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Hollow Rocks 101 - Types Of Hollow Rocks

When a lot of folks think about hollow rocks they picture either a hollow shell used to hide objects in the garden or yard or the type that is put on as siding on a residential or commercial building. The main focus here right now is towards the hollow cover types used to enclose septic cap lids, well pumps, vents, utility boxes, phone pedestals, cable television boxes, and in some occasions even annoying family members!  We'll be focusing on the cultured rock types of siding sometime in the future, for now our goal is to look into hollow rocks and how to separate the good ones from the not so good ones.

Materials Used To Make Hollow Rocks

Septic lids, wells, utility and cable boxes, vents and other objects always manage to look big, out of place and ugly in the yard or garden. Not only are these things big and bulky but oftentimes they are brightly colored and really stand out from the natural surroundings.  If you consider the total amount of money, time and effort that people spend landscaping their property and making their yards and gardens look natural, well groomed, and pleasing to look at it's no wonder many seek a solution for covering these objects.  A realistic and durable rock cover can be a wonderful way of disguising these unattractive objects and making them to blend into the natural surroundings. In most cases they even enhance the quality of the landscape and can even increase property value as a whole. However, achieving a natural rock color and texture is not an easy manufacturing feat.  Manufacturers of hollow rocks use a couple of different methods including:

Hollow Rocks Made of Fiberglass

The majority of fiberglass hollow rocks are rather heavy. Fiberglass is very smooth and texture-less by nature and for this reason it is difficult to achieve a decent texture without having to use a lot of paint, and relying on paint is not a very good thing as it  can flake and delaminate easily especially when weedwacking and lawnmowing is done nearby.  Fiberglass is also quite prone to cracking and breaking if it is kicked, smacked, or clipped with the deck of a lawn mower.  Damaged parts can be fixed but it is a tedious process and once repaired it is hard to match the textures and colors with those that exist on the rest of the surface. Fiberglass is not as common as of late because better raw materials can now be used to make more realistic and durable hollow rocks.

Make It With Concrete

Hollow rocks made of concrete can appear very real if textured properly. The main concern with here is the overall weight and the fact that concrete tends to crack, chip, and flake. It's also difficult to get the colors convincingly rock like because of differing dry times. Concrete modified with polymers in addition to a stucco type nylon mesh tape can be used to help prevent the concrete from chipping and flaking. Polymer is usually added to the mix either as a liquid type additive or as solids mixed into the powder at the concrete mixing facility.  The combo of mesh with the polymer modified concrete adds a decent amount of crack resistance and overall strength and durability to but it is very messy and labor intensive.  It involves coating the entire surface first, then embedding mesh into the unset concrete and following up with additional coats of concrete mix with the last and final one referred to as the "texture coating."  At times self-adhering sticky mesh is used to make the whole process less labor intensive. Powdered concrete tints can be used to provide color, but painting is oftentimes still a requirement in order to get a decent and convincing appearance.  And getting the concrete to appear realistically textured can be real challenge.  Using a hawk and trowel is not very easy unless one is trained as a mason or certified stucco applicator.  Because of this, most folks making concrete versions end up using drywall blades or putty knives to smudge the concrete on and around.  Care must always be taken not to apply the mix overly thick all in one pass.  This will most certainly cause the concrete to crack as moisture in the mix does not evaporate before the concrete forms a film.  One positive aspect of concrete is that paint sticks very well to it if it is primed beforehand.  In fact adding bits of color and texture with sprayed paint can be fairly easy to do. When it's all said and done, making concrete hollow rocks that look decent can be a real challenge and is always very messy and time consuming.

Moulded With Plastic Polymer

Thinking of hollow rocks made of plastic may make you picture low quality, flimsy,  and pathetic appearing slabs of  hollow cheesiness, But the truth is that recent advances in plastic manufacturing techniques have helped manufacturers achieve some incredibly realistic and true-to-life results. By adding actual organic materials to the plastic manufacturers can combine color, texture and U.V. Inhibitors into the plastic molded walls. Plastic is rapidly becoming the most used manufacturing material. Which material is best for you? It really depends on what the rock is going to be used for. If it's totally decorative and you don't figure you'll be moving it from spot to spot in your yard, then concrete coulod possibly be the direction you want to go in. Concrete rocks can look awesome if correctly made and tinted. Cast stone used to side residential and commercial buildings is a great example of rock made with concrete. Locating hollow concrete ones may be a real challenge though. Most concrete versions are solid cast and not really designed to cover objects in a yard or garden
like hollow rocks are.

If your looking to cover or hide an object in your yard or garden than hollow rocks made of plastic can't be beat if they are of high quality. Plastic rocks are light and can be carried and moved around easily. This can be a negative in windy areas, though. Many plastic rocks have been seen tumbling about the neighborhood pushed along by a steady gust of wind. And most folks don't put their name and phone numbers on their rocks...so once it's blown away it's gone!  Luckily many higher end models are equipped with durable yard stakes allowing a person to simply fasten the edges to the earth. Another positive regarding the plastic based materials used by quality manufacturers is U.V. Resistance. High end varieties are created with U.V. resistant plastics actually molded throughout the walls. This is perfect because it creates a super effective barrier against fading in the sun. Place anything outside in the sun for months on end and U.V. rays are going to just pummel it and do their best to break down the chemical bonds holding the object together. Plastic products are not any different but they are better at enduring U.V. rays than many other materials if they are loaded with U.V. inhibitors.  Adding high quality U.V. inhibitors is expensive for manufacturers.   So cheaper rocks will always have less U.V. protection than the better made pricier models. The better the overall U.V. Protection, the less the textures and colors will fade over time. Good U.V. Inhibitors also help hollow rocks to remain durable and flexible by preventing the polymers from breaking down and becoming brittle, especially when it is colder outside.

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We always tell people who are shopping for hollow rocks “When in doubt, go with plastic!” It's tough to go wrong with a plastic rock for ease of use and durability. And depending on the brand, many models can appear incredibly realistic. Some of the plastic varietys afre even “Green” because they are manufactured with recycled plastics: One day a bottle of Pepsi, the next a beautiful rock hiding an ugly well pump! Since plastic varietys from the same manufacturer and of the same model are identical you can stack or nest them on top of each other for simple and fast storage . This can be a major selling point if you plan to bring them indoors when old man winter hits . Make a fast and easy stack in the garage or shed or outside under a tarp and be done with it.  Remember this if you intend to order multiple units.  Many times you can save money on shipping costs by asking the vendor if the rocks can be stacked and sent in one box.  This might mean big shipping discounts in some cases.  Never be afraid to ask before ordering  in quantities greater than one. So to wrap things up,  plastic appears to be the top dog when it's all said and done. It's lightweight and durable and can be manufactured highly U.V. Resistant and “Green.” if made with recycled polymers. Now you can saunter out and purchase the cheapest plastic rocks you can locate, toss them over the well pump and septic tank on your property and be a happy camper knowing your newly purchased hollow rocks are going to last a lifetime, right? Well, not so much. That would be WAY TOO EASY! First lets peek at the different varieties of plastic models. They may all appear similar at first glance and especially from afar, but there are some major differences in the manufacturing processes that make these hollow rocks vastly different from each other, and you want to make sure you get the best possible product for your hard earned cash!

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