Making your own alpine sink worth over £100...

As I said in a previous post, I have had a couple of Belfast sinks by me for some time doing very little other than collecting water and providing a nice home for the odd frog on the allotments. After staring at them every time I visit the plots I thought it was about time to do something practical with them. So, with lots of oomphing and arghing I managed to load one into the car and take it back home. Having searched the internet for something useful to do with it I stumbled across the idea of covering it with hypertufa, creating a natural stone-like trough ideal and highly desired by alpine enthusiasts...

 

I found a recipe for the hypertufa mix which is as follows:

1 part cement

1 part moss peat

1 part sharp sand

To this you add just enough water so the mixture is moist and when squeezed, lets out a couple of drops of moisture. By no means should the mixture be sodden! Having made the mix I applied a pva adhesive all over the sink. Allow this to become tacky (which should occur just before it drys out. Then you start to apply the hypertufa mix, spreading it about 1" thick. Make sure you apply it all over the sides and to the lip of the sink as this will be visible even when planted.

I started on the front, applying the mix and pressing it to the adhesive on the sink. Keep adding more and working across the sink.

Even now I think it is starting to look stone-like.

Moving onto the side of the sink and things are going well. Note I have my overalls on as it gets to be a messy job! Also do wear gloves as the lime in the cement can be damaging to your hands.

I mixed the mix in a builders bucket and then tipped it onto the board in this picture. I found it easier to work from the board than from the confines of a bucket.

The mix takes about three days to cure or 'set'. Then its advisable to leave it another week before planting it to allow a second curing process to take place. During this time keep the sink covered over. I used some sheets of bubble wrap held down by an offcut of pond liner.
You may notice I haven't applied any mix to the back of the sink as it wont be seen. This sink will always be against a wall so I thought it completely unnecessary to 'jazz' the back up.
All in all the project cost me £7 exactly. The sink I've had for years and inherited them, the sand and cement I bought from Wickes for £7 and the peat I already had in the potting shed. Plus, all I used was two potting scoops of each ingredient!
I think I will do the same with the other Belfast sink and, you can also make rockery stones with the same mixture buy digging a hole in the garden, adding the mix to the hole and letting it set before removing. Hey presto! a homemade rockery stone. In theory I suppose you could also cover any other pot or bowl for that matter. I have some of those cheap plastic planters knocking about somewhere which I intend cover with this hypertufa and make some stone troughs and bowls. The possibilities are endless!
Look out for a future post when I've finished the project and its all planted and finished...
Please note. Some articles on the internet recommend you gentle brush over the mix once it has set with a wire brush to 'roughen' the edges and make it look more natural. I haven't found the need to do so. I think if you don't completely smooth it out when you first apply it to your pot/sink then it immediately starts to look like natural stone anyway!