mllanos1111
Well-known
I just purchased an entire darkroom, enlarger, chemicals, trays, lights even a couple of boxes of fiber paper.
I'd like to setup the darkroom in the garage, but i'm not sure how to make some kind of temporary light proof setup to do this.
I might also be able to bring it in the house and somehow make the bathroom light tight, but I would need a way to do this so I can bring the bathroom back to looking normal after.
What kind of solution have you come up with here to do this?
Thank you!
I'd like to setup the darkroom in the garage, but i'm not sure how to make some kind of temporary light proof setup to do this.
I might also be able to bring it in the house and somehow make the bathroom light tight, but I would need a way to do this so I can bring the bathroom back to looking normal after.
What kind of solution have you come up with here to do this?
Thank you!
kmack
do your job, then let go
The Nova darkroom tent always looked interesting to me.
mllanos1111
Well-known
I just looked it up,I had never seen that before. It looks pretty interesting.kmack said:
sherm
Well-known
Whatever you do, my two cents would be.......
Plenty of ventilation, the chemicals are quite toxic and could cause irritation. The room shouldn't have any carpeting and the walls should be just unfinished cement block, masonary or brick because the chemicals ond odors will permiate drywall as well as carpeting.
The garage would be perfect with the Nova
Good Luck
Plenty of ventilation, the chemicals are quite toxic and could cause irritation. The room shouldn't have any carpeting and the walls should be just unfinished cement block, masonary or brick because the chemicals ond odors will permiate drywall as well as carpeting.
The garage would be perfect with the Nova
Good Luck
cmedin
Well-known
Chemicals quite toxic and permeate drywall? Are we talking standard B&W stuff here, because I had a darkroom setup in a bathroom for years and never had any issues... nor do I think the chems for standard B&W wetwork are particularly dangerous.
Leigh Youdale
Well-known
Home Darkroom
Home Darkroom
Here are a couple of shots of a darkroom cupboard I built to go in the laundry. There's a clear bench space to the left where trays (or in my case a Nova Slot Processor) sit and then the laundry sink at the far left end.
The Nova unit plus chemicals and spare trays etc are in a cupboard in the garage.
Home Darkroom
Here are a couple of shots of a darkroom cupboard I built to go in the laundry. There's a clear bench space to the left where trays (or in my case a Nova Slot Processor) sit and then the laundry sink at the far left end.
The Nova unit plus chemicals and spare trays etc are in a cupboard in the garage.
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fidget
Lemon magnet
I once had mine set up in the loft. This was not the best place as, even with some insulation it became too hot in summer and too cold in winter.
I'm now in a spare room (carpeted and wallpapered), but it's a pain to clear out the stuff that accumulates there to use the table space (washing basket, ironing basket etc....). If I were doing it again I would partition off a section of my garage. I've seem some very nice jobs like this, some using only the back 5ft.
Lining the room, or effectively building a shed inside would give me a permanent darkroom (which may need heating etc), set up for imediate use.
The ability to be able to walk in and be printing in minutes, coupled with long life chemicals in a Nova tank is not to be underestimated.........
Dave....
I'm now in a spare room (carpeted and wallpapered), but it's a pain to clear out the stuff that accumulates there to use the table space (washing basket, ironing basket etc....). If I were doing it again I would partition off a section of my garage. I've seem some very nice jobs like this, some using only the back 5ft.
Lining the room, or effectively building a shed inside would give me a permanent darkroom (which may need heating etc), set up for imediate use.
The ability to be able to walk in and be printing in minutes, coupled with long life chemicals in a Nova tank is not to be underestimated.........
Dave....
Mackinaw
Think Different
I've had my darkroom in our laundry room for the past 16 years. Trays, etc. sit on to of the washer and dryer and I have a small but sturdy table where I place my Beseler 23C II enlarger. I use aluminum foil to seal off the windows and stick towels beneath both doors to eliminate that light source. I only do B&W and mostly use resin coated paper mainly to reduce water consumption. I've also started to use a daylight drum for processing which minimizes chemical usage and really cuts back on the odors.
