Building a darkroom

Looks wonderful Chris! Better than the one I had to work in for years. I suppose you are plannng to paint the enlarger-corner black on the walls and ceiling though ? That saves messing about with big bits of black card etc, like I have to do in my current 'spare-bedroom' darkroom.
 
That's a fantastic looking space Chris. Many congrats. It's also a good example to those of us who need to persuade their better halves what a good idea it would be.
 
Chris -- I have watched this thread since the start. I am so happy you made yourself a great darkroom. I have picked up the odd tip and refinement from your design. I will be reworking my darkroom space this spring/summer. Thanks for the thread, Chris. Sincerely, Thomas
 
Chris, how did you make your plywood sink? Are you using treaded plywood? How are you sealing the joints and how can you prevent the joints from cracking if the wood expands?

BTW, if you are finding your prints are a little lower in contrast that you expect, paint the walls around the enlargers flat/matte gray/grey.
 
Chris, my sincerest congratulations.

That is one neat and well-planned darkroom, and thanks for the inspiration.
 
Wow - thanks everyone for the good wishes! I'm considering painting the corner around the Lab 1200 but I've looked carefully at the amount of white light that does leak from the enlarger and I can easily control it with some black card taped to two small sections on the side of the enlarger. If I do that it will save me the paint and the overall white scheme helps keep the place bright with the safelights on. With the plywood sink I started with a full sheet of plywood (8 feet by 4 feet or 2400mm x 1200mm) and gave it two coats of epoxy on both sides before I cut out the pieces. After making the joins (rebate, wood glue and nails) I mixed filler with epoxy to make an epoxy mix with the consistency of putty, then applied fillets that strengthen the joints and make them fully waterproof. After that I applied several more coats of epoxy. Not pretty up close, but very effective - the plywood is fully encapsulated in epoxy so in theory the moisture content in the ply will never change so it should be dimensionally stable. This, and finishing/painting the walls, was the most time-consuming part of the whole job.

Cheers!
 
Chris, thanks for the information. I am building a darkroom (again) and I did not want the expense of a stainless steel sink. How did you get the drain in the plywood?
 
ChrisN said:
I'm considering painting the corner around the Lab 1200 but I've looked carefully at the amount of white light that does leak from the enlarger and I can easily control it with some black card taped to two small sections on the side of the enlarger.
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Hi Chris, sounds like a nice neat enlarger - but there is lots of white light that comes squirting out of the lens and then bounces off the shiny white paper in the easel, before hitting the walls and veiling those nice dark areas that make the prints look so good ! If you will never print colour, then a dark red/orange paint in that corner would be fine too (there is/was even a BSI colour name for that) and should look very pale in safelight.
 
Finder said:
Chris, thanks for the information. I am building a darkroom (again) and I did not want the expense of a stainless steel sink. How did you get the drain in the plywood?
Click to expand...

I bought a flanged drain outlet at the hardware store, and bonded it into a recess in the floor of the sink with epoxy. I made the recess in the base of the sink with two holesaws - first cut half-way through the base to the outside diameter of the drain fitting, then cut all the way through with a small holesaw the size of the drain pipe. Then carefully remove the waste with a chisel. Apply a good coat of expoxy to the exposed plywood and let that harden up before bonding the drain fitting into place with more epoxy. Careful work with the epoxy will ensure that the wood never gets wet.
 
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