Bathroom and other Temporary/Makeshift Darkrooms

pdeeh · Aug 8, 2014

Now that's a good idea. Wonder if it's available in the UK?

pbromaghin · Aug 8, 2014

Seek and you shall find:

http://www.closetmaid.co.uk/

David A. Goldfarb · Aug 21, 2014

David A. Goldfarb said:
We'll see. I put some silicone sealant on the outward facing seams (can't seal the doors, obviously), put some extra weight down low, and added a hasp and lock to keep the doors closed (and kids out, hurricane aside). I'll report back afterward.

Well, the hurricanes haven't amounted to much, so the cabinet is holding up fine out on the balcony.

I put up a blackout curtain around the door and had another one rolled up to catch the light leaks at the threshold, and I think this is my darkest dark/bathroom yet. I ran 5 rolls of TX400 35mm in Acufine (EI 1000) in open dip & dunk tanks in the middle of the day and they all look fine.

I did have the hose to the film washer blow off, because I forgot to put a clamp on that one, but fortunately the connector points straight down into the tub, so there were no disasters, and I had a spare hose clamp on hand.

Steve Smith · Aug 21, 2014

pdeeh said:
I'm going to use the words "sink" and "basin" interchangeably, just for LOLs

You rebel!

Steve.

pdeeh · Aug 21, 2014

They don't call me the Johnny Strabler of North Dorset for nothing, you know ...

... although, come to think of it, nobody calls me that at all ...

analoguey · Aug 21, 2014

I've a similar sized bathroom as Pdeeh, however most 'dry' work happens in the darkened room next to it.
I thought of using a stacked tray approach to develop - dev above stop above... You get the idea.
Hadn't thought of getting a trolley for it (original idea flopped).
I should look for one with 3 shelves or with easy access to them.
Only problem might be weird angle of crouching to agitate prints or sheet films.

Do you do the processing at the top of the trolley, Pdeeh?

Sent from Tap-a-talk

pdeeh · Aug 21, 2014

No the trolley simply holds the enlarger and easel on top, with papersafe (actually a shoebox), spare boxes of paper, and the various whatnots one gathers on the shelves beneath.
As mentioned, behind the sinkbasin is a shelf just deep and wide enough to comfortably hold 3 trays, and that's just a stroke of luck in how the bathroom has been built.
So I manage to have a dry side and a wet side in one room, albeit not separated by very much space.
I think if I tried to use the trolley for the trays it would be more trouble than it's worth for me.

analoguey · Aug 21, 2014

Ah okay. Have you used the shelves in a specific way - dev on top, stop middle, fix bottom etc?

I was thinking of a trolley like thing because the floor's not carpeted - I dont have to worry about spilling the chems much there.

Sent from Tap-a-talk

pdeeh · Aug 21, 2014

Sorry analoguey, I haven't described things clearly enough. I don't have them stacked.
A picture will be best

Apjcphoto · Nov 29, 2014

Looks like I've gone the same route as pdeeh. I've recently bought the contents of a darkroom of someone who has decided to go digital only.
I'm fairly new to film as a photographer. I only came to film in the last year. Before that digital was the medium that put me on the path to photography, first as a hobby then as a career.
So I shoot all my day to day work with digital but have now moved all my personal work to film. It's actually brought a whole new level of excitement into photography for me. So this is where the home darkroom has come into play. Hopefully I'll be able to make all of this stuff work for me!

Let the adventure begin!

winterclock · Nov 30, 2014

I would be worried about everything falling off the trolley!

Apjcphoto · Dec 1, 2014

winterclock said:
I would be worried about everything falling off the trolley!

I blame iPad for that!

goros · Dec 1, 2014

The other day I finally took some pictures of my bathroom-darkroom.

The first one is the dry area (although it is also wet). On a board, place between the toilet and a heater that are at the same heigh, you could see the enlarger, timer, focusing loupe, etc. Below, the paper.

