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Imitation Rocks 101 - Types Of Imitation Rocks

Imitation rocks are a great way of hiding ugly objects in your yard while also adding flair and class to your property and surrounding landscape. Who wants to look at an ugly concrete septic cover, or a rusty well tower, or those unattractive septic vents that they always manage to design in white so they stick out like a snowman in the desert. Utility pedestals and boxes always tend to be where home owners least desire them as well. You can't really plant bushes around them because utility and phone companies need to access them on occasion. What better solution to hiding all these nasty yard dwelling monsters than lightweight, easy to remove imitation rocks!

Imitation rocks fall into two general categories:

1) Economy Grade Imitation Rocks

2) Utility Grade Imitation Rocks

Economy grade imitation rocks are usually relatively inexpensive, extremely lightweight, and are made of low quality plastics. Low cost models tend to look OK at first but as Mother Nature beats on them they quickly lose their luster. They will fade quickly in the sun and look more and more like plastic and less and less like a rock as time progresses. The sun, combined with temperature fluctuations can make the cheap plastic brittle, leading to the “Humpty Dumpty Syndrome” if you happen to clip a side or corner with a weed wacker or lawn mower. But these cheap models aren't all bad. If the object you need to hide doesn't receive much sun, and you aren't overly concerned with aesthetics than one of the budget imitation rocks may be right for you.

Utility grade imitation rocks are designed for the picky folks. Those who not only want to hide a septic cover or well pump riser, but actually disguise it as a totally realistic rock feature. Were talking imitation rocks so realistic and true to life that they could fool a Mountain Goat, or a Bighorn Sheep into mistaking it for home! OK, maybe that's a bit of a stretch but the point is utility grade fake rock models are designed to cover objects while actually enhancing the surrounding landscape. Some varieties are so realistic that people buy them just to set out in the yard or to add flavor and character to a mulched landscape area. Just because there's nothing to hide doesn't mean there's not a place for great looking utility grade imitation rocks!

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What are tell tale signs of these utility grade imitation rocks? For one, they look incredibly realistic! The textures and color variations are decidedly rock like! Second is size and shape. Utility grade models are usually designed with a specific task in mind. They are not only extremely realistic, but engineered with useable dimensions for covering specific types of objects. Third is the presence of some kind of fastening system to hold the rock firmly to the ground. It happened to Dorothy and Toto....and it can happen to a fake rock! The wind always manages to find a way to get under these, flip them over and send them sailing. Hi-end models will always feature some kind of staking system. Some imitation rocks even include options for fastening to concrete slabs and other substrates.

Another way to distinguish cheap imitation rocks from higher end utility grade models is to look closely at the plastic walls. Thicker walls mean deeper textures, and deeper textures mean more shadowing and more shadowing means more....you guessed it....REALISM! Faux rocks with thicker walls are also stronger, more prone to becoming brittle with temperature change, and also tend to be more resilient to fading caused by damaging U.V. Rays. So while the jury is out on “bigger is better” when it comes to imitation rocks “thicker is better” is a closed case!

If you're shopping for imitation rocks online always request close up photos of the models you are interested in. This way you can see the texture and color up close to determine whether it's going to look like a real rock sitting out in your yard or a mysterious glob of baby poop colored candle wax! Retailers featuring only one photo are probably doing that for a reason! Shops selling high end products should proudly display them in all their glory from many different angles, allowing customers a true to life view of what will arrive in the mail. And always pay close attention to the interior dimensions of the fake rock. Make sure to carefully measure whatever it is you intend to hide and use the interior dimensions to determine whether or not the imitation rock is going to be large enough to fit the bill.

Also be aware that some imitation rocks are made from recycled plastic materials and thus can be coined “green” and environmentally friendly. Now you can hide that ugly septic cover or utility box and be green doing it! Life is good! Some models can also be “green” in the sense that they come equipped with a thermal insulation liner sprayed on the interior of the rock shell. This energy saving design is great for freeze protection over backflow devices, pressure valves, pumps, and other devices sensitive to the wind and cold. Make sure to check local codes if you intend to go the insulated rock route, though. In some areas code may require dedicated backflow enclosures or backflow insulation blankets to provide additional thermal insulation R-value beyond the threshold of what insulated imitation rocks can provide.

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