Installation Guide

Artistic Home & Garden Co., Camas WA
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Other tips:
Lubrication is important with the sphere molds. Lubricate the main sphere mold and insert if you use an insert.
Never rest a full concrete mold on its lip when you are turning it over to unmold. This will significantly reduce the life of
your mold and will crack it around the lip area (we do not cover this type of misuse in the warranty) . Use a helper to turn it
over if you need to.
In cold weather — Plastic gets harder and stiffer in cold weather. If trouble removing from molds, set them out in the sun till
plastic is warm., or use a hair blow dryer, but be careful to not melt the plastic. Do not cast in temperatures close to freezing.
In warm weather — let molds set up in the shade, not in the sun. Let concrete dry slowly and in hot, dry weather cover with
plastic to slow dehydration. In humid weather allow more time, even another day ,to allow the concrete to set up in mold.
•
Use concrete colorant to mix directly into concrete for solid color (normally found near concrete in home
improvement stores )
• Apply mosaics
• Concrete stains finish the concrete in an even color style that is beautiful and gives an old world type appearance
• You can use a hypertufa mixture in molds using peat moss and vermiculate mixed with concrete (use your own
formula)
• Use half spheres as small planters by creating a hollow center using one of our smaller molds
Applications & Decorative Tips
FAQ’s
1. What type of concrete should I buy?
Any type/brand of basic ready mix concrete
2. My concrete has air bubbles in the surface, why?
Remember — concrete is a natural substance and this is the natural characteristic of concrete.
That said, you can minimize bubbles by:
• Pour concrete just a few inches at a time so you can stop and shake/tap on the mold to bring the majority of air
bubbles to the surface
• If you have surface bubbles/irregularities that you do not like in your finished concrete you can patch them up by
mixing up a bit of the same concrete (omit the aggregate/stones) and patch it, using a damp sponge.
3. My dried concrete piece cracked when I removed it from the mold! What’s wrong with your mold?!
• It’s not the mold! The most common problem is using concrete that has been exposed to dampness. Cement is the
adhesive property in concrete and if a concrete bag has been sitting around for a while, especially with a tear in it,
even just plain humidity can ruin the bag. Use a new bag that does not show any sign if dampness or rips.