# Tombstones: How do I keep them from blowing away?



## DeadTed (Aug 12, 2007)

Here's what I did. First I tried the cheap wire method - didn't work - especially when a couple of those tropical storms came through.

I took some 1/4" or 1/2" PVC pipe - depending on the prop -- if I had a tombstone already built, then I carved out a semi-circle in the back of the tombstone the shape and length of the PVC pipe - it ran about half way up the stone and I used two per tombstone. If I were making a large tombstone were I was sandwiching two pieces of foam together (for my bigger tb's), then I'd carve semi-circles in both pieces of foam to form a nice mold for the pipe to fit in.

Oh, and these were all foam tombstones.

I took some handy dandy liquid nails and secured the PVC pipe in the crevace I'd made. Don't let the pipe stick out below the bottom of the tb. After it dried, I painted it the same color.

Now, some people use rebar (metal poles used in construction), but I find that hard to cut to length and hard to come by (which I'm sure it's not if I looked hard), but it's also much sturdier and reliable than the wooden dowel rods I use. I just use dowel rods because I can get them in the exact size of the PVC pipe and cut them however tall or short I want (some tombstone require longer length PVC than others).

Just hammer the dowel into the ground at the exact spacing of the PVC pipe and slide your tombstones over them. I did this for the first time last year and it was awesome. No worries about them blowing away. You can even place the dowels at an angle for the creepy 'un-neat' look.

That's my method and I'm stickin to it.


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## LukeSkiewalker (Sep 21, 2007)

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I have all store bought tombstones. For the price they were actually cheaper than I could have made them for the time and money of doing the foam ones (construction materials typically seem to be more around here since I live smack dab in the center of the US in Kansas City). However, I do like the idea of using PVC in addition to using the dowels. Thanks for your help.

I have also seen were folks attach the tombstones to plywood as well, but unfortunately that still won't be good on the grass...


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## CraigInPA (Sep 11, 2007)

I went to Lowes, wood department, and bought a bundle of 25 2" wide x 24" long construction stakes for about $7. Next stop was in the adhesive department. Bought a bottle of gorilla glue. Lay out the stakes, spray with hose, shake off excess water. Lightly mist the back of the foam tombstones with water (or, hose them off and shake off the excess water). Glue a stake on the back of tombstones, leaving about 7" coming off the bottom to put into the ground. This has worked pretty well for me, as long as I remember to leave at least half an inch of the stake out of the ground (grass hides that last little bit). Should you forget, you'll have to dig them out of the ground. I didn't bother to paint the stakes, because no one can see the back of my graveyard. You may wish to paint yours before glueing them on...


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## mseidemann (Jul 24, 2007)

I did exactly what Craig did. This worked for wood tombstones too only instead of gluing simply screw them on. If you don't want to use the glu on foam===can make tie wraps work too....


Of course the easiest method is to bury a body beneath each tombstone. Attach the hands with clamps around the tombstone until rigor mortis sets in. It will look cool and everyone will be amazed trying to figure out how the "fake" bodies look so real.


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## skullboy (Sep 5, 2006)

I use chunks of electrical conduit beat into the ground.Holds good so far.


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## headlesshorseman (Jun 29, 2004)

I do like Skullboy, 1/2" pipe about 8" long...stick half in the ground and half in your tombstone...won't blow away.


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## Hacknslash (Aug 23, 2005)

I used liquid nails to glue small 1/2 inch pvc pipe to the back of them. Paint black, grey or fleckstone (whatever your stone is) and then just slip it over a piece of rebar. Nothing blows those things over or away!


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## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

I use pieces of rebar. I pound them into the ground and then impale my foam tombstones onto them. Works like a charm!


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## DeadTed (Aug 12, 2007)

I don't like to put the rebar, dowel, or anything really, through the bottom of the tombstone. It's hard enough to get a 1/2" dowel pushed through a 1" wide tombstone at 2ft of length. I like the PVC pipe attached to the back then slipped over the dowel because often times hurricanes make their way over here and that's a SUPER easy way to just pick them up and take them inside - leave the dowels in the ground and just slip the tombstone back on.


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## Haunted Host (Aug 25, 2007)

My solution is really sturdy and easy too. I drill two holes about 10 to 12 inches into the bottom of the tombstone. Most of the tombstones I buy are about 1-1/2" thick or thicker, but I have a few that are 1" thick. If you have 1" tombstones, aim the drill a little towards the back of the tombstone rather than the front in case you puncture the outside face of the tombstone. I've been lucky never to puncture the outside.

