Frankenstein Pots

Don’t throw away your cracked terracotta pots. My clever husband, Wayne, discovered a method to fix them. We were watching Antiques Roadshow one evening and saw an old porcelain plate with a crack repair made with metal staples. A cartoon lightbulb suddenly appeared over his head as he thought about all of the old cracked terracotta pots in the garden shed. The next day, he fixed several of them and has saved all of the old pots now! Those things are expensive, especially the big ones. The repairs look really cool and are quite sturdy and now we have many more usable pots.

You will need a variable speed drill with a 3/16” carbide tipped concrete bit, heavy gauge wire, pliers and wire cutters. Wayne used 16-gauge rebar tie wire. First dunk the pot in water to soak the terracotta. This makes it less brittle and keeps the dust down when you drill it. Carefully drill a hole about ½ inch on either side of the crack. Use a steady medium speed and not too much pressure. Let the bit do the work. Thread the wire through the two holes with the ends on the inside of the pot. Use your pliers to twist the ends together. Snip the excess and use the pliers again to bend the wire twist in so the sharp ends are not sticking out. You don’t want to get scratched when you pot your plants. Longer cracks may require more than one wire repair. Here are some pictures of the results. Click on the pictures to enlarge.

From Frankenstein Pots

From Frankenstein Pots

From Frankenstein Pots

From Frankenstein Pots

From Frankenstein Pots

From Frankenstein Pots

From Frankenstein Pots