How to Mount a Stakeable Kit to Your Skeewbacker

How exciting! You have purchased a Skeewbacker shape and will be using the Stakeable Kit to display your shape into your garden. You'll be really pleased when you see the finished mosaic in its proper place!

But before you mosaic your shape, please follow these steps to ensure you install your stakeable kit correctly.

1) Decide which side of your shape is the front.

2) Take each tee nut and position over the holes and press very firmly down so that the tee nut is flush with the surface of your backer. You may need to use a hammer or mallet and gently tap it down. It's important to get it flush to the surface as you will glue your mosaic tiles over them.

3) Now you can go ahead and mosaic the shape.

4) After you have finished with the mosaic and it is all grouted, you may want to use a penetrating grout sealer to help keep the grout clean.

5) Also, consider using an acrylic paint to paint the edges and the back. (Important:  Do Not use any paints or glues that have solvents or "ethyls" in them as these will warp the boards due to the polyurethane foam center.)

Painting the edges and back looks really nice and gives it a finished look. It may take a few coats of paint as the membrane tends to soak up the paint. Be careful not to fill up the holes on the back with paint as your screws will need to go through.

6) When everything is dry, now is the time to attach your shape to the stake.

7) Turn over the shape - mosaic side face down - and position the stake so that the holes on the stake line up with the holes on the shape.

8) Take your screws and put them through the stake and with a screw driver, tighten them down. They should easily go through the stake and screw into the tee nuts which you installed on the opposite side. If you find there is some resistance to the screw going through, look to see if the membrane may be blocking the hole and if so, using a sharp pick you can move aside any interfering material. Now try again.

9) Time to you put your finished mosaic out into your garden. Make a hole in the pot or ground and gently press the stake into the ground far enough so it doesn't lean over, as the mosaic adds weight at the top.

That's it! Enjoy your new art, and now it's time to make some for your friends and family!