I insert a cut-to-size piece of the thin-walled 1/2 PVC pipe. I then cut a piece of rebar about twice the length of the hole. Pound the rebar half way into the ground and then push the tombstone over the exposed half of the rebar. The PVC pipe protects the inner styrofoam from the damage the rebar could do while sliding it down. Two stakes will hold that sucker down real good.

An added tip I've learned... pound the rebar stake into the ground at a very slight angle away from the other stake. When you push the tombstone down on it, with a little pressure force the rebar back to where you need it while inserting the rebar in the pre-drilled holes and PVC. Once you slide the tombstone in place, the rebar applies a little pressure to the ends of the tombstone. That slight pressure really keeps the tombstone in place when you have gusts of wind. I've never had to make any adjustments once I get the tombstones in the ground.

Rebar is really inexpensive and available in the electrical supply section of Home Depot or Lowes. If you cut it 1/2 way through with a hack saw, you can bend it and it will break cleanly very easily. With the right blade, it cuts like butter. The thin-walled 1/2" PVC is probably about $2.50 for a 10' piece which isn't too bad. PVC pipe cutters are well worth the investment if you can get it. $10 for the cutters will save you LOADS of time and spare you the mess of sawing the pipe. The cutters are worth their weight in gold... I'm sure anyone who has them will say the exact same thing. I actually smile every time I cut a piece with the cutters because I used to saw it and it was a real pain and extremely messy.

I hope this helps! Follow the link to my party pictures in my signature if you want to see a picture of the tombstones in my graveyard. A few look tilted, but that was done on purpose. The wind does not move these tombstones.


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## dionicia (Nov 5, 2006)

mseidemann said:


> I did exactly what Craig did. This worked for wood tombstones too only instead of gluing simply screw them on. If you don't want to use the glu on foam===can make tie wraps work too....
> 
> 
> Of course the easiest method is to bury a body beneath each tombstone. Attach the hands with clamps around the tombstone until rigor mortis sets in. It will look cool and everyone will be amazed trying to figure out how the "fake" bodies look so real.


LMAO! That's a great idea.


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## kungfubonanza (Jul 17, 2007)

Haunted Host said:


> PVC pipe cutters are well worth the investment if you can get it. $10 for the cutters will save you LOADS of time and spare you the mess of sawing the pipe. The cutters are worth their weight in gold... I'm sure anyone who has them will say the exact same thing.


I'll be the first to agree. It took me like 10 minutes to measure out and cut a dozen pipes to use as a frame for a 7' gravedigger prop. Those cutters pay for themselves after about 3 cuts.


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## wilbret (Oct 8, 2004)

FYI - you can cut rebar with an angle grinder. 

If you have ground like mine, pounding the rebar into the ground can spread out the top. I use the angle grinder again to get rid of that wide area, so it slides in the PVC like a charm.


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## dionicia (Nov 5, 2006)

How many people keep one of those lying around the garage though? My Dad has a lot of stuff in the garage but I haven't found n angle grinder yet. I sure could use some rebar cut though.


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## LukeSkiewalker (Sep 21, 2007)

You guys are all awesome! Thank you so much for the feedback! These are some great ideas and I am tempted to try them all


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## ironmaiden (Aug 5, 2003)

Our tombstones are secured to plywood bases with wooden dowels. The bases are painted the same color as the tombstones with that textured spray paint that looks like stone. Hubby drilled a hole into each side of the base.

We set them on the lawn then pound rebar through the holes. Because we are on a hill we have to put small, thin pieces of plywood under some of the bases to keep them even.

So that no one gets hurt on the rebar we have small grey color plastic caps over the tips. I also painted the ends florescent red. Because our yard is set way back from the road the rebar isnt that noticable. We generally dont have people walking in our display. On Halloween night some parents take their kids up to look at the cemetery but they dont go "inside" 

We have had the same stones now for four years and havent lost any to wind damage. They will "rock" in the wind but have never come up off the grass.

As is inevitable we always seem to have one _really_ bad windstorm during Oct. - usually the remnants of a hurricane or tropical storm. 
If its gonna be that bad I bring the tombstones inside. Its a pain but like I say, nothing lost or damaged in all these years.


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## malibuman (Oct 13, 2005)

On my tombstones, I hot glue pvc pipe on the back, the drive in rebar in the ground and slide the pvc over it. Works out great.


