Decorative stucco block
in Washington, DC

How we made a decorative block for a chimney.

burner from an old gas stove white portland cement and sand mix
This is a burner from an old gas stove, scrounged from a trash pile. You know what they say about about one man's trash. I made a box with plywood and 1-1/2" furring lumber. I poured in my my white portland cement and sand mix and rodded it off flush.
black sand beat my burner into the mix
This black sand is called "black beauty". It is a slag product. I mixed in some in because I thought it looks cool. After my block set up for a couple of hours I beat my burner into the mix. I tied a stick on so I could pull it back out.
I troweled the block and neatened it up Scaffold cam shows setting the block in place.
Voila. I troweled the block and neatened it up a little. This is upside down. I turned the "feet" of my design down to create the illusion of supporting weight. Scaffold cam shows setting the block in place. We drilled a hole in the back, drove a nail in the chimney, and hung it like a picture. We put a portland cement and sand mix using pure flex con instead of water in the mortar behind and stuck it on the chimney. Left over mortar is packed around the sides for more support.