Construction Project, Feedback needed!!! (NBR)

[Beka27]

 Okay… so I somehow got roped into making white, “fake stone” pillars/columns for my brother-in-law’s wedding.  I actually blame this site… when we were talking about it, I said, “Oh you could probably use concrete tubes like for bunnies…” and my mother-in-law said, “Great!  That’s your job then!”  

So I was wondering if anyone has ever attempted doing this before and has some guidance on what to use for the project.  I’ve tried googling some stuff briefly, but I quickly got lost…  I don’t really have easy access to power tools, and this isn’t anything I would be able to store long-term, so it needs to be cheap.

It’s a back-yard wedding, I know there are places you can rent these things but as I said, we’re working on the cheap.

[Sarita]

I think styrofoam is usually what they make them out of. See if you can rent them from a florist or a rental place.

[Molzy]

What about paper mache? You could use the cardboard tubes to make the columns, and then styrofoam for the fancy stuff, and then cover it all with paper mache and then paint it – spray paint would be easy.

[Stickerbunny]

http://www.ehow.com/how_5209258_make-paper-mache-roman-columns.html

http://www.dcccrafts.com/shop/28-4019-P421.aspx

[Beka27]

Thanks for the ideas and links. I looked at renting them, and that could work… but I think that might be more expensive than just making them.

This is what I was thinking… concrete tubes (I think my mom in law wants 4 foot and 6 foot, 2 of each), covered with some kind of corrugated cardboard sheets for the “lines”, Styrofoam squares on the top and bottom… and maybe some kind of thick cords on the top and bottom for decoration. Spray the whole thing with white or light gray paint. Does that sound about right?

[Stickerbunny]

Use white and grey for the details – you can add the column details in grey, giving it a sculpted appearance. If you look at the second link, those details are simply done with black paint to give it the shadow. Though, that takes a bit of practice so I would probably practice on a sheet of paper first.

[Sarita]

That does sound good Beka! I just wonder what the cost is to rent vs. the cost to make (including your time). I have absolutely no idea. I think too you are going to have to make sure that they are anchored somehow if they are lightweight.

[Beka27]

Lol… Well, I was actually thinking of anchoring the bottom with bagged woodstove pellets. I’ve got (quite literally) a metric ton in my house!

I’m not worried about my time, I don’t have much of anything going on, and I do think I would enjoy making them… I like creative stuff like that.

[Author]

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