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## Hallow33n (Oct 18, 2006)

I bougt a bicycle flag pole from Walmart ($6) and cut it into 1.5 foot sections (I usd a Dremel tool to do this). Then I drilled 2 holes into the bottom of my tombstones. I then made a wood template with 2 holes in it that matched the width/placement of the holes on my tombstones (suggestion... do one stone first.... then copy the spacing onto the wood... then use the wood to space the other tombstone holes). Once done, place the wood template on the ground where you want your stone to be, and then push the cut bicycle flag pole peices through the wood template. Remove/slide the template up and off the sections of cut flag pole, and then slide the tombstones onto the pole peices.


I used the bicycle flag pole because...

1. it's alot easier to cut than rebar, and it's also much lighter than it (the flag pole is made from reinforced fiberglass)

2. it stays a little bit flexible

3. you don't need to use a hammer to pound them into the ground (pushing them in by hand is more than enough, but please make sure you use some gloves)

4. they are easily removable when everything has to be put away for another year.


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## anonuser (Sep 16, 2007)

Ribar is sold in the lumber aisle of my Lowe's/Home Depot. A 24" piece, 3/8" diameter is around .70, and a hacksaw will cut ribar like butter if you use the blades with the smallest teeth ( I bought the 24" pieces so I really do not need to cut mine). My issues are more with the 1" tombstones and putting a 1/2 piece of pipe or ribar inside without piercing the front, hot gluing the pipe to the back and then putting ribar into the ground and pipes is the ticket.


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## y2kgtp (Aug 25, 2006)

The wife bought me some metal things as shown here, I just need a few more as I bought additional headstones from Walgreen's. Any suggestions on how to attach the headstone to this successfully?


EDIT: Forgot to add, these were from Menard's (midwest home depo type place) and were about 2$ or so...


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## Hallow33n (Oct 18, 2006)

> My issues are more with the 1" tombstones


That's why the bike flag idea should work well for you. They are pretty thin in diameter.


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## phiberphreak (Oct 23, 2006)

I live in Hays Kansas and we've had plenty of experience with wind. We use the same method that Haunted Host suggests and we've never had a problem. We've been doing a yard haunt for 3 years and have some pretty big tombstones. We leave them out for at least a month at a time and have had no causalities. Just make sure you put the pipe down the center of the stone and not on the back of it.


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## LukeSkiewalker (Sep 21, 2007)

Well I glued the PVC to the back of my tombstones:







.

I plan on putting them up this weekend with 24" rebar (about 6"-8" in the ground). I will make sure to come back after Halloween to let everyone know how this faired.


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## skrew2nite (Feb 2, 2006)

Rebar is what I use. It cuts easy with a hacksaw puonds into the ground with a hammer withstands the strongest of winds and all you have to do if you are using the "cheap" styrofoam tombstones push 2 zip ties through it...one through the top and the other at the bottom ...and ziptie around the rebar. Rebar can be bought in I think 8' sections for about $4 at lowes or HD a hacksaw cost just a couple of bucks as well.


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## Embalmer71 (Sep 25, 2007)

3/4" PVC stakes for me. They work great and are cheap as heck ($1.55 for an 8' section). I also use 3/4" PVC to anchor my standup props ( I started a thread on that a couple of days ago). I laugh at the wind.


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## Embalmer71 (Sep 25, 2007)

y2kgtp,

This might sound ghetto, but if your stone is quite a bit larger than the metal frame, I would just use duck tape. Seriously, it works like a charm as long as it doesn't show.


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## NewbieHaunter (Sep 6, 2007)

great ideas here. Last yr was the first yr I used styrofoam t. stones, it didnt go well at all and I ruined several of them. These ideas inspire me to try again. Thanks


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## LukeSkiewalker (Sep 21, 2007)

Embalmer71 said:


> 3/4" PVC stakes for me. They work great and are cheap as heck ($1.55 for an 8' section). I also use 3/4" PVC to anchor my standup props ( I started a thread on that a couple of days ago). I laugh at the wind.


Would you mind posting a picture of the stakes? I am having a hard picturing those. And since I plan on doing standups next-year (I can only afford/have time to time to add so much each year) could you post a link to your thread?


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## Embalmer71 (Sep 25, 2007)

Here's the link for the standup anchors. http://halloweenforum.com/showthread.php?t=64259

Tomorrow I'll take and post some pics of my stones for you. We had a crazy storm tonight, and they didn't budge a bit.


