Let's Build a (Dry) Sink

[Sundowner]

Since I don't seem to have anything better to do in the middle of my constantly-unstable life, I've decided that unpacking, rebuilding and improving my very cobbled-together darkroom after a cross-country move is just the kind of thing to do on Day 1 of 2025. This is going to be a fun and challenging project, because not only will this new darkroom be equally cobbled-together, but it'll be assembled in a space that only has 50% of the area of my previous darkroom, but which also has 2873% more carpet on the floors.

Thus, the first order of business is to install a large sink...and when I say "install" I actually mean "build in the garage, and then gingerly shove into place in a temporary fashion with the hopes that it doesn't move around too much, because mobility isn't really a quality that you look for in a large sink." Also, when I say "sink" I actually mean "a rather sizable but shallow vessel-like-object which is constructed of materials that we don't normally use for sinks...and which actually won't feature either a water supply or a drain of any sort, mostly on account of the carpet that I mentioned two sentences back." Lastly, I should also mention that in this context, "large" actually means "slightly less than 30" by 60, which isn't really big enough to be useful as a dedicated darkroom sink, even if it did feature a water supply and/or drain, which - again - it doesn't."

So, yeah, I'm actually building an oversized tray...but "darkroom sink" sounds infinitely better than "oversized tray" so I'm going to keep calling it a sink while secretly admitting that I'm happy about it being a tray, because trays sound like they can be made from stuff that's much less expensive than sinks.

Pictured: Like, you know, cabinet-grade birch.

Normally, using higher-tier materials for things like oversized trays sinks isn't really a good expenditure of money...but since this sheet was actually several dollars less expensive and a lot flatter than the generic A-C plywood at the local lumberyard, I decided to use it. It's an import - probably from southeast Asia, as we now can't get Baltic birch on account of the late unpleasantness - but it's very low-void and the plies look good, so I feel good about spending $60 on it. I had them rough-cut it to 59", because that's about as long as this tray sink can possibly be.

So, here's the plan: cut a floor, four sides and three bottom braces, glue all of that together, fillet the inside corners, possibly throw a lightweight layer of fiberglass over the fillets - more on that in a few - and then slap some kind of coating/finish over the entire thing before sitting it on a base and hoping that it all works like I'm planning and doesn't look like it was built by an absolute muppet. No bets on any of that coming true.

Design-wise, it's pretty simple: the sides are about 5" tall, which will give me about 3.5" of interior depth once it's all said and done. No backsplash; I want to leave the option for making a drop-on countertop/work surface to cover the entire sink when it's not in use, and that's more difficult if a backsplash is involved...and I'm allergic to difficulty. Incidentally, that allergy is also why the fiberglassed-over fillets on the interior are currently optional: if I do my job correctly when I connect the sides to the floor, the fillets themselves will be more than strong enough to reinforce that joint...so the fiberglass could be a pointless expense and weight. This being said; I'll already have the resin for it because I'm going to roll a layer or two over the entire surface of the plywood as a primer/encapsulation, so it wouldn't be much work to just throw a single piece of tape across all of the fillets while I'm at it, so I may do that anyway. We'll see.

Finish-wise: I'll probably do something that will hide all of my resin-based crimes without requiring an absurd degree of work, and that laziness is pointing me towards textured epoxy or a bedliner material. For a dry sink, either would be fine, but I have more experience with misusing bedliner than I do with correctly applying epoxy paints, so that former method is currently in the lead. I'll have to make a decision soon, though, because the choice of finish may well dictate the choice of resin, and I need to go ahead and buy resin if I want to get this finished in the next few weeks.

Anyways, those two pictures are about as far as I've gotten: a roughly-cut piece of 3/4-ish" birch in the corner of the garage. I figured that it would be fun to document the build so that everyone can follow along with my ineptitude and learn how to not do this at my literal expense. To that end, my next steps are to generate some final plans and a cut list and to make sure that I have a panel blade for my saw...and that is a phrase that here means "do exactly none of those things, and instead, go look at an enlarger that's for sale just a few minutes down the road, because evidently I need another one."

I make such good decisions; what could possibly go wrong? Stay tuned; you I just might learn something.

