Is it ok to fill a ceramic gnome wtih cement to strengthen it? Could the cement expand and crack it?
>>915460
I'm not sure whether it'd crack or not, but if you want to be sure you might wanna try urethane foam instead.
If you want to strengthen it without cracking why not apply cement to the outside?
>>915472
You're kidding right? PU foam can break door frame out of wall if applied too generously.
Cement should be fine. It would contract if anything. Use more sand, to make the bulk of "passive". Still, without reinforcements (steel armature and sharp, hard rocks) it's quite fragile anyways. Maybe there are better options?
I'd look into just coating the inside of it with something more rigid.
>>915460
The question actually is why one would want to make it more durable? A garden gnome is evil!
That's not a gnome, that's a hippy he's just killed. He's killed a hippy, everybody!
Fibreglass.
Or, a mixture of car body filler and resin. That shit's hard hell, and isn't grainy like concrete.
Cement isn't expansive under hydration, but it could cause shrinkage cracks. Adding aggregates (use a concrete mix) would reduce the sbrinkage.
>>915460
filling won't strengthen it. You'll just get the ceramic chiped off and be left with a gnome that has parts missing with concrete sticking out of it.
>>915460
If you think about filling a garden gnome with concrete and welding it with steel bars to the floor to make fun of people who like to kick garden gnomes just keep in mind that they can sue you.
>>915810
>they can sue you
People can attempt to sue you for anything but I feel if someone tries to sue you for making your garden gnome unbreakable hence destroying their foot when they tried to kick it then it would get thrown out.
If you have a cast concrete football they have a better, in fact good chance. But not a gnome, which is generally not something which someone kicks.
Also OP. Even if you fill it with the most suitable material the exterior original material can and likely still shatter right off leaving you with a form with the shape of the cavity within the gnome.
>>915482
well said.
>>915810
Should fill it with nitroglycerine instead.
>>915942
>People can attempt to sue you for anything but I feel if someone tries to sue you for making your garden gnome unbreakable hence destroying their foot when they tried to kick it then it would get thrown out.
You would be surprised. There was a guy that made his mailbox indestructable, because people kept driving by and smashing it with baseball bats. Someone drove by and tried to smash it and it broke their arm instead. They sued. They won.
>>916213
source?
>>916213
There are some weird ass cases out there.
> guy breaks into house
> ends up getting locked in garage
> forced to eat dog food to survive while waiting for family to return from vacation
> sues because none of the doors could be opened from inside the garage
> guy breaks into house
> trips/slips on some shit
> breaks leg or something
> sues
>>916302
>Designing stuff so that if someone ever breaks in they die would be the most efficient
>>916314
Dead thieves don't sue.
>>916318
No, their families sue.
>>916465
>not finishing the job and ensuring no one goes all inigo montoya on your ass.
>>915460
A little bit more involved, but why not create a mold of the gnome, then cast a solid gnome out of concrete or resin or whatever your heart desires. Then paint the gnome to match this gnome or make it different.
Yes but mix the cement with iron fillings and
1) insert a couple J shaped rebars into the gnome
2) pour concrete into gnome
3) dig a hole into the ground
4) put a wooden box inside it
5) construct a cage using more rebars
6) put the gnome in place and pour cement into the wooden box
7) cover everything with dirt
Your gnome will be hurricane proof
>>915460
Fill it with shredded rubber. Any impact will be better adsorbed by the shredded rubber.
>>916289
I have a box filled with waivers that burgles must sign before entering the house. There's a sign above the box explaining in several languages that if you don't take and sign a waiver before entering it is the same as signing the waiver.
>>915460
How about plaster of paris?
Cheaper and easier, although not as strong (but I don't know how strong you need your gnome to be)
>>915460
cement does not expand. Shrinkage is a bigger concern, especially if you are not using any sand or larger aggregate in it. I would not be surprised if the gnome cracks as the cement is shrinking.
>>916289
I'm having a lot of trouble believing that anyone could get trapped in a garage.
>>917481
How hard is it to mix cement, water, pebbles and pour it into the gnome?
>>916289
Most places hold that you don't have a duty of care towards trespassers beyond "not intentionally setting traps for them".
>>916213
>>916215
It was on the documentary "CSI"
http://csiforeveronline.wikifoundry-mobile.com/m/page/9x07+-+Woulda,+Coulda,+Shoulda
The dumb thing is, the homeowner hadn't committed a crime until he concealed evidence and perverted the course of justice. If he'd just have said "welp, I filled my mailbox with concrete, and some dumbass committed a federal crime by destroying it", he'd have got off scot free.
Your duty of care only extends towards reasonable people doing reasonable things a reasonable person might reasonably expect. Whether or not you might reasonably expect it is irrelevant, it's a reasonable person that's the standard. "No reasonable expectation someone would be there" and "no reasonable expectation of harm" are both full defenses.
Leaving an open manhole in the street, an rp would reasonably expect someone might not be paying attention and fall down it.
Leaving an open manhole in a locked factory, an rp would not have re that someone would break in just to fall down his manhole.
Leaving a loaded gun unsupervised in the street, an rp would have a re that a child might pick it up and shoot someone.
Leaving a 1x2 in the street, an rp would not have a re that some idiot might take it home, stick it up his anus, slip, land on it, and bleed to death.
>>917626
Not very but you have to wear a respirator and buy an entire bag of cement