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## Embalmer71 (Sep 25, 2007)

Okay here are some pics of my head stones:























































Pretty simple and effective. This is just the start of my yard haunt. I'll post more pics when I am done. (Last night's storm washed all the color from my mummy's eyesocket, but none of the stones moved at all)


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

I was going to ask what type of glue everyone uses but I see you use duct tape. Is that effective?

MsM


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## Embalmer71 (Sep 25, 2007)

Very effective in my experience. The only thing about duck tape is that you have to be very careful taking it off or you are going to ruin the foam.


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## NewbieHaunter (Sep 6, 2007)

Here's my attempt... I used 1/2 inch PVC and hot glued it to the stone, then hammered 3/8 inch wooden dowel into the ground... slipped the pvc over the dowel. They seem really secure but this is the first day.. wont really know how they hold up until we have some bad weather.


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## Dark Hawke (Sep 22, 2007)

our's are made of foam about 1 inch thick. I drilled a 1/2 in hole using a spade bit, from the very bottom being very carefull not to go through the front or back. I then inserted 1/2 inch PVC pipe in the newly drilled hole. I cut 1 foot lengths of re-bar. Pounded the rebar into the ground and slid the tombstone/pvc over the end of the re-bar. 
I live in the Phoenix area and it can get quite windy. This method works fairly well


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## MsMeeple (Aug 21, 2004)

Newbiehaunter: We've been experimenting with different types of glues on two scrap pieces of styrofoam. When we used the hot glue, it ate through the styrofoam. How did you manage that? I've seen on other sites, that other people have done that as well but it didn't work for us.

MsM


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## NewbieHaunter (Sep 6, 2007)

I dont really know MsMeeple, we just used a cheap $5 mini glue gun and it worked perfectly... possibly you have a higher heat glue gun that melted the styrofoam?


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## CraigInPA (Sep 11, 2007)

MsMeeple said:


> Newbiehaunter: We've been experimenting with different types of glues on two scrap pieces of styrofoam. When we used the hot glue, it ate through the styrofoam. How did you manage that? I've seen on other sites, that other people have done that as well but it didn't work for us.
> 
> MsM


I use Gorilla Glue to glue my wooden stakes to the foam. The foam breaks before the bond fails. Super stuff. You can almost glue anything together with it. It does expand as it hardens, so you need to weight it for about an hour. I just stacked the tombstones on top of each other (front to front, back to back) and put a dictionary on the top of the pile.

Craig


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## Halloweenatic (Oct 1, 2007)

boo who? said:


> I use pieces of rebar. I pound them into the ground and then impale my foam tombstones onto them. Works like a charm!


That sounds like an good idea too.


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## wilbret (Oct 8, 2004)

If you have a reciprocating saw or jigsaw, you can cut it with a metal cutting blade, too.

I just find the angle grinder does it so much quicker. Of course, if you have a blow torch... hehe


One word of warning about impaling your foam stone on rebar.... you will likely punch right thru the front. Drilling a hole first would be a good choice. Or, just be very careful to angle toward the back. This is why i starting embedding pvc inside the stone.


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## LukeSkiewalker (Sep 21, 2007)

I know this topic is old, but I figured since I started it I can dig it back up  I used the PVC attached to the tombstones with hot glue method last year with mixed results (rebar was also used for extra support). From my experience it seemed like I had a 50% failure rate of the glue adherring to the tombstones. I will be putting my tombstones up again soon (putting my fence up later today). Just wondering if anyone has tried any other glue (other than hot glue) to adhere the PVC to the tombstones?


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## FATMANJOE (Jan 24, 2007)

I use Loctite Power Grab foamboard cost about $3 a tube. I use 2"x3"x12" wood on the back of the tombstone and leave a space of 2" from the bottom of the stone. I cut another piece about 12" to screw two the bottom to form an L shape and place a brick,rock or weight on it. It's just nice to move things around


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## feedmelies (Oct 13, 2007)

LukeSkiewalker said:


> I know this topic is old, but I figured since I started it I can dig it back up  I used the PVC attached to the tombstones with hot glue method last year with mixed results (rebar was also used for extra support). From my experience it seemed like I had a 50% failure rate of the glue adherring to the tombstones. I will be putting my tombstones up again soon (putting my fence up later today). Just wondering if anyone has tried any other glue (other than hot glue) to adhere the PVC to the tombstones?