 

[dpurdy]

I assure you will get it done. In my experience, 35 years ago I built 2 wooden darkroom sinks, one 6 feet long and one 14 feet long. The shorter one for only film. For both sinks I started with Marine plywood and just using a circular saw cut the pieces as accurately as I could and then glued everything together with wood glue and built stands for them from 4x5 wood and put a shelf under them. I did some cross bracing to support the bottom of the sinks. I then installed a drain in the end of each and then installed an industrial faucet in each. At that time my darkrooms were on the fourth floor of an industrial building and after some years I was forced to move them to a new space in my basement. The 14 foot sink had to be lowered from the 4th floor to the street with a rope out a window. Then I discovered that to get it into my basement I had to cut it in half cross wise. Eventually reglued and re epoxied and I had to change the drain on the large sink to the opposite end. I put a drain stopper in the old drain and filled it with epoxy. What I learned in the first installation is that the faucet uses up a heck of a lot of space so I reinstalled the plumbing and new faucet up on the wall above the sink. The sink was strong enough that I could walk around on it. I still use these sinks to this day though now they are multipurpose in that I not only process film and paper but I also brew beer in the large one. The problem I has with epoxy is that when after some years I decided to paint, the paint wouldn't stick.

 

[Sundowner]

I assure you will get it done.

With me, it's not usually a question of getting it done, but rather of how many wrong turns and mishaps befall the process.

The problem I has with epoxy is that when after some years I decided to paint, the paint wouldn't stick.

And that's the exact issue that I'm currently thinking on: I'd prefer to use an inexpensive polyester resin, but I'm almost 64% certain that poly resin will absolutely not play well with a bedliner. Also, I'm about 84% sure that it won't won't with an epoxy paint, but I'm about 86.3% sure that an epoxy resin will work with both options.

I was also thinking about using Fibral for the fillets because it's much nicer to work with than fiberglass filler, but since I won't need more than a quart of resin for the entire project I'm tempted to just put some chopped strand into my leftover resin and use that as a filleting compound. I'm even more tempted to use micro balloons or silica or something similar, and use that as the filleting compound and the plywood adhesive...but I know a lot more about polyurethane and PVA glues than epoxy.

 

[dpurdy]

I was actually finally able to paint the 6 foot film sink. I roughed it up a bit and used primer that promised to stick to anything, and then put several coats of semigloss floor paint over the entire surface and sides and all so there was no place where there was an edge of paint to peel up. The 14 foot sink is ugly but leak proof.

 

[MattKing]

Interesting thread.
There might be some useful related information in these other "Sink" threads as well:
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/budget-diy-darkroom-sink-options.178645/
and:
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/sink.208264/#post-2816929

 

[Peter Schrager]

I use boat paint and primer...works like a charm

 

[Sundowner]

Interesting thread.
There might be some useful related information in these other "Sink" threads as well...

There was, yes; I have unabashedly stolen ideas from as many as two of those threads. What I need to do is more fully read them and follow up on the links within.

I use boat paint and primer...works like a charm

The only objections I have to that plan are my chronic inabilities insofar as fairing and prep are concerned; if I was better at them, I would be very tempted to use topside paint. It's usually high-solids and that makes life easier...at least, it's easier when you have a smooth and flat surface. But yeah, I would think that to be an excellent finish, overall.

 

[runswithsizzers]

Looking closely at your plywood, I would want to be sure it does not get wet. period. So, when you say, "... I'm going to roll a layer or two over the entire surface of the plywood as a primer/encapsulation..." I hope you plan to cover both sides (top and bottom). With any kind of laminated panel, it is always a good idea to have symmetrical layers, top and bottom, (balanced) to prevent warping. And in a humid environment, wood can absorb water vapor through the back/bottom surface if it is not adequately sealed.

To be sure there are no tiny holes in the resin coating, I would suggest a thin layer of glass cloth (2oz-4oz/sq.yard) over all flat surfaces. Of course, the end grain at the edges of the panels would not be easy to cover with fiberglass cloth -- so I would feed the exposed edges as much thin resin as they can absorb. Or better yet, epoxy a thin hardwood strip over all exposed edgegrain to help protect the thin edges of the surface laminate.

Good luck with your project!

 

[Sundowner]

Looking closely at your plywood, I would want to be sure it does not get wet. period

Want an even better look at the edge?

Pictured: Just add water.

I would say that this is the antithesis of marine plywood, so...yeah, with the possible exception of particleboard, there's probably no worse option for a sink carcass.

So, when you say, "... I'm going to roll a layer or two over the entire surface of the plywood as a primer/encapsulation..." I hope you plan to cover both sides (top and bottom).

That was the general idea, with the caveat of being undecided as to whether or not I'm going to seal the mating surfaces before I join them.