This setup works well for me and doesn't bother the other folks in the house. Good luck with your new darkroom.
Jim Bielecki
This setup works well for me and doesn't bother the other folks in the house. Good luck with your new darkroom.
Jim Bielecki
Will
Well-known
Leigh Youdale said:
Very nice Leigh
sepiareverb
genius and moron
That does look like a very nice solution Leigh. I had a darkroom in a bathroom that was able to be re-converted pretty easily. Downside was the size made it a bit slow to print in, but I made quite a few lovely prints in it.
Another darkroom was in a bedroom with attached bathroom- this one had black plastic walls in the bedroom which allowed normal access to the bathroom and worked quite well- prints were washed in the bathtub. This was a more permanent set-up, and if the possibility exists for a more permanent set-up I would say go for it.
Don't under-estimate the benefits of having tempered water in the darkroom- I've worked in many darkrooms (currently in the 8th I've built I think) from 'dry' to 'deluxe' and lugging water is a sure way for me to come up with something better to do instead of print.
As to the toxicity (sp?) of chemistry- for most b&w stuff I think 'quite toxic' is a bit strong- you don't want to be drinking the stuff of course, and don't smoke in the darkroom, but even without any ventilation you're not going to keel over. Of my 8 darkrooms only 2 have had ventilation of any kind. Mixing dry chemicals is when you are most likely to run into trouble with getting dosed- I mixed a lot of chemistry outside before ventilation.
That said, I would certainly invest in a good exhaust fan- and if you are building a space within the garage your options may be wider as a fully light tight fan might not be necessary, depending on where it goes.
Fun stuff the planning stages of a new darkroom! One 'rule' I've heard is to lay out the trays you want to use for the biggest prints you think you'll make- then make the sink big enough to fit trays of the next size up. I can comfortably do 1620's in my sink, and 2024's if needed- a bit tight, and requires some shifting of full trays for ease during the fixer remove/toning/rinse stage. Of course the gallery wanted all 20x24's for the last show- when it comes to a sink bigger is better.
Another darkroom was in a bedroom with attached bathroom- this one had black plastic walls in the bedroom which allowed normal access to the bathroom and worked quite well- prints were washed in the bathtub. This was a more permanent set-up, and if the possibility exists for a more permanent set-up I would say go for it.
Don't under-estimate the benefits of having tempered water in the darkroom- I've worked in many darkrooms (currently in the 8th I've built I think) from 'dry' to 'deluxe' and lugging water is a sure way for me to come up with something better to do instead of print.
As to the toxicity (sp?) of chemistry- for most b&w stuff I think 'quite toxic' is a bit strong- you don't want to be drinking the stuff of course, and don't smoke in the darkroom, but even without any ventilation you're not going to keel over. Of my 8 darkrooms only 2 have had ventilation of any kind. Mixing dry chemicals is when you are most likely to run into trouble with getting dosed- I mixed a lot of chemistry outside before ventilation.
That said, I would certainly invest in a good exhaust fan- and if you are building a space within the garage your options may be wider as a fully light tight fan might not be necessary, depending on where it goes.
Fun stuff the planning stages of a new darkroom! One 'rule' I've heard is to lay out the trays you want to use for the biggest prints you think you'll make- then make the sink big enough to fit trays of the next size up. I can comfortably do 1620's in my sink, and 2024's if needed- a bit tight, and requires some shifting of full trays for ease during the fixer remove/toning/rinse stage. Of course the gallery wanted all 20x24's for the last show- when it comes to a sink bigger is better.
julio1fer
Well-known
Kodak has an useful document about setting up an amateur darkroom.
For a safety light, if you use a standard safety bulb, typically a red one, you just screw it into the standard socket.
For a safety light, if you use a standard safety bulb, typically a red one, you just screw it into the standard socket.
mllanos1111
Well-known
Thank you so much for all the info. After reading the kodak paper I think I have an idea of how to convert a part of the garage into a semi permanant dark room.