Try silocone. I use it before I paint my tombstones, so I don't know how it will adhere to the painted surface. You might have to scrape the surface of your tombstones a little. But it works really well for me.


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## azdude (Aug 6, 2008)

We use the method that Dark Hawke mentions below - you can buy a 12" long spade bit from Home Depot and drill the hole into the bottom of the stone and then coat a piece of PVC with construction adhesive (the stuff for foam panels) and shove it into the the hole. Then get some pieces of rebar from Home depot (they are about $1 a piece) and pound them into the ground. Also, we have had at least one of our tombstones stolen every year but last year when I went to the trouble of driving a screw in the PVC pipe from the back that essentially jammed itself into the rebar and prevented the stone from being lifted off the rebar - and guess what?? No stolen tombstones last year!


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## LadyRohan (Oct 20, 2010)

I'm "resurrecting" this thread. I have store bought foam tombstones. The ground here is VERY hard red clay. What I have done in the past is put rebar in the ground and try to duct tape the back of the tombstone to it. The tape never sticks. I tried even roughing it op in case it was the paint. Anyhoo.. I wanted to try the pvc over the rebar method. How thin can I get PVC? I'm not sure how think my stones are or if they are thick enough to put pvc in them. What about gluing pvc to the backs? What would I use to glue them?


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

Glue the pvc to the backs. I do this with both my homemade and store bought stones. I have used both Gorilla Glue and hot glue with equal results. When using hot glue, apply the glue to the pipe first and then press onto the back of the stone. That way, it cools slightly and won't melt all the way through the stone. Gorilla Glue is good too but it takes longer to set up plus it expands so it has to be weighted down while it sets.


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## y2kgtp (Aug 25, 2006)

Hot glue works good. I just did some earlier today for a few buck smaller headstones I picked up.


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## Bryan316 (Oct 18, 2009)

The Loctite PL 300 foamboard adhesive is the most secure stuff I've used with foam. Tried every other method; hot glue usually too hot and distorts the foam, epoxy is time consuming, Liquid Nails dissolves foam, white glue wood glue and Gorilla glue not really that strong. But I can gunk on the foamboard glue and it STAYS.

The spade bit and PVC insert idea is good. Either bore the hole down the center, or carve a notch in the back wall, and completely gunk up the notch and pipe until it is trapped with the PL 300. Once that stuff cures, it's there for good.

The only problem with the spade drill method, is if you drill crooked, and that bit comes out the front, you're screwed. So try the notched method. Just take a good razor blade, cut a V in the back wall deep and wide enough that the PVC pipe can rest into it, then blob it up good at the top and bottom with PL 300.

Kinda like this:











Also, if you want a hell-strong bond with the foam, wrap rough grit sandpaper (36 grit works perfectly) around a dowel rod or around a section of the PVC pipe, and scuff up that notch so it has plenty of texture for the PL 300 to hold onto.


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## LukeSkiewalker (Sep 21, 2007)

OP here. I know I previously said I had a 50% failure rate with hot glue. It turns out the reason it wasn't adhering for more than a year was the paint on the tombstone. As of last Halloween (I'm not doing my display this year -in fact I just now got my garage organized from last year) I am down to 0 failures because the paint has worn on in the spots where the pvc is attached. That said, If they fail again I will be going with foamboard adhesive. The hot glue, PVC, rebar method does work, you will probably just have to do some over next season though.


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## LadyRohan (Oct 20, 2010)

Bryan316 said:


> The Loctite PL 300 foamboard adhesive is the most secure stuff I've used with foam.


Awesome. I'll try that. Can I get it at a hardware store or do I need to get it from a craft store?


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## Bryan316 (Oct 18, 2009)

Lowe's carries the PL 300. I know there's a version made by Liquid Nails for foam board as well, but it never seems to be in stock anywhere. Tried the Loctite PL 300, and haven't looked back.


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## Papa_K (Oct 15, 2008)

My two cents. The store bought tomestones are great however they are also thin and can blow away and get torn up really easy. What I did was to get some of the foam borad (in my area it's the 3/4" type) and lay my store bought Tombstone on top and draw it out the cut into it. Do this twice which means you will have three layers. The original Store Bought TomeStone (SBT) and two additional layers of foam. Using one piece you intent to use for the center part cut out one or two separate rails or parts that you can fit 1/2 PVC. Get some Great Stuff to glue them all together. You may need to use a little more Great Stuff and filler to fill in the cracks. Now you can get one or two pieces of rebar, hammer them into the ground and place your new SBT with PVC right onto the rebar support, they will withstand a good wind but there is no guarantee they will survive an F5.


