Faux Aquarium Sink

Instead of tearing out decent stuff to remodel my bathroom, I decided to add something to help boost it's appeal. The rest of the bath will be a work in progress.

I always felt there was hidden potential in glass vessel sinks. Now that they are less popular, it's a good time to share some ideas, and revitalize them.

I planned to drop in a frosted vessel sink to do a seamless, all-white enclosure with a cool-blue light. I switched to an aquatic theme after I found a thick, clear vessel sink on Craigslist.

Other themes that came to mind were a Zen sand garden, a creek bed, or greenery like an aqua-terrarium. Whatever I chose, it had to be maintenance-free.

Vessel Sink

• Waterproof Sealant

Enclosure (Bottom Counter)

• Melamine Board 3/4" thick
• Melamine Panel 1/8" thick
• 4x Corner Brackets
• White Caulking - Optional (to seal or hide corner seams)

LED Light Setup (optional)

• LED Strip
• Power Adapter
• Switch (or motion detector)
• Plexiglass (optional)

Aquatic Elements (if you choose this theme)

• Fish, Sand, Etc. (accessories you like)
• Spray Foam (or any rigid foam of preference) - Rocks
• Paper Clips (any rigid wire) - Posts
• Pennies - Base
• Plastic Scrap (any plastic) - Base
• Glue (hot glue or quick drying epoxy)
• Tape

This is the worst part.

If you have any type of stone countertop, I highly recommend a pro to cut your hole. Not just because you don't want to mess up your countertop, but because it's a very, very messy job. Even looking at the old photos, my mouth feels chalky (despite having worn a mask at the time). My bathroom doesn't have a window, I tried my best to use box fans and drop cloths to channel the dust out my front door. Quartz dust got everywhere. While airborne, it's very hazardous to the respiratory system.

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Measure & Mark Countertop Hole

The hole I drew appears off-centered because the original oval shape was off-centered, and a bit counterclockwise. I re-aligned it to the spout with a circle shape.

I used a pizza pan to draw a circle for the opening of the vessel sink. If its a new countertop without an opening, I believe a compass would be the right tool.

A good starting point for the measurement of the diameter will be about 1.5" to 2" smaller than the outer diameter of the vessel sink. When you start to cut your hole, you'll want to work up the diameter size, continually checking to make sure the sink doesn't go too low.

I have the sink about 1.125" proud of the countertop. Your height preference is going to be a balance between how much you want it to stick out of the countertop, versus how much height you want to give the enclosure below. My sink is about 1.125" above the countertop, and I achieved about 4" of height in the enclosure below.

1/16" Gap for Sealant

Keep in mind you want to leave a 1/16" gap for sealing the edges, that'll add a bit of height to the sink. Stack some tape on the outside surface of the vessel sink to avoid scratching the surface. You might consider stacking it up to 1/16" thick, and it could account for a good measurement on your sealant height.

Cut the Hole

I cut my opening a bit small, then grinded (ground) away slowly till I got my fit. Again, I worked up to my diameter measurement. Constantly going back and forth, carefully placing the vessel in the opening till I achieved the right height.

Staying far from the final diameter, I cut lines into the countertop and chipped off larger chunks. I used an angel grinder with a mason cutting disc. After chipping off the bulk of material, I switch to a mason grinding disc to smooth out the edges, and work my way closer to the final diameter. There's other methods of doing this, this was my approach.

I used hot glue to buildup temporary spacers to do a final check. But if you stacked the tape to a 1/16", then that should be good for your final check.

* Do not mess this up, if your hole is too large, you'll have a bad day. You will need a new sink, or new countertop.

** Wear a mask. Use plenty of drop clothes and one-direction ventilation using fans.

*** Vessel sinks CAN NOT be installed using the sides as the mounting points. Vessel sinks are only designed to be held from underneath. Though, you can check your sink's guidelines to be sure. In this build, we add a platform underneath for the sink to sit on. Just like it would on a typical, vessel sink installation.

