Temporary Outdoor Sculpture Installation

Upward Spiral

Normally I recommend to clients that they bolt their outdoor sculpture to a 4-6″ thick concrete pad with four to eight bolts, depending on the size of the sculpture. The major concerns are high winds and theft. (During the period when the US was selling all its scrap steel to China, one local sculptor had three of his steel sculptures stolen from outside his studio. What a heart breaker. They probably went straight to the scrap yard and then to China.)

Some times, however, I want a temporary installation for an outdoor sculpture, such as in front of our gallery. Then, I can change my mind and move sculptures from place to place or when it’s time to deliver a sculpture, I don’t have to cut the bolts, etc. When done properly, I have had a temporary installation last as long as 7 years (but then we sold the sculpture and the experiment ended). We can get big winds in South West Michigan: 50-60 mph gusts are common, especially in April.

First Attempt – trying a minimalistic approach with this outdoor sculpture. What is the least I have to do? This setup took about two hours, including cutting the wood, rounding up supplies, etc.

: Make a frame from pressurized wood that extends a half-width on each side past the sculpture base

: Predrill the holes for the lag nuts. The concept is that you can work underneath the sculpture, then assemble the frame.

: Use doggie augers to secure to the ground. These are usually found in the Pet or RV/camping section at your big box store.

: I tig welded two 5/8″ nuts together, then welded a washer to one side. These will go between the bolt and the doggie auger.

: Gorilla glue is a good thread-locker to secure the nut to the bolt. The wind creates a constant vibration which can unscrew the nut.

: Tried the wires first – couldn’t get them tight enough without breaking the wires. They would have rusted away in a year anyway.

: C Clamps – that’s the way to go. Now why did I think it was enough to only do opposite corners? I should have done all 4 corners.

: Sculpture up, and secured, side of frame screwed in tight. This lasted a year until we got 50-60 mph gusts in April 2013.

But it only lasted a year.

Second Try for an easy Outdoor Sculpture Installation

This procedure was actually easier. I didn’t have to lie on my side to secure the bolt to the doggie auger. The lag bolts are in tight.

: The c-clamp and gorilla glue held. the auger pulled out

: Another view. The sculpture wasn’t damaged at all.

: Four 4″ x 4″ blocks of pressurized wood are cut – one to go in each corner.

: One of the 4″ x 4″ blocks secured in place. For a long-term installation, you would want to use all stainless steel hardware.

: The doggie-auger is now secured in place with the metal strap

: Spax Lag Bolt 1/2″ x 5″ screws into wood block

: Upward Spiral

What about if the base of the outdoor sculpture is round? You can make a square frame or an octagonal frame. Either way, just make sure there is enough wood to bolt the sculpture to, beneath the mounting holes in the base, and the mounting wood is secured to the frame and secured to the doggie augers.

What about if the mounting system is hidden and there are no holes in the base to secure lag bolts to the pressurized wood? Then you will have to do the trick of lying on your side and removing one side of the frame to work beneath the sculpture. You can screws bolts or eye-bolts into the nuts welded to the bottom of the base, then secure those to the doggie augers. Alternately, you can run thread rod through the eye-bolts and secure that to the outside of the frame.