Darkroom and real estate

When I was a kid I was wet printing in a bathroom. I would cover the bathtub with plywood boards and place the enlarger and trays on top. It worked because my enlarger could only do 8x10", my parents' apartment had an older style taller bathtubs, I was 12, I sported brand-new joints, I was short and I wasn't married.

These days my excuse for not having a darkroom is real estate. I have no garage, no basement, and the guest bathrooms in our house are tiny and won't fit anything, while I am banned from using the main bathroom by the SO.

However, we may be upgrading our situation soon. When looking at real estate in my area I am keeping an eye for the darkroom potential. I want to print my squares to at least 20x20". And to be honest it's been more challenging than I though. Guest bathrooms tend to be too small, basements are not a thing in my area, and re-purposing an extra bedroom means adding water+sink which is a costly upgrade! The requirement of having enough horizontal flat space for an enlarger + trays seems unavoidable.

I'm thinking of building an outdoor shed in the back yard, which is doable yet I keep thinking "really? a shed? how all these folks can afford a darkroom?". I realize that a darkroom could very well be a luxury for the privileged few, but perhaps I'm missing something? How is your darkroom set up?

Were I live, nobody uses his garage for cars.
I built my darkroom in my garage. It measures 3,60x1,80 mtrs and takes about 1/4 of tHe garage. Water, electricity and even heating werethere already.

I have done three darkrooms. I looked seriously at the shed option at one point but between insulation, water, drainage, electrical and some local building code issues, it just didn't make sense. Dealing with darkroom chemicals was another big problem as we have a septic system. In the end, using part of the (larger) garage made sense each time.

Depending on deep your pockets are, my darkroom is in a double sink bath with a shower. I covered one of sinks with plywood then replaced the other with a deep square stainless steel sink with a kitchen style faucet. I have enough room for an old computer printer table that is very stable with space for 2 enlarges. It can still function as a bathroom when needed. My last true darkroom was built out in 2 car garage, I put in a false plywood floor, the walls sheet rock, the floor plan was a galley style, 4 feet deep and about 20 feet long the width of the garage. We could still park our cars. The cost was the plumbing and adding a AC vent. I had enough room for 2 enlargers and up to 4 16X20 trays.

There is the option, if building codes allow, that can buy a old shipping container, pour a foundation for it. Built it out, add plumbing and power to it. In my neck of the woods, the low desert, it would be expensive to keep it cool in the summer. At times on Ebay you can find surplus portable Air Force and Army darkroom, last used in the Gulf War. These were set up with a room for an enlarger, a larger room for trays and a dryer. We had them in Thailand at the end of the Vietnam war. Functional. In the 70s I had a friend who father built her a darkroom in a travel trailer. Covered the windows with black panels, had it own hot water heater, water from a outside faucet, power an heavy duty extension cord. As it had low ceiling he converted her Omega B23 to a vertical enlarger which worked rather well. Although on jacks it would rock in high wind.

I split my darkroom across two spaces - the dry side is in a spare bedroom and contains my enlargers which are set up permanently. The wet side is set up on the fly in a bathroom. I use a paper safe to carry exposed paper from the dry side to the wet side.

I actually prefer using two separate spaces because most of my time is spent in the dry space so my exposure to chemical fumes is greatly reduced.

I re-purpose a bathroom each time I want to do darkroom work. My enlarger is on a rolling cart, and I have custom cut wire shelving that goes across the bathtub, plus plastic bins serving as risers for a second level of shelving.
If you are starting from scratch, a room that is intended to be a laundry room is quite well suited to re-configuration. Power, water and dryer exhaust ventilation are available.

This is precisely why I only wet print once in a blue moon, despite having all the requisite equipment. I can setup for short periods of time in my cramped, unventilated bathroom but it's a chore and I don't want to subject my gear to blasts of water/humidity when I shower. The only place my enlarger will sit level is on the toilet which makes for a not-so-long term setup. I like the idea of @logan2z 's wet/dry configuration but I don't have a spare room to use for the dry side.

I'll spare you the horror stories of millennial homebuying, but lemme tell you, it ain't pretty.

