How to Make Statuary Columns

Statuary makes an attractive addition to your garden or lawn, working equally well in a flower bed or along your driveway. Display small statues to greater advantage by placing them atop a brick column, bringing them to a height close to eye level. Such a setting works particularly well at the entrance to your home or on either side of a garden gate. You can build such a support column yourself, laying bricks and pouring concrete to create a solid base for your statue.

Shovel
Concrete
L-shaped steel rod
Bricks
Mortar
Stone slab
Statue

Instructions

- 1
  Dig a hole for the foundation of the column, making it 3 feet deep and 8 inches wider than the base of the statue.
- 2
  Mix concrete according to the manufacturer's instructions and pour it into the hole until halfway full. Insert an L-shaped steel pipe into the concrete, with the vertical portion pointing straight up and the horizontal section fully submerged. This will provide added stability for your column.
- 3
  Mix mortar and begin to lay bricks to form the outline of the column. Coat the top, bottom and narrow sides of each brick with mortar before setting it in place, scraping away excess mortar that oozes out between the cracks. Continue laying bricks until you reach the surface, forming a square shell around the hollow center of the column.
- 4
  Fill the pillar with concrete and wait 24 hours for it to harden. Build the column another foot taller with bricks, fill it with concrete and repeat until it reaches the desired height.
- 5
  Coat the upper surface of the column with mortar and set a stone slab atop it. Coat the bottom of the statue with mortar and set it on the slab.
- 6
  Fill in the remainder of the foundation with concrete until it comes within 5 inches of the surface. Top it off with sod.

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