Almost there!

[joeyk49]

Just a little bit of fun.

My darkroom is "almost there". The sink connections should go in this week end. The electricity by Monday-ish and maybe, just MAY-bee, I'll be printing by next week end....sssh! don't tell the Mrs..

 

[joeyk49]

oops, no photo...

I'll try again...

 

[Deniz]

electricity? for what? you putting spot lights in there or something

haha.. after all a 9v battery powered halogen bulb could do my contact printing..

 

[joeyk49]

after reading some of the posts in here, I'll need a steareo, or at least a radio...a refrigerator, with a safelight of course...and let me see...the timer, the fan, the safe lit KEEP OUT sign...

Am I forgetting anything???

 

[Flotsam]

Ah. Everyone needs a sanctuary these days. Don't forget the "BUSY! GO AWAY!" sign to hang on the door . Many happy, rewarding hours await.

 

[Art Vandalay]

Oh boy. How exciting. I can't wait to tell all my friends. Please let me know the second you have finished it.

 

[joeyk49]

LOL Art!

But alas, the down side...I must do battle with my nemsis...the bane of all home darkrooms...second only to light leakage...

...the dreaded D U S T!!! It seem the ONLY place I could locate my darkroom is directly below the laundry room, with the dryer vent passing right through my sanctuary (fleeting images of quazimoto...)...this shall require creativity, engineering prowess and, not to mention a few sheckels...

I must also go to confession...the attached image was...di...dig....no, I can't say it...dig....argh!...non-analog.....please, FORGIVE meeee!

 

[BWGirl]

Are those defibrillator paddles in the first photo??? Slow down, Joey! Cover that insulation in the ceiling, too! Even Black plastic like the stuff those wierd people who actually like gardening use.

Congratulations, BTW.... it's a very exciting feeling!!!

 

[Art Vandalay]

LOL Art!

But alas, the down side...I must do battle with my nemsis...the bane of all home darkrooms...second only to light leakage...

...the dreaded D U S T!!! It seem the ONLY place I could locate my darkroom is directly below the laundry room, with the dryer vent passing right through my sanctuary (fleeting images of quazimoto...)...this shall require creativity, engineering prowess and, not to mention a few sheckels...

I must also go to confession...the attached image was...di...dig....no, I can't say it...dig....argh!...non-analog.....please, FORGIVE meeee!

I get around the dust problem by never dusting or vacuuming It only stirs up more dust. But seriously, if you have the water running a lot, that may keep the air humid enough to keep the dust from rising too much.

 

[Max Power]

Hey Joey!
I faced a similar dust problem because I'm in the basement too...My solution was to install a suspended ceiling...It only cost a few dollars and works really well. The added bonus is that when I need to get at the electrical, I just need to lift out the panels.
I notice that you have a dryer duct going through the area. I have a bathroom fan duct going through mine, so I have put in a 'T-junction' and tapped in a small bathroom fan for my darkroom...I works really well in keeping the fumes down.

Just some ideas,
Kent

 

[David Ruby]

I'm in the basement too. I couldn't put in a ceiling due to all sorts of random obstructions (water pipes, phones lines, you name it) in the way. The ceiling is exposed joists and the subfloor from above, and not too clean as you look at it. I thought I'd try it without anything to see if it would work and so far it's great. I don't vacuum as Art suggests, and I haven't had any real dust problems. I do take my neg's upstairs to hang in the bathroom though, so I don't push my luck!

I'm not sure I'd really recommend a suspended ceiling though, at least not the types I see in most commercial work. They are made of mineral fiber for the most part, and they tend to get friable in time. Taking them in and out is a messy task (in darkroom levels anyway) even with new tiles.

 

[rbarker]

Looks like progress, Joey, and lots of space, too. Congrats.

I like Jeanette's idea of stapling plastic sheeting to the joists above the space to keep drier and insulation dust out of your sanctum blacktorum, though.

Mine is a converted bathroom, with the enlarger table above the tub.

 

[Max Power]

I hear you David,
The fibre dust from the panels was a big concern when I chose them...I went through all of the different types and found one which I found the least offensive. For me, it was a question of risk management. Which is/was more problematic: dust from the insulation/joists/pipes etc or potential dust from the panels? I went with the latter.