First, install the faucet you want to use. I didn't do that and it was a close fit.

Cut Bottom Counter

Now we need to cut a board to act as a counter for the vessel sink to sit on. I'll call it the 'bottom counter.' I used a 3/4" thick melamine board.

For size, I measured the width under the inside of the cabinet, then measured the distance from the inside-front of the cabinet to the front of the faucet assembly. The bottom counter does not go to the wall like it does on the countertop. This way you can change/service your faucet later, without having to disassemble the enclosure. Also, the faucet assembly won't be in plain view. But who knows, in plain view may be cool too, if you're doing a steampunk theme.

Install Bottom Counter

Vessel sinks typically come with a base-ring and rubber washer. Tape the rings to the bottom of the sink, in order of how they stack. Place the sink in the opening and you will see how far down the sink sits. You'll install your bottom counter right up to the bottom of the sink's base ring.

Make sure the bottom counter is level on all corners.

I used a 5-gallon bucket, and stack of books, to hold the bottom counter in place (up against the bottom of the sink) while I installed four brackets. I only used a couple of screws for each bracket since this is a temporary install for measurement purposes. With the sink in place, mark the drain hole and bore it out.

Cut Backboard

I used an 1/8" thick melamine panel. I measured the height from the underside of the countertop, to the top plane of the bottom counter. I went over about a 1/4" in height to account for it dropping into a recess (dado) in the board.

If you don't want to do a dado cut in your bottom counter, you can simply glue/tack the backboard to the back edge of the bottom counter. Just make sure to add more height to your backboard so it overlaps the edge all the way.

After a few dry fits, you'll figure out the height of the backboard, and where to make little cuts/notches so it can sit flush under the counter. You can see I made cuts to accommodate for the plywood holding the countertop.

Keep the newly fitted backboard and bottom counter installed for the next step.

DISCLAIMER!

Please use an electrician. Especially if this is going to be for kids who might splash a lot of water, or make a mess of the countertop.

Make sure you are CLEAR OF ANY WATER, or risk of any water. I believe it's code to have GFI receptacles in bathrooms. If you don't have a GFI, install one asap, it can save your life. They cut off power as soon as it senses any kind of shortage (typically from water contact in kitchen and bathroom environments).

Water Runoff Test

The back and side edges of my counter are sealed up and water runs off the front edge well, and does not roll back under the countertop. Please check this with your counter. With towels on hand, use a large cup of water and pour it on your counter top and see where the water runs. Very important to know, you don't want to install anything where water travels to.

Lighting Alternative

Depending on your theme, you may not need a light setup. Or consider using battery-operated, fairy lights. They have them with timers. I find them useful for shadowbox frames as highlights, and/or muted lights.

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I used a basic LED strip light for this project. I believe an electrician would tap power from the wall receptacle, instead of plugging in a power adapter.

Deciding Light Locations

Having lights on both sides of the enclosure was enough to light up the entire range. No need for light in the middle of my enclosure. So I took advantage of the extra LED strip (that has to cross over) by lighting the underside of the cabinet. I considered adding lights to the drawers too, but seemed a bit overdone. When I open the drawers, the bathroom light shines right into them, so you don't notice a drop in lighting.

Mark Edges of Enclosure

Mark the backside and bottom of the enclosure. These marks will indicate the distance when running the LED strip. Now uninstall the bottom counter so you can proceed with the LED installation.

Power & Switch (or Motion Sensor)

I ran the power through the wall, to a switch under the right drawer. The switch will connect to the LED strip and feed through the cabinet wall. As mentioned above, be aware of the switch location, make sure water can't reach it's location. My switch came with double-sided tape, I used it to mount to the underside of the countertop.

A few days later, I replaced the switch with a motion detector. I placed the sensor down on the cabinet's kickplate.

Run LED Strip

I drilled a hole from the drawer side, to the cabinet side. Then fed the LED connection through to the switch (or motion sensor).

