Building a sink!

[Shakey]

After searching the forum i decided i'm gonna build my own sink from plyboard and then fibreglass it however i'm a bit confused on what i actually need in order to fibreglass the sink? Just wondering whether anyone with any experience could help me? Thanks Shakey

 

[david b]

Instead of fiberglass, can you do something like Line X ?

 

[dpurdy]

I did mine in fiberglass and it is pretty easy to just follow the instructions they provide. It works well with unpainted wood. It lasts forever near as I can tell. I had to move my 14 foot sink once and had to cut it in half to get it down the basement steps. I just put it back together and refiberglassed the seam and .. well that was 14 years ago. It isn't leaking yet.
Dennis

 

[richard ide]

Hi,
I looked into LineX a short while ago. Having used plastic and stainless trays for hand processing large prints in the past; I think fiberglass/epoxy is far superior and cheaper. Google "West System epoxies" or "Industrial Formulators". Both companies produce excellent products and have lots of information on their websites. Just deciding on what size tanks I need next. It is not that hard to do.

 

[RJS]

Just be careful if you are using resin for the fiberglass. The fumes in a darkroom can be lethal! I learned by experience - the quite good ventilation in my darkroom was nowhere near adequate and it took me months to recover. It was not nice.

 

[richard ide]

RJS,
Did you use polyester resin which really stinks? Ajob best done outside.

 

[pnance]

I built mine 32"x10' sink without the fiberglass, I just used the resin to paint the plywood (only the polyester is dangerous, explosive and toxic they say). I used the System 3 from Merton's. Its normal purpose is for marine boat finish. I worked in the basement room that was to become the darkroom. I had no fume problems. Remember, the System 3 epoxy sets rather fast, so I never mixed more then a few ounces at one time.
Paul

 

[pnance]

--

 

[wildbill]

Use 3/4" plywood, glue, and screws every 8 inches or so. I used 2 part boat epoxy and I feel there's no need for fiberglass cloth. Mix a small batch and coat the joints twice before you coat the large surfaces.

 

[analogsnob]

I've made more than my share of fiberglass sinks. They are nearly indestructable. I use 2x10 lumber for the sides, plywood on cleats within the frame to get at least a 1/2inch in 10 feet slope to drain in the bottom.

I put and extra 2x4 along the top frount outside edge to give a good leaning space and I run a cleat along the inside top rear so the I can place plywood accross the sink opening to function as counter for scaling chemicals or cascading wash trays or whathave you.

I would definately cloth atleast the seams, I give one layer of cloth and extra in the corners and three coats of resin. They sell pigment so you can have a white sink if you wish.

 

[resummerfield]

Another option would be to build the sink out of plywood, and then cover it with acrylic panels and caulk the seams. Acrylic sheets come in various thicknesses, such as 1/8 or 1/4-inch, and are cheap and easy to cut with common woodworking tools. I have seen some examples, and it is beautiful.

 

[Captain_joe6]

Or with the acrylic panels you could lay them in the wood frame, attach them with some construction adhesive, then use a chemical to "weld" the seams. All the knowledge for that project could be had from a good plastics supplier, like TAP Plastics or some such.

 

[Jeff Searust]

No-- dont bother with fiberglass.

I built a fine 7 foot by 2 foot sink with 2x4s plywood and hard board (like pegboard with out holes). I then coated the entire inner surface with a quart and a half of Marine Varnish. All the joints were caulked with a tube and a half of solid drying caulk.

About 6ft of my sink slopes down to the last 1ft section that is level, with a drain. I spent about $60 on the whole sink (not including faucet).

I have never had a problem with the sink in almost a year other than where the sink drain enters the house plumbing, and it was a previous issue and nothing to do with the sink, which has peen perfectly watertight.

 

[Mark_S]

I have done fiberglass over plywood sinks and the previous comments about the odors are very true - a job best done outside. I also have a friend who did a plywood sink,and then brought it to a place that does spray-on pickup truck bed liners. The result is waterproof, and being a rubber like material, doesn't get as slippery as fiberglass.

 

[Steve Smith]

Or with the acrylic panels you could lay them in the wood frame, attach them with some construction adhesive, then use a chemical to "weld" the seams. All the knowledge for that project could be had from a good plastics supplier, like TAP Plastics or some such.

Not sure how you join up your waste pipes in the US but in the UK they are ABS or unplasticised PVC and are joined with a solvent adhesive.

You could line a wooden sink (or frame) with ABS sheets and use this solvent to join them. It is quite thick so would do a small amount of gap filling but it would be important to get the edges cut as straight as possible.


EDIT: I see the OP is in the UK. Look up Osma solvent.



Steve.

 

[langedp]

PVC comes in 4'x8' sheets of various thicknesses (at least here in the USA). It should be available elsewhere. I used it to make two 8' long sinks, 30" wide to get 16' of total sink length. I used 3/4" plywood for the box and lined it with the PVC and joined the seams with PVC solvent. It makes for a very durable and professional looking sink. It helps to have some woodworking tools/skills to build it so that everything gets cut accurately.

Bottom line is all the methods mentioned work. One isn't superior to all the rest. It just depends on what you want to put into it, how finished you want it to look, and your construction abilities. Pick the one you feel most confident you can handle and have at it. One thing for sure, you can't have too much sink space and you'll be glad you built it.

 

[JRJacobs]

I have built a few sinks - I like to build out of plywood.

For finish, I use fiberglass mat with epoxy resin. You only need to put the mat in the corners - I cut it into long strips. Then paint on the epoxy resin with a brush, and use a plastic spreader on the FG mat. Definitely coat the sink outside if at all possible.

Sinks built this way last for decades.

 

[trexx]

One thing to also remember is to add some slope to the drain. A perfectly level piece of plywood does not drain well.

 

[eli griggs]

You don't need to fiberglass but a good marine-grade paint is a must as well as a quality drain and you would do well to add two 'wings' or wet shelves to the ends, sloping inward with low walls on the sides and ends. A back splash that is able to support water-filters is always good too. I hate trying to bend down to check on these, much less change them out from a tight space.

The design I'm remembering had these wings large enough that a large round, white plastic printwasher could set on it without overhanging and the unocupied shelve was very useful for setting things up out of the way instead of inside the sink, ie dish-racks for drying reels, tanks, etc.

I also suggest you get design the sink with a saloon type footrest as long hours at the sink can add up to a bad back. Use a round bar, not a 2x4 or other box shape, it's important to your comfort. Home centers sell thick, long round wood poles that will work or you use some common steel pipe. If you plan on using the space under the sink, next to the floor, you can always put the foot-rail into brackets that it can lift out of.

 

[Michael Wilder]

Like dpurdy I also built a 14 ft sink, but 32 years ago, and it is still going great. I cut it in half twice to move it and glassed it together again. 3/4 in plywood. The trick with fiberglass is to paint a layer of resin and let it set to tacky before applying the glass fabric, that way the fabric will stay in place and you can paint more newly mixed resin onto it. The top layer of resin can have pigment mixed into it (best if neutral gray). Don't use anything else on top of it except the fiberglass resin.

 

[Shakey]

Thanks alot for everyone's advice. I've just been looking at the some products and just wondering whether this would be suitable as there seems to be so many different mats available Woven Roving 300gm 100cm wide see http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/CFS_Catalogue__Woven_Roving_Fabric_364.html and then i would use it with West system expoxy Multi Purpose Resin with a slow hardner. Thanks again everyone.