The second one, the wet area. The Nova processing tank and the washing pans placed in the tub.

That's all.........for the time being, because I'm building a new one, permanent this time.

MartinP · Dec 3, 2014

Nice use of space, Goros! The Novatech really helps to cut down on tray space. A couple of pieces of black card to the right of, and behind, the enlarger will reduce a bit of glare of the shiny white walls during exposure.

kal800 · Mar 14, 2016

that's my darkroom. I've been building it for the last two months. it would not have been possible without your help at APUG, which I greatly apreciate. i really like this setup. it is temporary darkroom but it takes about 15 minutes to mantle/dismantle everything.

goros · Mar 15, 2016

I had a very similar arrangement to the one you show above for several years and couldn't be happier.

Molli · Mar 15, 2016

kal800 said:
that's my darkroom. I've been building it for the last two months. it would not have been possible without your help at APUG, which I greatly apreciate. i really like this setup. it is temporary darkroom but it takes about 15 minutes to mantle/dismantle everything.

Nicely set up! Congratulations and welcome to your new addiction

ciennepi · Apr 18, 2016

I have find the time to descibe my temporary darkroom. I set up in my bathroom (we have two so the wife don't grumble) and can stay installed all the day long.
The window is covered with lightproof cloth, the enlarger (a wery old but in like new condition Durst U70) is set on a rolled cabinet with a rotating shelf on the right on wich there are the first and second fixer tray.
The developer and stop tray are in the bathtub. Inside the cabinet I have tray, paper and other darkroom accessories.
On the cabinet top you can see my Scoponet grain focuser and my Beseler Analite 400 darkroom meter.
To set up the darkroom it took me about 15 minutes and about 30 minutes to dismantle all (there are all the tray to empty and clean)
Here I can print the negative from 35mm to 6x6 or 6x7 (Nikon Fe, Hasselblad 500CM and Mamiya RB67 ProS) up to 40x50 cm print dimension.
I am trying to build a permanent one for a very bigger enlarger (a Durst Laborator 138S) but for now this is my sweet refuge.

Neal · Apr 18, 2016

I Like your safelight. Nice and bright and it will follow your cabinet back to storage.

Neal Wydra

ciennepi · Apr 18, 2016

Yes, its a 10 € Ikea lamp with a 15w red safelight. In a little darkroom there is plenty of light. Sometimes little is better.

ratmandu · Nov 17, 2016

Here was my cramped little temporary/makeshift/bathroom darkroom that I had in my 1 bedroom apartment. I managed to cram a Beseler 67 in there, and had three trays sitting on a 1/4in wood plank that was sitting over the sink.
I placed a wash tank in the bathtub and had a slow trickle going into it whenever I was washing a print. I also used some magnetic clips to hang prints from the shower curtain rod to dry.

banandrew · Mar 27, 2017

This thread seems a bit dead, but here's my contribution anyways. I finally remembered to take some pics while it was set up.

It's the only bathroom in my apt so the toilet is always accessible...

Picture of the wet side, an old Ikea dining table fit above the tub. A second wash tray sits in the tub under the faucet.

Picture of dry side. A small particle board covers the sink. A copy of "way beyond monochrome" happens to be where I started keeping notes, so it's always in the darkroom. Two kitchen stools provide the main support for the enlarger, making it *almost* countertop height. Another scrap piece of particle board holds the paper under the enlarger, and a footswitch to start and stop the timer sits under the stools.

There's enough space for a chair which is good for the back.

MattKing · Mar 27, 2017

Photos don't show.

banandrew · Mar 27, 2017

MattKing said:
Photos don't show.

Oops that should be fixed now, couldn't figure out how to preview before the post! Anyone know how to make the pics smaller?

edit: nevermind, resized source images instead.

MattKing · Mar 27, 2017

Looks quite usable.

Bathroom and other Temporary/Makeshift Darkrooms

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