yet. I don’t feel comfortable sharing until I get it just right, with parts that my readers can purchase. I am looking forward to attempting again this spring and I hope to have a part 2 to share by then.
Hi, I’m planning on making 3 low lying, rectangular trough like fountains and love what you’ve done here. The limewashed hypertufa is exactly what I’m looking for, lighter than cement and love the color. It’ll be for my custom built Spanish Mediterranean home which won’t be completed for at least another year. What problem do you seem to be struggling with?
That sounds amazing! Good luck with you project. The only part I’ve been struggling with is the fountain part. It’s been impossible to get three pipes at different heights to have the same flow.
Your ideas are clever & very tasteful! Thx for the fountain especially. Also love your lime wash!
Aw thank you so much Sarah!
This is lovely. Great job. As a comment, I would have liked to see more detailed shots of the tubing placed to make a fountain. I’m lost. Looking forward to part 2. Thank you
I’m sorry, I didn’t go into details with the tubing/fountain part since I didn’t get it working just right. It still needs some tweaking and I don’t want to share unless it’s working perfectly. I will follow up with a part 2!
Where is part 2 of the fountain project
I haven’t quite perfected it yet. I’ll share once I do!
Hello I’m an architectural Artist in Jensen Beach Florida , I love your home made fountain and would like to give you some industry secrets to remove some steps
1. To create the stone look. Take baking soda, pour it into a bowl and sprinkle water on it so it creates lumps , as these dry break them up into smaller but not to small lumps scatter these into the surface of the plastic before adding your mixture being careful not to press too hard at first when dried any baking soda left can be hosed off .any cast stone you see is done this way
2. Go to a building materials supplier and get white Portland cement. Using this in your mix will allow you to skip using the lime wash step , white Portland can be mixed with many combinations of concrete pigment powders to obtain different stone mix the whole batch wit one color or separate several colors mixed and apply into your mold in hand fulls you can add chrysalis in between as well note use the pigment powders sparingly ! Can’t stress this enough your tone will be beautiful and soft like a natural sand stone.
Good luck ,Sue
Hi Susan , I appreciate the added information for making the fountain.
You mentioned adding Chrysalis in the mixture. Is it for waterproofing or something else? Also where would I find this product?
I’m going to be making this foundation soon.
Thank you for any information
Thank you for the expert tips Susan!
Hi there! I finally got around to making this fountain pot. I am having difficulty getting the pit out of the mold. I followed the directions including spraying the plastic with oil but it won’t budge. Any tips you could provide would be appreciated. I am really excited about this project and hope to make it very similar to yours.
I ended up having to cut my mold to get it out. I cut around the top and that loosened it up enough to get it out. You may need to cut down the side of the mold if that doesn’t work. I used a reciprocating saw, but a utility knife might work too? Hope that helps and I hope you can get out!
Hello…Im new to all of this kind stuff. Im excited to try the fountain & planters both. Im lots on the part of the pipe being put in plc when filling the ring of cement? Could please help me to understand this step. And cant wait untill 2nd part. Thank you
That is just a placeholder to create a spot where the cord for the fountain will go.
Hi there! I absolutely love this project and can’t wait to try it! I was just wondering if you ever came out with part 2? Thank you! I love all your ideas! 🙂
Thank you! I haven’t quite perfected part two yet, but I am looking forward to trying a new idea to make it work better this spring.
Merciiiiii beaucoup pour ton partage ca me donne beaucoup d’idées. Bravo!
You’re welcome!
Instructions with picture
were beautifully done well understood
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you!
How heavy was it? Was it manageable to carry? If it was made into a faux rock to hide eye sores, is it heavy enough to not blow away?
It is quite heavy, but I’m still able to roll it around to move it. I don’t think you will have problems with it blowing away.
Hi! This is beautiful and exactly what I’ve been wanting! How much did it cost overall would you say?
Aw thank you! I would just add the supplies to cart and it will give a total