How To Spruce Up Your Courtyard

How do you spruce up a courtyard with a couple of small Selleys projects?

This guide follows Kyal and Kara making over a courtyard and studio space with two small builds: a sandstone soap holder mounted to a wall, and a welcome sign or towel rack. Both rely on Selleys Hold Up to mount an object to a vertical surface without screws or nails, and the second adds Selleys Aquadhere Exterior for the dowel joints.

The thing to get right before you start is cure time. Hold Up takes at least 48 hours to cure, and it must not be disturbed during that period. Everything else in these projects is quick; the waiting is what makes the bond hold.

Project 1 — the sandstone soap holder

What you need

• A small piece of sandstone with a flush back
• A tube of Selleys Hold Up
• Secateurs or a Stanley knife
• Pencil
• Masking tape

Steps

1. Mark the position on the wall with a pencil.
2. Pull the cap off the Hold Up tube, unscrew the nozzle and pierce the membrane with the tip of the nozzle. Replace the nozzle and cut along the second ridge.
3. Make sure the surfaces are clean and free from grease, grit and grime. If you are applying to a painted surface, check the paint is in good condition and not flaky, peeling or loose — the final bond will be compromised otherwise. Sand back anything loose.
4. Cover the flat surface with the adhesive in long vertical strips.
5. Press the surfaces together firmly, ensuring the adhesive spreads.
6. Because the sandstone has some weight to it and juts out from the wall, hold it in place with masking tape until the glue sets.

Project 2 — the welcome sign

What you need

• A welcome sign or towel rack with a flush back
• A tube of Selleys Hold Up
• Dowel, cut to size
• A drill with a spade bit the same size as the dowel
• Selleys Aquadhere Exterior

Steps

1. Mark the positions for the dowel with a pencil, then drill about three quarters of the way through.
2. Squeeze a bit of Selleys Aquadhere Exterior into each hole and insert a dowel into each. Leave it to dry.
3. Check the wall surface is clean and free from grease, grit and grime, and that any paint is sound rather than flaky or peeling.
4. Attach the sign to the wall using Selleys Hold Up, covering the flat surface with adhesive in long vertical strips.
5. Press firmly so the adhesive spreads, and leave it to fully cure for 48 hours before use.

What the Hold Up figures mean for a courtyard wall

Hold Up is a Sil-X technology adhesive with a skin time of roughly 45 minutes and a cure time of at least 48 hours. It stays adjustable for up to 15 minutes after you place the object, which is the window you have to nudge a sign level.

Its published holding capacity is up to 240 kg/m² from the tube and 360 kg/m² from the cartridge on vertical surfaces. That sounds like a lot, and for a soap holder it is — but the figure is per square metre of bonded area, so it rewards spreading the adhesive across the whole back face rather than dabbing three blobs on. That is why the instruction is long vertical strips covering the full surface.

The technical data sheet adds a caution that matters here: for heavy objects, overhead applications, and non-porous materials such as glass and metals, use additional supports such as clamps during cure as a precaution. Sandstone against a wall is exactly the case the masking tape is doing that job for. The bond must not be disturbed until cured — at least 48 hours.

Hold Up is heat, UV and water resistant, works indoors and out, and is paintable after 48 hours with water-based paints.

What the Aquadhere Exterior figures mean for the dowel joints

Aquadhere Exterior is an industrial-grade cross-linking PVA developed for professional woodworkers. It is weatherproof, which is what makes it the right pick for a courtyard rather than an interior PVA.

Its clamp times are 30 minutes for softwoods and one hour for hardwoods, and the joint should not be stressed for 24 hours. Maximum strength is attained in 24 hours, longer in cold or damp conditions or with dense timbers. A dowel glued into a blind hole is well contained, so "leave to dry" in practice means leave it alone overnight rather than moving on to the wall mounting straight away.

Excess glue wipes off with a damp cloth while wet. Once cured, it has to be sanded or scraped.

Limitations — where these products should NOT be used

Selleys Hold Up:

• Not for some plastics — polyethylene, polypropylene or PTFE — or some rubbers.
• Water resistant, but not suitable for permanent water immersion. A courtyard wall is fine; a pond or pool edge is not.
• Must not be disturbed until cured, at least 48 hours.
• The bond depends on what it is stuck to. Loose or peeling paint will fail regardless of the adhesive, which is why the instruction to check the paint is not a formality.

Selleys Aquadhere Exterior:

• Not recommended for joints subjected to constant high stress.
• Not suitable for below-waterline applications or continuous submersion.
• Avoid contaminating it with iron and steel — nails, for example. It will stain brown or black if contaminated with rust, or in the presence of tannins found in many timbers. Worth knowing if your sign is a dark hardwood.

Clean up and storage

Clean up Hold Up immediately with white spirits or turps before the product cures, and store it in a cool dry place below 30°C. It has a 12-month shelf life. Uncured Aquadhere Exterior comes off with water; cured product can be sanded or scraped.

Common questions about these courtyard projects

How long before I can use the soap holder?

Leave it 48 hours. That is Hold Up's stated cure time, and the technical data sheet is explicit that the bond must not be disturbed until cured.

Can I reposition the sign after I press it on?

Yes, for up to 15 minutes — Hold Up is adjustable over that window. After that, leave it alone.

Do I really need the masking tape?

For a piece of sandstone, yes. Selleys recommends additional supports such as clamps or tape during cure for heavy objects, overhead applications and non-porous materials.

Will Hold Up work on a painted wall?

It will, provided the paint is in good condition and not flaky, peeling or loose. Sand back anything loose first. The adhesive can only be as strong as the layer it is stuck to.

Can I paint over Hold Up afterwards?

Yes, after 48 hours, with water-based paints.

Why Aquadhere Exterior rather than an interior wood glue for the dowels?

Because the sign lives outside. Aquadhere Exterior is weatherproof; Aquadhere Interior is a PVA that is not waterproof and is unsuitable for exterior use.

How long do I clamp the dowels for?

Thirty minutes for softwoods, an hour for hardwoods, and do not stress the joint for 24 hours. Maximum strength comes at 24 hours, longer in cold or damp weather.

How do I clean up the excess?

Aquadhere Exterior wipes off with a damp cloth while wet, and comes off with water before it cures. Hold Up needs white spirits or turps, applied before it cures.

Will these hold up to rain and sun?

Hold Up is heat, UV and water resistant and is designed for indoor and outdoor surfaces. Aquadhere Exterior is weather resistant and suitable for exterior use in non-structural applications. Neither is rated for permanent immersion.

What size does Hold Up come in?

A 130g tube or a 290mL cartridge. The cartridge has the higher published holding figure of the two — 360 kg/m² against 240 kg/m² — and needs a good quality caulking gun.

Can I mount something to glass or metal this way?

You can, but Selleys specifically recommends additional supports such as clamps during cure for non-porous materials like glass and metals, because the adhesive has nothing to key into.