Blackout material

I used generic black bags for trash -contractor bags are much better- and stuck velcro to all 4 sides to match up with 4 sides of the wall opening
Light seeped through the velcro so I took weatherproofing felt and made a half loop with it
then stapled it right next to the velcro so the felt stuck up higher than the velcro on the wall
an effective block
For the floor I attached a 5 inch flap of felt on the outside of the plastic that bunched a bit at the bottom and this worked perfectly, too

Just an update.

I went with the blackout kit for the main vertical window with velcro. It actually works pretty well and it is easy to put up and take down. It is pretty light tight when it is smoothed out properly.

Unfortunately the 2 sloping roof windows are proving slightly more difficult. I got 2 squares of the blackout material, but it is pretty heavy. I built wooden frames to slot it into the space, but occasionally it falls out of the slot. There is no way the velcro would hold this material in place as the angle is about 30 degrees off the horizontal. I also don't want to drill into the wooden window frames to put brackets that would help hold the frame in place. I may have to go with a lighter solution like bin liners after all...

mrtoml said:

Unfortunately the 2 sloping roof windows are proving slightly more difficult. I got 2 squares of the blackout material, but it is pretty heavy. I built wooden frames to slot it into the space, but occasionally it falls out of the slot. There is no way the velcro would hold this material in place as the angle is about 30 degrees off the horizontal. I also don't want to drill into the wooden window frames to put brackets that would help hold the frame in place. I may have to go with a lighter solution like bin liners after all...

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In the US one can pretty easily find spring loaded curtain rods with rubber tips that are designed for a pressure fit inside a window frame. Something like that might help hold up whatever material you are trying to use without modifying the window frame itself.

Lee

Thanks, Lee. That's a good idea. I will have a look.

The method I used was to get some black foamex (a rigid light weight PVC) cut to fit over the windows, this had some soft black plastic foam glued round the edge. To keep it in place I fixed some short threaded studs around the window, drilled holes in the foamex to fit over the studs which could then be held in place with wing nuts.

Mark I hadn't seen this thread and as you have bought Nova's material, my comments are now a little late but here goes. I too bought the Nova material for quite a large bedroom window( my darkroom is a converted bedroom) and have had it for about 4 years. My findings are that it is very durable, hasn't torn and is likely to last a lifetime, I think. So what's the problem? Well the material for a large window is very heavy and velcro very quickly loses its stickiness, even though my material is additionally supported at the top by a form of curtain rail. I find that I have to re-fix the velcro each time I use the darkroom by running my hands over the velcro to re-affix. The problem is compounded by the fact that my window is south facing and the material acts like a heat trap. I can actually put my hand near the material and feel the heat emanating like a radiator which seem to further weaken the velcro's hold. I then tried white polystyrene painted black and sandwiched between the window and the blackout material to cut down the heat penetrating the window but with limited success.

If I had my time over again, I'd invest in proper blinds with side channels which can be raised and lowered at will and which don't rely on velcro. Ideal for reconverting the room for other temporary uses as well as the benefit of daylight for toning and even film processing, once in the tank.

If you aren't south facing and if the windows are small, it may not be a problem but I note that you have the force of gravity to contend with. Working only in the hours of darkness may also be a solution especially if there are no street lights to intrude but that's too limiting for a large part of the year.

If you solve your problems great but if you continue to have difficulties and assuming the investment in blackout material hasn't been so high that you are stuck with it then if you expect to be a darkroom worker for some years to come, investment in professional blinds may be worthwhile. Firstcall sell a self assemble kit including channels. You give simply them your measurements, get a quote and the do a bit of DIY. Richards of Hull advertise something that sounds similar to Firstcall blinds in B&W mag.

I hope that all your attempts to solve your problems keep you in completely in the dark. Only on an analogue photographic site could this comment be construed as well meaning and not nasty!

Best of luck

pentaxuser

Thanks, pentaxuser. At the moment the vertical window is not causing any problems with the velcro, but it is south facing (it is about 2m across and 1 m high). I have the velcro well outside the boundaries of the window opening (not on the window frame itself). I don't know if this will help with the heat in summer.