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## buggynutt (Jul 6, 2011)

OK a quick fast way. I dont like waiting for glue..lol I pound a 1"x2"x12" stake cut to a point into the ground and screw a couple screws through them into the stake. It fast and you just take the screws out and makes them easier to store in the off season..just my 2cents. use black screws and you dont need to paint them and for foam I put a painted washer on them so the dont rip though. 

I have glued my stones to thin plywood also, just like the foam idea..


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## LadyRohan (Oct 20, 2010)

Thanx Bryan. That will be my weekend project.


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## Bryan316 (Oct 18, 2009)

Papa K, love the sectioned interior foam idea. Lets you drop the PVC pipes in there and guarantee they're centered AND straight. Aside from adding mass and heft to keep them down, any other benefits to having two guide pipes? I can expect it keeps them from twisting around as well.


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## Miss Phantom (Jul 13, 2010)

my 2 cents...I was surprised to find that spray adhesive works really well to glue foam boards together with the pvc in between the boards


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## LadyRohan (Oct 20, 2010)

Bryan... Just wanted to say a big THANX for the tips. It works like a charm and I gullied out the foam a bit fitted to the pvc. They been through wind and rain already and have held up great! I got my neighbors doing it to their tombstones too!


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## y2kgtp (Aug 25, 2006)

I was lazy and just hot-glued wood stakes to the back of headstones, and pounded them into the ground. My 2yr old has not been able to dislodge them yet.


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## LadyRohan (Oct 20, 2010)

Wish wood stakes could get pounded in the dirt here. We have that hard red clay here in Georgia. The wood would just break.


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## jollygorilla (Oct 10, 2011)

This is a constant fight. Lately i have been taking pencils and sharpeinig both ends with a pencil sharpener and making a series of spikes stuck in the bottom like a row of fangs then i shove it into the ground.


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## mspears (Apr 29, 2011)

On mine, I made a wood base and made a frame with 1x2's or 2x4's to go around the bottom edge of the tombstone. I put screws through the backside that went through the tombstone and into the front wood frames, screwed the sides to the front and back, basically creating a slot for the tombstone to fit in and was secure. I then screwed the framework to the wood base. Making sure everyone was bottom heavy was key. On a few of them, I drilled a hole through the base and used gutter nails to push down through it into the ground. Haven't had any blow away this year and we've had some hellacious winds!


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## Sauron the Great (Nov 3, 2009)

GREAT ideas here, last year I used fishing wire tied to 1/4" PVC pipe, while it worked the wire torn into the foam stones....

This year I took 1" PVC pipe and cut them a little smaller then the stone, and used some of the yellow insulation foam to glue it to the stones then used 1'4" PVC pipes as anchors, hammered the 1/4" into the ground and simply slide the glued pipe into the anchored one. IT has worked like a charm as we had 40MH winds last week and NOTHING was lost!..........

THANKS For the great ideas here, I just did not want to use rebar as I thought to use the smaller PVC pipe into the larger PVC pipe was a easier idea and is VERY easy to cut................


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## James B. (Oct 8, 2009)

I used Terra's method of cutting out two thicknesses for one tombstone and cutting a channel for PVC pipes; glue them together, insert rebar into the ground, slide the pipe in the tombstone over the rebar. We are having a windy day and my tombstones have not moved this year so fat; last year they would have been knocked over already.


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## Bryan316 (Oct 18, 2009)

And making fatter thicker tombstones looks more realistic as well. The Double-layer method is nice.


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## halloweenlurker (Nov 3, 2010)

Ok i may have already said this in this thread its hard to keep up, but for the smaller tombstones i used skewers either wooden or metal, most of the time i used the wooden because they are cheaper, they just withstood 24MPH winds here this weekend and they are still standing. Actually my big one from Walgreens is still standing too. 

I just push the skewer in about half way or as far as i can into the tombstone, push it to the ground to get the skewers to mark where they need to be and then i pull the Stone off the skewer shove them in the ground and then put the stone back on it. Worked for me the past 2 years 

They waved back and forth in the wind this weekend but they were still there the next morning  

Had to tie my arch down though and i had rebar at the base of it doesnt mother nature know how much work we put into this stuff? SHEESH lol


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