With any kind of laminated panel, it is always a good idea to have symmetrical layers, top and bottom, (balanced) to prevent warping. And in a humid environment, wood can absorb water vapor through the back/bottom surface if it is not adequately sealed.

In general I would agree with that assessment. In this case I don't know that any significant degree of deformation would be capable of occurring, but since the quantity of resin that I'll have to purchase to seal the inside of the sink is also enough to do the outside, it's a non-issue.

To be honest, I'm more concerned about delamination than actual deformation, but since my darkrooms are traditionally somewhat dry, I don't foresee that as an issue, either. There should be very little moisture or water contacting any surface other than the immediate interior.

To be sure there are no tiny holes in the resin coating, I would suggest a thin layer of glass cloth (2oz-4oz/sq.yard) over all flat surfaces. Of course, the end grain at the edges of the panels would not be easy to cover with fiberglass cloth -- so I would feed the exposed edges as much thin resin as they can absorb.

A full layer of cloth isn't a bad idea, but I'm just not sure that it's going to add any significant degree of strength or waterproofing... especially if the most vulnerable areas - the exposed interior cores - are left uncovered. I think it wouldn't take much work to layer some chopped strand or bias-cut strips over those edges, but doing so would require a significant radius (1/4" to 3/8") to be routed into all of the exterior corners, and I'm not really sure that I want to do that: I don't really lean on my sink area, so easing those edges beyond what's necessary for the finish doesn't add much.

This being said: there's nothing wrong with adding the glass layer... I just don't know that it will improve the sink's moisture resistance when there are a minimum of four coats of finish on the surface: at least two full coats of resin and at least two full costs of finish, plus whatever additional material is needed on the exposed cores.

Or better yet, epoxy a thin hardwood strip over all exposed edgegrain to help protect the thin edges of the surface laminate.

Not a bad thought, but at first blush it seems like lapping the glass layer would be a better method...but that brings in the necessity of routing, so I'll have to think on it. Not a bad idea, though; thank you.

In related news: I sent in a query to a few of the manufacturers for the products I'm considering, and it seems like they're all able to play together. Specifically, the bedliner that I might use for the finish can be used over both poly and epoxy resin, so I'm free to use either. That being the case: I'd probably opt for poly. Epoxy is more waterproof, but not by much...and poly is just simpler to work with.

 

[Harry Callahan]

I never did anything alike but when reading your plan three things popped up in my head:

- I would try to calculate the weight of the water/liquid in the sink before building it - to get this Stan and Oliver sequence out of my head

- i would do something against "2873% more carpet on the floors", because carpet means dust and dust in a darkroom is problematic - to get this Stan and Oliver sequence out of my head

- if you also want to develop/fix film in the sink i`d check before whether any of the finishing material (color, fiberglass epoxy etc.) may react chemically with the developer etc. - to get this Stan and Oliver sequence out of my head.

One enlarger more always is better than one enlarger less.

 

[Sundowner]

I would try to calculate the weight of the water/liquid in the sink before building it...

It'll hold somewhere around 190 pounds of water before things begin to overflow...but if there's even 1 pound of loose water/liquid in it at any given time, I will have already smurfed up beyond all measure.

I would do something against "2873% more carpet on the floors", because carpet means dust and dust in a darkroom is problematic

I wish I could, but we're just renting the house...so all I can do is try to use barrier layers: anti-fatigue mats, etc. I don't like the dust situation, for sure.

If you also want to develop/fix film in the sink i`d check before whether any of the finishing material (color, fiberglass epoxy etc.) may react chemically with the developer etc.

I'm going to handle that in another room; I'll do the loading in the darkroom, but everything else can be handled in other places...unless I start playing with big sheets.

One enlarger more always is better than one enlarger less.

...eh, maybe. This one is kind of rough and unloved. I can make it work, but it's gonna have to be torn all the way down to the bare chassis in order to get it functional: the carriage is racked out of level by one or two teeth, side-to-side.

 

[Harry Callahan]

Not being sure if i understood you correct:

I meant to calculate if the sink will hold the weight of the water, so it won`t break and flood the room. Or its stand.
Regarding my other points i see that you have considered them before.
This enlarger is mean.

 

[Sundowner]

I meant to calculate if the sink will hold the weight of the water, so it won`t break and flood the room.

Well, there really won't be any water in it as long as things are going correctly; at most there should only be a few liters in any given combination of containers/trays.

Or its stand.

Shouldn't be an issue; the stand I have in mind will be okay with a significant amount of weight on it.