I have just bought some curtain rods that Lee suggested to try on the roof windows which are 1m square. As you say the Nova material is great, but it is very heavy and hard to keep up in certain conditions.

If this fails I might try pro blinds but I am worried about the costs so if I can get this to work it will be great.

'Way late.

We used a blackout material (not sure it was the Nova or not, got it at a specialized fabric store in Seattle - I presume it is similar if not the same). We used it to turn a classroom into a camera obscura:



It worked great the first year, but then, all the problems mentioned in the various posts have made it progressively more difficult. Velcro stickage etc. Yes, the single thickness shows tiny pinholes, but it was adequate for the purpose.

This is a great thread. All those years of black plastic darkrooms!

mrtoml said:

Thanks, pentaxuser. At the moment the vertical window is not causing any problems with the velcro, but it is south facing (it is about 2m across and 1 m high). I have the velcro well outside the boundaries of the window opening (not on the window frame itself). I don't know if this will help with the heat in summer.

I have just bought some curtain rods that Lee suggested to try on the roof windows which are 1m square. As you say the Nova material is great, but it is very heavy and hard to keep up in certain conditions.

If this fails I might try pro blinds but I am worried about the costs so if I can get this to work it will be great.

Click to expand...

Mark. I too have my velcro outside the window boundaries so the material affixes to the wall. It's a double glazed window and I had thought that it would have insulated the room from the radiant heat and I think it does under normal use or at least allows it to penetrate very slowly and into the whole room. However I think that the Nova material is so good it acts as a barrier and all the radiant heat builds up in the 6 inches between the window's inside and the surrounding wall.

Your window is about the same size as mine. I haven't costed the Firstcall blinds in this year's catalogue but I think that using a previous catalogue it worked out at about £160 for my window.

To be balanced about it, running my hand over the velcro to re-affix isn't a big deal, taking maybe 30 secs and if it's cloudy or evening then it holds. My concern would be printing on a hot sunny afternoon when I think that even in a couple of hours the velcro would unstick. It would only be a printing problem as the time taken to load a film for developing would be too short to create a light leak.

I just don't print on hot sunny afternoons as I regard darkroom work as an evening or a rainy day diversion but if I intended to print on sunny days, I'd re-affix the velcro then check every 15 mins or so to see how long I might get before light penetration before printing.

If I was using a one sheet at a time papersafe like the Restem then I might take the risk as discovering a light leak would cost me one sheet only but if I was taking a sheet out of a box or using the "lift the lid" type of safe like Jessops I'd be much more worried.

pentaxuser

Thanks again, pentaxuser. Those pro blinds are cheaper than I thought. I will see how the velcro fares in the heat (if we get any summer this year). If it gets too painful I may go the whole hog and just get the proper system. I'm really getting hooked on printing and hope to continue for a long time.

bowzart said:

We used a blackout material (not sure it was the Nova or not, got it at a specialized fabric store in Seattle - I presume it is similar if not the same). We used it to turn a classroom into a camera obscura:

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Wow. Thanks for posting that image. The larger-than-life camera obscura will always be an amazing thing to watch. At least, for me it is.

kraker said:

Wow. Thanks for posting that image. The larger-than-life camera obscura will always be an amazing thing to watch. At least, for me it is.

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I suppose that this is a bit of a deviation from topic, but...

It was done for an event where several hundred teenagers showed up on campus. They were wild and noisy, but going into that room, they sat quietly, almost transfixed, as their eyes adapted. Going in, it seemed totally dark, then as time went on the image appeared brighter. Staff and faculty discovered the room and came to sit in there to recover.

One of the best things we ever did. Universally loved.

easiest way, at least for me, I ordered some made to measure blackouts from them Dead Link Removed ( besides being really useful they are also highly decorative , lined pattern), had installed them outside the window recess( look great, work perfectly when needed to darken the place)