Building a small darkroom

[BJ Bignell]

I've just moved, and in our new apartment I get one whole room for myself. 😀 Since I'm now self-employed, this room needs to be used as office space, but I hope that there's still plenty of left-over for a small corner darkroom.

In general, the room is 375cm x 275cm, with a closet and hallway door in one corner. There will be no running water, but I plan to have enough space to develop the prints, and then just walk them over to the bathroom for washing.

Attached is my floor plan for the room. In this plan you will find the following:

* Computer desk - my main work area
* Auxiliary desk - for my printer, scanner, and fax machine
* Bookshelf, plant, and table - these don't exist yet, but it's the only place in the house where we can put a bookshelf and the phone and wireless router.
* Enlarger and dry side - the bare minimum required to get out a piece of paper and print on it
* Wet side, with (just enough) room for three large trays of about 40cm x 60cm (16" x 24")
* Drying rack
* Power outlets (dark blue)
​

The position and size of following items are non-negotiable: computer desk and auxiliary desk. These need to be where they are for the power, and for my sanity. I spend up to 16h per day at the computer, so it's priority number one. The aux desk will be necessary to hold equipment that should not be cluttering up my normal workspace.

What's left isn't much. The plan is to have the enlarger sitting on a custom-built wooden shelf, with storage space for paper safes, lenses, easel, and tools. Under the wet and dry area, I will install some shelving, or use an old cabinet I already own for chemical storage.

Dimensions for everything are given in centimeters. I have planned the depth of the dry and wet areas as 60cm (~2ft), because this will ensure that I have access to the back corner. Also, I have some old wooden closet doors 60cm wide, and they will convert nicely into a table surface. 😱 For the wet side, I would simply tack on a half-inch piece of trim, and then silicone on the inside to create a no-leak surface, in case of spills and splashes.

The big challenges I see are lightproofing, ventilation, and space (of course). The floor is also nowhere near level, so any tables/shelves I build will need to be properly leveled, especially for the enlarger. The floor is hardwood and heating is by an electric baseboard heater, so dust/fuzz should not be a huge issue.

If you've been through this before, or if you have any tips based on your darkroom experience, I would love to hear them.

Cheers,
BJ

 

[back alley]

electric heater = dry air so you might want a small humidifier in there.

cheap air cleaners work well for crap in the air.

 

[Finder]

I just used a large black vynal curtain taped across the window to shut out light.

Personally, I would hate to work in your darkroom. Access to that tray in the corner would be a real pain. I would put you desk and enlarge/dry side along one wall, and the bookcase / wet side on the other. Or place the wet side under the window. But free up the center and keep it simple - that makes it so much easier to move arround and to keep clean and dust free.

In my last darkroom, I had a fixed dry side, and put my wet side on a large cart I could move around for when I was using or not using the darkroom.

Anyhoo, JMRHO.

 

[rxmd]

Put your trays for your wet side on top of each other in a rack, with the developer on top and the fixer at the bottom. Instead of planning for a fixed wet side, put an extra desk there, and when doing development work cover it with foil, put a large tray on top of it and place the rack in this tray. That way you can save space, work with larger trays, and get the trays out of the corner.

Philipp

 

[markinlondon]

You could look at a Nova tank www.novadarkroom.com. This allows you to keep your chemistry longer and a 10x8 model fits in one 10x8 tray as a drip catcher.

 

[Jerevan]

Looks like you're good on your way towards some prints in the darkroom! I have never been a fan of having to set up the darkroom every time I use it, so I think that if you can have as much as possible up and ready, you'll be spending more time doing prints.

The wet side looks a bit cramped. Either expand that, or do as suggested earlier in the thread, make a rack for the trays. I think there could be problems with bumping into the drying rack when you are working around the enlarger. Why not do some kind of trial set-up and put up everything you have, and see how it looks for real, even if you just put stuff straight on the floor?

Myself, I have my enlarger and timer inside a small closet, 50x50 cm. It gives me space to stand and move around freely when doing prints. I don't do very big prints, so I am happy with this setup.

Think about the height in the room - use the the walls as much as possible, from floor to ceiling.

As you don't want to move the two desks, you have a pretty tight workspace for darkroom, as it is right now. But give it a go and see what gives. Let us know how it works out in the real world. 🙂

 

[BJ Bignell]

Thanks so much for the replies. I expected that the wet side would be an issue, because I would have to reach into the corner. The Nova tank looks like a very cool idea, although the price is a bit, ummm, shocking. Using this would allow me to extend the dry space and have a bit of elbow room, so I will consider it seriously.

For air, I was thinking of getting a small and cheap air filter. I'm not too worried about humidity, though, even with electric radiators. Sitting in my office right now with the heat on, it is 21 degC and the relative humidity is ~70%. It's not so dry out east as it is in Edmonton!

I'd love to rearrange the darkroom, but like I said the space I have is essentially fixed. Also, I am deliberately setting the darkroom workspace to the side of my computer workspace; if any parts of it were in front of me, I'd be much too tempted to black out the window and start printing.

I've attached another option that puts the enlarger closer to the power outlet, and increases the space available for the dry side, while sacrificing some wet side space. However, some of this is recovered by a rolling table, which could incorporate shelves and be stored under the wet side.

Opinions/comments please!