This enlarger is mean.

Yes, it very much is. There's a lot of neglect built up on it.

 

[Harry Callahan]

I see.
Then it rather is a poor enlager being a long-term project.

 

[runswithsizzers]

"...but if there's even 1 pound of loose water/liquid in it at any given time, I will have already smurfed up beyond all measure."

I guess I do not understand the project. My experience is limited to a darkroom in a university photography department, and those sinks regularly have gallons of water dumped in them while in use. Is your sink not going to have a drain, and get your trays of developer, stop bath, fixer and washwater dumped in it?

 

[Sundowner]

I guess I do not understand the project. My experience is limited to a darkroom in a university photography department, and those sinks regularly have gallons of water dumped in them while in use.

I'm sure they do, yes; that seems to be the regular case with them, per my own limited experience in those facilities.

Is your sink not going to have a drain, and get your trays of developer, stop bath, fixer and washwater dumped in it?

I think the second sentence of the second paragraph in the first post pretty much covered that:

Also, when I say "sink" I actually mean "a rather sizable but shallow vessel-like-object which is constructed of materials that we don't normally use for sinks...and which actually won't feature either a water supply or a drain of any sort, mostly on account of the carpet that I mentioned two sentences back."

It's easy to miss that part, I suppose...but to directly answer your question: no. There will be nothing purposefully dumped into the sink, and it will not be connected to plumbing; our municipality is VERY strict on what can be put down the drain or washed out into wastewater catchments. Photo chemicals can be taken to the local hazardous waste facility, so a darkroom sink in my area is best described as an R.O.U.S. - a Receptacle of Uncommon Size.

(Also, the no-plumbing part is why I kept doing the strike-through whenever I wrote "tray" in that post.)

 

[runswithsizzers]

I did somehow miss that part about no plumbing or drain (sorry, I have a bad habit of sometimes skimming over long rambling paragraphs).

You might call it a “dry sink”?

So, never mind me, and carry on.

 

[koraks]

No backsplash; I want to leave the option for making a drop-on countertop/work surface to cover the entire sink when it's not in use, and that's more difficult if a backsplash is involved

As long as the drop-on top is sufficiently rigid, it should lie just fine on just two sides and the front. If you want extra sturdiness, you could put some supports onto the backsplash in a few spots.

Given that your 'sink' doesn't really have a drain, I wonder if it's really worthwhile to build something as deep as 3.5". All spills you'll have to mop out anyway, so you might as well just take a flat worktop with a half inch (or so) guard glued/screwed all around it. Or not even bother with that; to be frank, my worktop is actually just that, with no raised edges. It does have a small but proper sink embedded into it, though.

 

[Ben 4]

I have no advice to offer, but am very much enjoying reading about your project, especially the breezy, self-deprecating descriptions of your plans. Looking forward to hearing more!
When I built my darkroom sink (almost twenty years ago now), I went to the local big box hardware store looking for the metal thing to install as a drain at the low end of the sink, I remember the helpful associate asking me what I was building my sink out of. When I said "plywood," he looked at me with pity and said in a gruff voice I can still hear: "It's going to rot!" (Hasn't happened yet, happily!)

 

[Sundowner]

I did somehow miss that part about no plumbing or drain (sorry, I have a bad habit of sometimes skimming over long rambling paragraphs).

No worries; that's a natural reaction to writing that should have been edited for brevity. And let's be honest, here: reading any paragraph that's 1) posted on the Internet and 2) longer than a single sentence is basically like reading Anna Karenina...so I can't really blame you for skimming.

You might call it a “dry sink”?

I did, in the paragraph about finishes in the first post...but making it that far into a long post would've been the forum-equivalent of completing In Search of Lost Time.

As long as the drop-on top is sufficiently rigid, it should lie just fine on just two sides and the front.

Depends on the material. If I can find some 1/2" plywood that's faced with white melamine, then yeah, it may work; anything thinner or less rigid will have too much flex for me to be happy with it, no matter how I support it.

If you want extra sturdiness, you could put some supports onto the backsplash in a few spots.

Warning: Long Response Ahead.