Joey, another tip...If you find light leaks around the perimeter, you can use a can of that expanding foam insulation crap. My inlet pipes to my sink, like yours, come from above. I used the expanding foam in the corners and around the pipes to eliminate light leaks. It works perfectly.

Cheers,
Kent

 

[BWGirl]

I hear you David,
The fibre dust from the panels was a big concern when I chose them...I went through all of the different types and found one which I found the least offensive. For me, it was a question of risk management. Which is/was more problematic: dust from the insulation/joists/pipes etc or potential dust from the panels? I went with the latter.

Joey, another tip...If you find light leaks around the perimeter, you can use a can of that expanding foam insulation crap. My inlet pipes to my sink, like yours, come from above. I used the expanding foam in the corners and around the pipes to eliminate light leaks. It works perfectly.

Cheers,
Kent

I used that expanding foam, too! Man that stuff is sticky! But it works like a charm around pipes or in other little places where light sneaks in.
BTW - when you check your room for light leaks, check it at least 4 times during the day. After my darkroom had been in operation for a month, I saw a light leak in a place I'd looked at previously and seen nothing. The difference was that it was mid-day and our garage door was open. Since my room shares a wall with the garage foundation, I discovered a leak where a water spigot went out into the garage. Amazing!

 

[Bob F.]

Don't want to put a dampener on things but... Before putting items like plastic sheeting on your ceiling, you had best check the local fire regulations. You would not want to find your household fire insurance invalidated by putting inflamable materials on a ceiling when local regulations prohibit it....


Cheers, Bob.

 

[joeyk49]

BWGirl: Now that you mention it, they do look like defib paddles! Although I prefer the self adhesive electrodes...they're really just porcelain light sockets. I plan to use them to make a neg/slide viewer.

I'm still working on the ceiling issue. I thought of the black plastic, but there are too many hot water pipes and then there's that dryer duct...

A suspended ceiling might work. I've put it in other parts of the basement. I think if I put a good coating of paint on them, they would keep from giving off fibers...

Two cans of expanding foam already used. The stuff is really cool. You let it dry and you can cut off the excess with a knife.

 

[Max Power]

A suspended ceiling might work. I've put it in other parts of the basement. I think if I put a good coating of paint on them, they would keep from giving off fibers...

Hey Joey,
I went to Home Depot (You Can Do It, But We Don't Have It In Stock) and the panels I chose were the hard ones...2 x 4 and they were non-reflective, painted flat white. They were harder to put in than the flexible panels, but they are better in a darkroom.

Kent

 

[joeyk49]

Hooked up the water today...I'm getting psyched!!!

I'm thinking of just getting a sheet of dry wall and tacking it up to the floor joists. Its cheap, easy to cut and very paintable...

 

[tbm]

I highly recommend you read the "Printing As Meditation" article by Ralph Hattersley in the December issue of Shutterbug (on page 154), for it wonderfully describes the meditation experience you are about to encounter while making prints in your darkroom. Another word I would add to that: ecstasy! Hanging from my darkroom ceiling are my father's old dark yellow (amber) safelights from the 1950s which create a soft, mellow glow all about the "room" (8 x 6 feet!) and, accompanied classical music playing in my Bose CD player, create one hell of a meditative environment. It is so great to leave the outside world behind, thoroughly enjoy many hours per printing session, and indulge in the refreshening creative process. I always depart my darkroom feeling recharged!

 

[joeyk49]

tbm:
Ironic that you aim to leave the outside world behing in your darkroom, when generally that's exactly what your working on IN the darkroom...

But I get your point. I can hear my wife's complaints now..."You spend um-teen hours in that darkroom and now you want to play golf?! LOL

Ain't life grand?

 

[tbm]

tbm:
Ironic that you aim to leave the outside world behing in your darkroom, when generally that's exactly what your working on IN the darkroom...

But I get your point. I can hear my wife's complaints now..."You spend um-teen hours in that darkroom and now you want to play golf?! LOL

Ain't life grand?

If a print session lasts until one hour before dinner, I pour vodka over ice, return to my darkroom, and finish the series I've already started. The music and the printing process both suddenly become mellower. I haven't smoked week in many years and I'm glad I don't have access to it, for it creates an entirely different meditational experience that I doubt would be compatible with sensible darkroom work!! Finally, I don't play any sports, and I have an understanding mate who would much rather find me in my darkroom than in a dark bar cruising somebody for sex!