 

[markinlondon]

Nova tanks don't hold their price very well, my 16x12 was about £80 IIRC and I think the shop had a used 10x8 for about £40. Always worth a look round the dealers and auctions.

 

[rxmd]

The second plan already looks much, much better.

I prefer racks to Nova-type vertical development tanks, if only because they're less expensive, easier to keep clean and you can put a small development tray on a big rack, while with a Nova tank you're limited to one tank size and can have lots of fun if a small print falls into the tank. But if you want a tank, it's no problem to build one yourself from a couple of sheets of textured plexiglass (textured so that prints don't stick to the walls) and some silicone.

Do you have running water in your darkroom? How do you want to wash your prints?

Philipp

 

[BJ Bignell]

I could do racks, too, Philipp. Just looking for all the ideas. For washing prints, I will have to take them to the bathroom and rinse them after the printing session. My plan was to dev/stop/fix, and then place the finished print(s) in a tub of water to soak, as I continue to print. When finished, I would transport them to the bathroom and rinse them properly. Is this a good idea?

Or, would I be better off to dev/stop/fix, rinse them briefly in a tray, and then put them on the drying racks until I can take them to be washed properly? I don't imagine that a couple of hours with a bit of fixer can do a lot of damage to paper?

 

[Ronald M]

I appreciate not wanting to look at a wall from the desk, but how about putting it on lockable castors so it can be moved for more wet space.

There could be a hinged extension like a drop leaf table.

The other option is the desk in front of the window. Let the return ( aux desk)stick into the room. If the aux desk were on castors it would double as more wet space.

At the least I would make a tray ladder. The top and middle shelves are set back so prints do not drip onto the table as they are moved one tray to another. I use a similar arrangement for 16x20 trays in my darkroom.

Lastly put a backsplash all around the wet area as liquids do spill. Protect the carpet with throw rugs if there is carpet.

Windows are best blocked with double layers. A good masonite inset will stop 90% of the light. Then room darkening shades over the ENTIRE window frame . Do not mount inside the frame like normal shades. Store the 1/8 in masonite behind the book shelves when not in use.

I think this is workable for a non running water room.

 

[BJ Bignell]

The idea of a hinged extension on the wet side is interesting. This could extend across the closet door, which wouldn't be a problem, because I won't be using the closet during printing.

For the window, I have a double curtain rod so that I can hang a set of heavy, dark curtains over the day-to-day lightweight curtain. Along with either a window insert or some sort of black vinyl sheet, this should provide good protection from the outdoor light. I'll need to block the light from the hallway as well, probably using a similar system.

For the desks, I don't have them yet, but based on the shopping I've done so far, a standard desk is usually ~70x150cm. Once I have a proper desk and aux desk, I can position them based on my desires, and then make better plans.

Any other suggestions/tips?

 

[bsdunek]

When I had a darkroom without running water, I had a big (5-gallon) plastic tub to put my prints in. I would use hypo-eliminator in the water so the prints were already processing. This was large enough for a several hour session of printing.
You shouldn't hang them up prior to washing, as you're asking for hypo stains if they get dry.

 

[Finder]

The second plan looks better to me as well. It is at least a good place to start. After you work in the place for a bit, improvements will become evident.

 

[BJ Bignell]

Is it safe to leave prints to soak for maybe two or three hours? They won't get too wet, over-saturated?

 

[Goodyear]

To stray a little...

Nova tanks: I presume they have heaters? Otherwise hey sound like tempering could be fun.

 

[BJ Bignell]

It appears that there are models with and without heaters. The 10x8 processor with a heater is a very modest GBP299... Oy!

 

[ErnestoJL]

I had two different darkrooms in my house, but at both I didn´t have running water, so I placed prints in a big tub with water and moved them later to the bathroom for final washing. Initial rinse lasted from 2 to 4 hours (sometimes more) without troubles.
My actual wet darkroom is a bit smaller than yours, as is a real corner in a bigger room (4m x 4m) where I have my electronics workbench (and some storage area), the computers, a desk where I repair cameras, and three bookshelves which make kind of a division wall. With all this in mind I didn´t have any other option than to make a rack with the dev. trays, in same order as said before: developing on top, fixing bath in the bottom.
Under the enlarger there is a small storage area for papers,
The total area occupied by the darkroom is about 1.6 x 1.6 m.
The window was obscured by means of simple cardboard painted flat black.
Your solution is IMHO the best you can find for the available space and your needs. As soon as you start printing, you´ll find the hot spots where to modify, improve, etc.

Good luck and enjoy it!

Ernesto

 

[like2fiddle]

I like your second plan much more than your first. For your wet side, have you considered just a small table on locking casters that you could roll under the enlarger shelf when not in use? My darkroom is in my basement, and I'm exploring building a sink on wheels that I could roll over my floor drain for print washing.

Roger

 

[BJ Bignell]

For your wet side, have you considered just a small table on locking casters that you could roll under the enlarger shelf when not in use?

I'm going to keep the space under the enlarger/dry side free for storage. I need to store chem bottles, paper safes, easel, enlarger lenses, cameras, tools, misc junk, etc.

I think I will start with the stacking tray idea for the wet side, and build a rolling shelf/table that fits under the wet side, as shown in the diagram. Any recommendations for the amount of vertical space between each tray? I would guess that six inches (15cm) should be plenty?

Now, to start planning materials and actually getting started on this business... 😀 😱