The first iteration of the large tray sink design was exactly that...and I do mean exactly. I had an 8.5" backsplash on it, which would make for a lovely 1.6:1 and 2:1 height ratio in proportion to the exterior and interior surfaces of the sides, respectively, while offering good protection for splashing to the rear. Support for a counter would have been a simple p bracket (or brackets, plural) of angled aluminum/stainless affixed to the finished surface...but that solution introduced more problems than it solved:

• a physical penetration through the finishes
• a horizonal surface for liquids to sit on and/or be trapped behind
• capillary-action potential, leading to the interior of the plywood
• non-matching materials on the sink interior
• a high likelihood of my oafish self getting equipment snagged or tangled on the bracketry
• self-recrimination for not being more graceful
• loss of sleep
• ennui
• eventually insanity due to all of the above

So, the next iteration of that idea involved a simple stepped backsplash that looked rather like a tall skirt laminated onto a shorter skirt, the latter of which was the rear wall of the glorified tray dry sink. That idea solved the problems of fasteners, capillary action and fluids being trapped between the bracket and sink, but it created a shape at the junction between the two pieces - a short ogive, to be exact - that I wasn't too hip on glassing over, especially after determining that I would be using epoxy resin-

Oh, I forgot about that part: several of the finish manufacturers I contacted got back to me, and essentially all of them said "you can pretty much use any resin you want as long as you sand the surface, use an adhesion promoter, and follow the rest of our instructions to the letter. Or: just use epoxy, because that's probably going to work better for you even if you screw something up...and let's be honest: people like you screw things up."

(Okay, I might have made that last part up, but I could tell it was what they were thinking.)

Anyways: if I use epoxy, I can't use a chopped strand mat to glass over that little ogive that I'll have to route into place, and I'll definitely have to do that routing in order to make ANY fabric over the area actually lay down and stick and not stress-crack over a sharp edge. So, I was in the middle of thinking through that part of the design when my partner walked into the garage to see what I was up to; upon seeing and asking about the backsplash design that I had drawn on a whiteboard, the following interaction took place:

Her: "Why are you putting a backsplash on the tray-"
Me: "It's a sink."
Her: "Well, you can't have a sink without a water supply or drain, but regardless: why is there a backsplash?"
Me: "It's a dry sink, then."
Her: <tired sigh> "Okay, why does a dry sink need a backsplash?"
Me: <eye roll> "To catch the splashes that go towards the back?"
Her: "But that's not the direction that chemicals splash, relative to the trays."

[Cue giant overdubbed record scratch]

Me: "Wait, what?'

...aaaaaaand yeah, she's right: most of the chemistry that I spill or splash in the darkroom doesn't spill towards the rear: it goes towards the sides and front, with the vast majority going directly between the trays. Thinking back to our old darkroom: 90% of the chemical stains on the countertop were outlining the normal tray positions...but there was almost nothing on the wall behind that counter. The few drops that were there had been just that: drops that I flicked off a print because I was being impatient and careless. Once that rather obvious conclusion came to me, I dropped the idea of a backsplash entirely, and realized that I didn't need to complicate the design with it.

And then I realized that the countertop doesn't need to be supported by the sink at any more than three coplanar points: if I need it to be supported in order to make it strong and rigid, I can just reinforce the countertop and not worry about adding support structures to the sink at all. And the fact that it took me so long to realize all of that is the reason that I'm not an engineer.

Given that your 'sink' doesn't really have a drain, I wonder if it's really worthwhile to build something as deep as 3.5". All spills you'll have to mop out anyway, so you might as well just take a flat worktop with a half inch (or so) guard glued/screwed all around it. Or not even bother with that; to be frank, my worktop is actually just that, with no raised edges. It does have a small but proper sink embedded into it, though.

Warning: Slightly-Less-Long Response Ahead

That's essentially what we had in the old darkroom, and it was perfectly serviceable...at least, until I actually did spill something. At that point, the half-inch levee demonstrated itself as being almost entirely useless: most of the liquid simply vaulted over the border, and the portion that didn't quickly overwhelmed it like the cutest little tsunami in the long, sparkly history of cute little tsunamis. At that point, I realized that it would be good to have a sink an oversized catch basin of approximately the same depth as the deepest tray that I commonly use...and that's right about 3".

That being said: I haven't actually set the final depth, yet. I need to do a quick mock-up and see how I feel about the form factor of things, and then make the decision and start slicing.

I have no advice to offer, but am very much enjoying reading about your project, especially the breezy, self-deprecating descriptions of your plans. Looking forward to hearing more!

I try to keep it light and entertaining; at times, I succeed...and at other times, other people regret my decisions.

When I built my darkroom sink (almost twenty years ago now), I went to the local big box hardware store looking for the metal thing to install as a drain at the low end of the sink, I remember the helpful associate asking me what I was building my sink out of. When I said "plywood," he looked at me with pity and said in a gruff voice I can still hear: "It's going to rot!" (Hasn't happened yet, happily!)

