Caring for your Garden Gothic Sculpture

Congratulations on your adoption of one of our beasties.

Now how to take care of it?

First off, your Garden Gothic sculpture has been lovingly and professionally made from a really tough type of concrete (hydraulic cement to be precise) that will withstand all weathers outdoors, from the baking humidity of the southern most reaches of Florida in August to the frozen tundra of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in January and all points in between (honestly, we have happy return customers from all climates and regions).

Your piece has been coated with a concrete sealant (see pic), which will repel moisture and protect the concrete and the coloration. When you notice (after a few years) that water is sinking in rather than beading on the surface of the piece, it is time to apply another coat of concrete sealant (see pic). Any home improvement store will carry this in the paint department, we use the Behr brand from Home Depot. Be sure to choose the Natural finish!

Simply pour some into a small cup (or recycled yogurt pot) and slosh it on with a small paint brush. (Obviously just one coat, as a second coat would just bead on the piece.) Repeat in a few more years.

Other than that, the only thing that concrete does not like is salt, so if you happen to live in a region where the roads and steps and pathways freeze over with ice, remember to move your beasties away from the immediate area if you are using salt to de-ice.