I taped down the LED strip to the right-side of the cabinet wall, to were I marked the back panel. Then ran it back to my starting point (which creates two rows of LED's). From here the LED will go downward beyond the mark for the bottom counter (thereby bypassing the enclosure). Next, I ran the strip across the inside-front, and repeat two rows of LED's on the left side.

I cut off the remaining LED strip, and kept it for future projects.

LED Cover (Enclosure)

LED covers for the sides were super easy. I cut plexiglass (acrylic) to a size that fits well in a corner, covering the two rows of LED's (on each side of the enclosure). I taped it and caulked in place. I used a sticky caulk like sealant, so it glues it in place.

Reinstall Bottom Counter

File a bit of the corners of the bottom counter, to clear the LED strip. Careful not to scrape the diodes off of the strip when handling the bottom counter. After you're bottom counter clears over the LED strip, reinstall the bottom counter. Now you can use all the bracket screws, bottom counter will remain installed.

LED Cover (Cabinet)

Using remnant wood, I cut it at the length (width) of the bottom counter. I added a dado, a few pilot holes and glued plexiglass into the dado.

If you don't want to run a dado, you can sand the plexiglass and glue it to the wood. Just be gentle when drilling the pilot holes through the plexiglass.

Place the long LED cover up to the underside of the bottom counter, which should cover the remaining (exposed) LED's, and screw the cover in place.

At this point you'll feel that 'milestone moment' in your project.

With a frosted vessel, you could skip to Step 5: Finishing Up.

Taping (or Caulking) Gaps

Tape any gaps that would make your sand fall through. I taped the right and left sides, and the inside front. The backside has a tight-fitting dado, so nothing can fall through it. You can use white artist's tape or white caulking for a seamless look (depending on your theme). I just used painters tape, since the sand would cover it.

Install Sink Base Ring

Tape the sink's base ring to your bottom counter, then caulk it in place.

Rocks

Spray Foam - I put two pieces of wood together to form a 90° corner. I sprayed out the foam, and realized I didn't have enough, so I clumped it together using scrap wood. Being careful not to 'deflate' it. Let the foam dry. It expands a lot, but lost shape when I messed with it while drying. Other kinds of rigid foam will likely work. I didn't realize at that time that you can buy blocks for modeling. Not sure what would be cheaper. Spray foam was nice because the holes in the foam are inconsistent. Whereas, modeling foam is very consistent for the sake of finish quality.

GRINDER SAFETY - DO NOT use grinder on a spongy (or elastic) foam, it will likely pull up into the grinder. Use on RIGID, BRITTLE FOAM only. Make sure the foam is secured.

When the foam dried and became rigid, I shaped it with an angle grinder using a metal grinding disc. Any disc will do, stay away from an aggressive discs. I used a light touch, foam is lightweight and the grinder removes material extremely fast.

Pick It, Paint It - I used my fingers to pinch off some foam pieces. Started by removing areas that didn't look convincing. Everything should be organic and asymmetric (with the exception of the initial structure which mimic bedrock layers, like a canyon wall). Spray it with charcoal-colored primer, see how it looks and repeat picking/cutting as necessary.

Final Fitment - Use any thin metal blade to slide under foam, cutting it off from the wood substraight. Trim away at the backside and underside of the rock until you find your fit (in the enclosure). I found that I had to cut back quite a bit. You'll be doing dry fits with your sink to make sure it can sit on it's base, without rocks and plants interfering. When satisfied, paint the remaining parts of your foam rocks.

Fish

I tried to go for realistic fish, but it was tough to do. Obviously, Nemo is not a real fish. The others aren't too bad. I used lures for their iridescent and translucent appearance. I clipped the hooks and extra plastic that makes the lure wiggle. I used paperclips as mounting posts.

Plants

For the main, focal area I used rock formations, white coral and burgundy plants. This will make up your general color scheme when you walk up. Make sure it the color work with your bathroom color. I hid the pink coral and the blue plant in the less visible areas. They're yet to be discovered by a viewer.

