# How do you stake your foam tombstones



## groovethang (Jul 14, 2003)

All,

OK I know this discussion has been on here many times before, so perhaps someone can link me to a thread about this, or just reply . . . 

I have these great tombstones in my basement. They are made of the 2" pink insulating foamboard. I tried using the method where you drill into the tombstone and glue a sleeve of PVC inside, then stake them on rebar. That worked so/so, as ultimately what happened was, because the tombstones were out for a few weeks, the rebar/PVC sleeve combo eventually broke through the backs of some of the tombstones. This caused me to have to duct tape them, temporarily, to make it through Halloween. 

I thought about using a pointed stick glued to the back of the tombstone (painted tombstone color, of course), but the issue there is how to drive the tombstone/stick combo into the ground without destroying the tombstone in the process. I don't mind the aesthetic issue of having a stick on the back of the tombstone. 

I saw one person, whose site I have never found again, on the 'net who used some sort of stainless steel rods . . . those looked like they would work better because there was less material removed from inside the tombstone, thus allowing the tombstone to retain more of its structural integrity.

I also so a person on the 'net who simply cut PVC at a 45 degree angle on both ends, and twisted/worked one end of the PVC into the foam and used the other end to work into the ground. That idea seemed like a lot of work, though perhaps pretty effective.

Anyway, I am at a point where I would like to do the graveyard, but don't feel like making all new tombstones. Any ideas how I can salvage my existing tombstones?

Thanks!

- Beth
[email protected]


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## Hobgoblin (Sep 18, 2005)

If you dont mind a mounting on the back of your tombstone, you might try some heavy duty wire like 9 guage (about 1/4 inch thick). Make a "U" shape and tape/epoxy the top of the "U" to the back of the tombstone, then stick the bottoms into the ground. Since the Wire is small it is easier to get into the ground, but is stiff enough to hold the weight. You could also epoxy some molding to the bottom of the tombstone leaving about 2 inches of the molding projecting from the sides of the stone. Then take the long aluminum raingutter nails and drive them thru the molding to be used as your stakes. This allows you to put pressure on the molding when staking them in and not on the tombstone.


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## groovethang (Jul 14, 2003)

Good ideas, Hobgoblin! Thanks!


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## Greencapt (Sep 13, 2005)

As I posted on another thread, what I did was glue two small eye-hooks into the back of my tombstones (or four for the wider stones). I then bought inexpensive green garden stakes from Home Depot- the kind that are like 6' tall, straight, covered in green plastic and have a hollow metal pole as the core. I sawed these in half. They can be easily painted. Then I pounded the stake into the ground, place the tombstone with the eye-hooks beside the stake and used small clear zip-ties to go through the hooks and around the pole. I pulled them tight with pliers and snipped off the resulting ends of the ties and voila! The stones stood up to wind, etc withour moving an inch all season!

Those garden stakes are much, much cheaper than buying rebar for those of us who don't have construction sites around to raid for leftovers.


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## theboogeymengraveyard (Aug 21, 2005)

I've tried everything but the wind is a killer and no matter what I do the wind always win.
I'm gonna try to glue boards to the back.


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## john (Aug 9, 2004)

Right through the heart!

Seriously, you're going to lose some tombstones to the wind. I pound small pieces of pvc into the ground and slip the tombstones over them. This works pretty well and if you 're vigilant on windy days, you can just pull them up and store them for the day.


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## Stench (Aug 30, 2005)

I glued (liquid nails for foamboard) two 3/4 pvc pipe sections to the back of my tombstones to within 3-4 inches of the top and all the way to the bottom of the stone. This was done prior to painting (mine are gray). To put up the stone, I use 2' rebar pounded about a 1' in the ground and put the pvc pipe over this. If you are doing a lot of stones, make a jig out of a scrap piece of 2x4 to help you both glue the pipe in the same place on each stone and drive the rebar in the ground the correct space apart.


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## Jon (Feb 16, 2004)

Hey john, do you have any pics of how you did those?? I think i may try that idea this year. The day before halloween, We had crazy winds and it knocked down almost every tombstone i had because the dowel rods i used all snapped. I had to go to home depot and replace all those dowel rods. I was sooo mad. Thanks.


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## otherworldly (Sep 28, 2004)

I have a really low-tech method that works under any wind we've encountered..but it requires some large brick-shaped pieces of concrete. One on either side of the base holds the tombstone securely in place and looks pretty good too.


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## The Crow 1994 (Sep 18, 2003)

We do similar to what Stench has done. Here's a pic.


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## willise (May 7, 2005)

I have used Liquid Nails to glue a piece of 1x2 or 1/3 to the back of the tombstone and painted it grey. Then I drive a piece of 1x2 (painted accordingly) into the ground and screw the two pieces together.It help to deter vandals and hold up against the wind.


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## goolie (Oct 19, 2004)

How would you fix them to stand on thier own, say on a hard floor, I'm volunteering for the local haunted house this year and it will be inside an empty retail space and I am not sure what the best way to make my tombstones stand up without having alot of obvious hardware stuck to the back.


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## festivus (Aug 1, 2005)

I've had good luck using aluminim(3/8") rods about two foot long half in the foam the other half in the ground. I had quite a few bent aluminum arrow shafts I have been able to put to use this way as well.