I feel that; I so feel that. I can't even tell you how many helpful box-store associates have told me about how badly my projects were going to turn out. Hopefully this one will be as durable as the one you built.

 

[koraks]

Depends on the material. If I can find some 1/2" plywood that's faced with white melamine, then yeah, it may work; anything thinner or less rigid will have too much flex for me to be happy with it, no matter how I support it.

You can add some support structure underneath for better rigidity as you've also concluded further down your post. Just bolt &/or glue a rigid frame to the underside.

Concerning the feasibility of support structures mounted on a backsplash: I think that depends mostly on how it's done, and it seems to me it's fairly easy to avoid or at least mitigate the concerns you expressed.
As to the desirability of a backsplash: YMMV and all that; I'm happy I do have one. For some reason, it hasn't managed to stay very clean in the few short years I've had this particular darkroom, so apparently it serves some purpose.

I guess my problem with mini-tsunamis is considerably reduced by the use of rather deep trays for most of what I do. Whenever I use shallower trays, I try to be somewhat gentle. This has kept me reasonably safe from indoor drowning hazards, at least so far.

 

[Sundowner]

You can add some support structure underneath for better rigidity as you've also concluded further down your post. Just bolt &/or glue a rigid frame to the underside.

Yep, that's exactly what it would be. I have some scrap 6061 angle on the shelf, and it would work just fine for a top support. I mostly just need to keep the top lightweight, so that it can be easily moved; once it's on the sink it'll be pretty rigid, no matter what.

Concerning the feasibility of support structures mounted on a backsplash: I think that depends mostly on how it's done, and it seems to me it's fairly easy to avoid or at least mitigate the concerns you expressed.

You're not wrong; enough thought will solve all of those issues. I've come up with six or eight different ways to do it, but I didn't really like any of them; they felt cumbersome, and that's how I know they're wrong.

As to the desirability of a backsplash: YMMV and all that; I'm happy I do have one. For some reason, it hasn't managed to stay very clean in the few short years I've had this particular darkroom, so apparently it serves some purpose.

I think it's all about workflow and motion; I seem to work in a very linear fashion but I tend to get a bit frenetic between steps, and that's where all of the immediate-area splashing arises. So, I'm using surface area - mostly front-to-rear depth - to mitigate those drips and drops.

It's also worth noting that we're going to place a Nova vertical processor into the mix; being somewhat tall, it's going to rise higher than any reasonable backsplash...so when that's in use, I'm just not sure that a backsplash is going to contain anything splashing from its upper surface.

I guess my problem with mini-tsunamis is considerably reduced by the use of rather deep trays for most of what I do. Whenever I use shallower trays, I try to be somewhat gentle. This has kept me reasonably safe from indoor drowning hazards, at least so far.

I have deeper ones as well. And now five additional ones because at $10 each, I just couldn't pass up two perfectly-sized stainless trays and three massive old porcelain units that were just too pretty to not take as well.

Yeah, I have issues.

 

[Arthurwg]

I built mine 17 years ago using exterior-grade plywood and epoxy. I used a former laundry room which simplified plumbing. No failures yet. Big enough to comfortably process 20x24 inch prints. It's probably overbuilt, but it's set into walls at either end and required no underneath support.

 

[koraks]

It's also worth noting that we're going to place a Nova vertical processor into the mix; being somewhat tall, it's going to rise higher than any reasonable backsplash...so when that's in use, I'm just not sure that a backsplash is going to contain anything splashing from its upper surface.

I don't see how you could get a whole lot of splashing when using a Nova. The prints slide in/out vertically after all, and you don't rock the processor like you rock a tray.

 

[Sundowner]

I built mine 17 years ago using exterior-grade plywood and epoxy. I used a former laundry room which simplified plumbing. No failures yet. Big enough to comfortably process 20x24 inch prints. It's probably overbuilt, but it's set into walls at either end and required no underneath support.

A sink like that would be dope. One day, I hope to have the dedicated space to allow that.

I don't see how you could get a whole lot of splashing when using a Nova. The prints slide in/out vertically after all, and you don't rock the processor like you rock a tray.

Not having used that specific processor before, I can't say how inept I will be with it...but I'm inclined to agree with you, overall.

Time to do some layouts and post a few more pictures...which is definitely not fun, because my phone doesn't like to shoot in a low-enough resolution for forum posting.