You can cut some plants apart to get the most of them. I split up the pink coral and used them on both sides. I snipped strands off the burgundy plant, and glued them on a plastic base. Now they spread out into the sand like new growth. This also allows more items towards the middle of the sink, where its hard to place anything.

Sand

Wash the sand thoroughly to get the light dust out of it. Dry it out, and place it in a container.

Use a scooper/spoon to shovel sand into the enclosure. Starting from the back and working your way to the front. I used a waving pattern to give the effect of water moving over sand. It was a frustrating process because I kept bumping my scooper into the sand. It's like the old board game 'Operation.' Thankfully no buzzing noise, just a little swearing in my head. You can use a push stick (like a razor handle) to move sand around.

If you get too much sand in the rocks, use a thin straw to carefully blow it out.

Masking

I recommend using modeling tape for the first round (or two) of taping the gap. The flexibility will save you a lot of time. Then you can switch to painters tape for the bulk coverage.

Even slicing painters tape to a 1/4" was impossible to run a clean curve. This took for a long taping application due to having to cut the tape every couple inches. This makes for trickier peeling too, comes off in small sections.

Seal the Sink (a tricky one)

This took me three tries, due to bad smudges. Each time removing the sink to clean off the sealant, and start over. Be careful if you do have to remove the sink. The draft of picking up the sink can move with your sand, and try not to bump anything.

Add the sealant while watching the inner side of the bowl, while making sure you're being consistent with dispensing sealant into the gap. You don't want to squeeze too much and have it fall through into the enclosure. But too little sealant, will result in a hole in the seal.

Run your finger along the sealant to create a smooth finish and pushing down enough were it's needed. Wipe the excess on a rag. Do not overlap sealant too far over the tape. Before the sealant dries, peel the tape back (carefully) and keep it from touching anything. The loose tape that has sealant on it can get messy really quick.

There are many tutorials these days on doing perfect caulking/sealing. Maybe one of those techniques out there would be the right scenario for this application. Let me know, I had a hard time on this. My main issue was not having a backing (behind the gap) to push up against.

Plumbing

Install all parts. Since I lit-up the cabinet, I decided to paint the drainage pipes for a finished look.

Cabinet Door Light Leak

In the dark, I could see light leaking between cabinet doors. Also a strip of light casting on the floor, in front of the doors. It was coming from underneath the cabinet door. There are screws on the hinges that help adjust the gaps and keeps doors from coming in contact with each other when closing. This will help align everything and reduce the gaps. But it will not eliminate gaps completely, because the doors need a bit of a gap to close.

To fill the gaps completely, I used the cloth side of Velcro. There are many things you could use for this. I had Velcro on hand. It worked well and it softens the sound of the cabinet door.

Though, I recommend soft-close hinges for these cabinet doors, especially if you have things you don't want to shake inside the enclosure. My sand has settled over the years from the vibration of the doors banging shut. Most of the settling shows around the plant bases.

Maintenance

None, as far as the build goes. Inspect it occasionally.

I'm good about wiping up water around the base of the sink, and faucet. I keep a dedicated hand towel in one of my drawers for this purpose. I use the darker side of the towel to dry around sink and faucet, and the lighter side for the glass vessel.

I don't dry the glass vessel with each use. I use glass cleaner every few days, or skip to a non-abrasive polish if I've been lazy. If there is more than a few drops of water around my faucet, it's second nature to for me to dry it up. This helps keep the sealant stay good for years. I built this about six years ago, and there's no signs of mildew around the base of the sink. It's still as clear as the day I built it. I believe they have years specified on the sealant labels also.

The End

Thanks for checking out the build. Let us know if you make a version. I'm seeing steampunk, with the sink bracketed to the wall, or using a pedestal. No bottom counter. My buddy mentioned a 'tacos & hotdogs' theme, the world is yours!