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## dpolking (Oct 8, 2004)

All of my 'stones have two holes drilled into them appx. 10" apart. I mount a piece of half inch plywood (painted same color as the 'stone) to the bottom with 8" bolts that go up through the bottom side of the board up into the stone. The plywood bases are appx 2" wider on either side than the 'stone, and have a second set of holes just big enough to drive 8" spikes through them and into the ground. Worked awesome last year with like 40 mph wind gusts day before Halloween. Didn't loose a one, and only had minimal damage with a few of the bolt holes getting stripped out.


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## scareisburg (Nov 3, 2004)

Here's a thought, try some of those wire sign stands. I think Lowes or HD sells them or go to a local fast sign the have several different types some more heavy duty then others. You may have to cut off the wire a bit as they are designed to hold a sign above the ground. 

I tried pvc re-bar method and the problem I had was drilling the hole straight. If its not straight one side is too close to the surface and will tend to break through.....

As for mounting tombstones inside I'd try and cut a groove in a 2 x 6 board and glue the stone in it. You'll need a dado blade or a router. Or you could nail some 2x2 on to a board and slip the tombstone between them.


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## Polycat (Aug 26, 2005)

'm sorry that I can't find the site now to credit the "inventor" properly, but its on the Monster List...cut two pieces of foamboad approx 4" high and either the width of your tombstone or a few incles longer and glue your tombstone between them and then on top of a foam "base". (We had or extend out approx 3" on eall sides and beveled it) If you choose to make them a few incles longer, then you have to cut 2 additional pieces of foam to fill in the "gap" on either side of the carved tombstone. Sits great all on its own! We sed it for our "No" Vacancy" stone where the vacancy has lights in the letters

I'm sorry, I still havn't figured out how to post pics on this site, but if you PM me, I can send you an email with the pic of mine

me:>ow 



goolie said:


> How would you fix them to stand on thier own, say on a hard floor, I'm volunteering for the local haunted house this year and it will be inside an empty retail space and I am not sure what the best way to make my tombstones stand up without having alot of obvious hardware stuck to the back.


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## Tom Keller (Jun 17, 2004)

I use rebar (1 foot lengths) and drill into the bottom of the foam tombstones (carefully) so as not to pop out the further in. Keep the drill bit level and voila! Many years of immovable stones. Last year, tho, the wind snapped the tombstones in half


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## Bluzman23 (Sep 6, 2005)

*Another Idea*

Hi all,
For my stones I use what is called Pencil Rod. It is galvanized rod about 1/4" in outside diameter. I usually grind it to a point with a bench grinder on one side. This makes it easy to push into the ground or if you need to you can hammer it on the flat end then I just push the stones onto the rods letting them puncture the foam about 8 to 10 inches into the stone. Using 2 per sone they stay up pretty well even in heavy winds, although I had a few let loose on me last year. This rod is available at home depot I believe. I am in construction so I can aquire it from the job site usually. It's usuall purpose is to support suspened celings in buildings.


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## ironmaiden (Aug 5, 2003)

Here' s a picture of our tombstones. They are mounted on wooden bases that are painted with Fleckstone to look like stone. My husband then drilled holes in the bases and we use rebar to hold them in the ground. The stones are mounted onto the bases with wooden dowles and wood glue.

ironmaiden


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## MoochJWL (Oct 21, 2003)

I did the pvc in the tombstone but my tombstones are made from a two inch thick piece glued to a one inch piece so I only had to take some out of the 2 inch thick part. I have used them for 4 years and they still look like the day I made them.


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## MoochJWL (Oct 21, 2003)

I should add that I used the blue foam.


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## scarefx (Jul 25, 2004)

goolie said:


> How would you fix them to stand on their own, say on a hard floor, I'm volunteering for the local haunted house this year and it will be inside an empty retail space and I am not sure what the best way to make my tombstones stand up without having a lot of obvious hardware stuck to the back.


Like Polycat, I try to add a base around the bottom of my stones. And like ironmaiden, I add a piece of wood as a base using construction adhesive. This allows the stone to stand on it's own inside or be secured with spikes when outside.

I followed the method outlined on the Moonlit Project http://www.horrorseek.com/halloween/juggernaut/stnd15.html and added a piece of wood slightly narrower than the foam and a few inches wider. That wood is painted flat black and a hole is pre-drilled on each side. To secure the stone outside, I drive 12" spikes (purchased in the nails section at Lowes) through the holes. Then I cover the wood with some leaves or grass. You could use craft moss to hide it if you are inside.


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## john (Aug 9, 2004)

Jon said:


> Hey john, do you have any pics of how you did those?? I think i may try that idea this year. The day before halloween, We had crazy winds and it knocked down almost every tombstone i had because the dowel rods i used all snapped. I had to go to home depot and replace all those dowel rods. I was sooo mad. Thanks.


Jon - No pics handy, but basically what I do is I use 2 inch thick foam board for the tombstones. I use a 7/8 " drill bit and drill one or two holes up from the bottom about 6-8 inches deep. Then I cut 1/2 inch pvc into 1 foot pieces and pound them into the ground, then slip the tombstone over it. Good Luck, John.


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## Trinidee (Sep 28, 2004)

In the past we have pounded rebar into the ground then used zipties to zip tie the tombstone to the rebar.We used zip ties the color of my tombstone.You never even notice them at all.

It worked well the past 2 years.
Not sure what are plan is this year but I see there are some great ideas.


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