I have the dry darkroom: enlarger, light table and drum print dryer in one bedroom. I re-purpose the master bathroom each time I want to do darkroom work. My film is loaded on the reels in a large dark bag called the "changing room" and I process the film on the kitchen counter with a Jobo processor. The film comes off the reel to a plastic bucket with PhotoFlo, the bucket gets emptied in to the storage container, and the plastic bucket is walked to the shower in the master bathroom to dry.

A shed will have the same plumbing issues as a spare bedroom, plus it won't have electricity and you'll probably want to add insulation and depending on climate, heating. A spare bedroom works great especially if you can dedicate it to darkroom use with permanent black-out techniques and surfaces built to accommodate your enlarger(s) and trays. You just have to use a bathroom or even go outside for rinsing/washing your film and prints. I use 1-gallon jugs to bring water into my garage darkroom and to take out waste chemicals. No sink, no drain, no running water. It has been working out just fine for the last 5 years.

McDiesel said:

I'm thinking of building an outdoor shed in the back yard, which is doable yet I keep thinking "really? a shed? how all these folks can afford a darkroom?". I realize that a darkroom could very well be a luxury for the privileged few, but perhaps I'm missing something? How is your darkroom set up?

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That's exactly what I did. It was quite a lot of work, but it has repaid me in satisfaction. I built a concrete pad, constructed a lattice floor of 2x3s, and stuffed the spaces with 2in insulation board before flooring it with chip board. I had previously prepared water and electric supply from the house. Then I built four sides on the same principle as the floor, and assembled them onto the base. I added a pitch roof, then wrapped the whole thing in breathable roof membrane. Ship-lap boards outside this on the walls, and metal roofing sheets on top. Shots below towards the end of construction and still surrounded by clutter. There are 2 internal shots of the finished thing on my IG account here.

I had darkrooms in the two houses we had before we had kids, and have had a darkroom for several years in our current house in what was my daughters room. Before then, I had access to a darkroom at my local community college. I will be converting my darkroom back to a guest room before the end of the year. Family requirements. I have decided to limit my photography to platinum palladium printing and other alt processes which do not require a darkroom. I can develop film at the kitchen sink. I just need a place for my digital printer for digital negatives and my UV exposure box. Trays in the bathtub for developing and clearing will work fine. I will have darkroom equipment listed here in the coming months.

faberryman said:

I have all but decided the limit my photography to platinum palladium printing which does not require a darkroom.

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Ooo, that's very cool. Long ago I saw an exhibition of platinum palladium prints by Irving Penn, and they were utterly amazing.

I converted the daughter’s bedroom to my darkroom, after she had moved out that is.
Not having water in the room hasn’t been a hindrance.

MattKing said:

I re-purpose a bathroom each time I want to do darkroom work. My enlarger is on a rolling cart, and I have custom cut wire shelving that goes across the bathtub, plus plastic bins serving as risers for a second level of shelving.
If you are starting from scratch, a room that is intended to be a laundry room is quite well suited to re-configuration. Power, water and dryer exhaust ventilation are available.

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What happened to the community darkroom?

No darkroom since SWMBO banned me from building one. SWMBO says that I could get that dark room only if I got ride of my camera closet so we got into a status quo.

Eric Rose said:

What happened to the community darkroom?

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Well, if you are referring to the Darkroom Group, until just last week we haven't been meeting or sharing constrained indoor spaces since Covid arose.
But I've always done most of my darkroom work at home - even if it is a temporary darkroom.
We downsized recently, which meant that my 4x5 enlarger had to go. In our old place, I was able to keep it in the corner of the bathroom/darkroom. Not here though. A vertical column LPL 7700 resides on the rolling cart in another room, until it is needed in the current bathroom/darkroom.

I have a laundry/Utility room without windows it's about 8' x 10'. I set up the developing trays on the washer and dryer and the enlarger goes on a small counter. It's a small enlarger that will only do 8x10. I have a wash basin nest to the washer and dryer so that works out great. Our heater is in that room so in the winter it can get quite warm in there.

My darkroom is in our 2nd bathroom. it's 6 by about 12 feet. I built a framework supported on the tub that carries a home-center prefab counter top. More framing at a right angle carries a second counter top that bridges over the toilet. No permanent changes to that part of the room, though it's not functional as a bathroom either.
I have a 4x5 enlarger and a 12x16 Nova Quad slot processor with a 12x16 print washer at the sink. I've attempted larger prints but it's impractical, as I don't have space to set out big trays.
The slot processor makes things feasible for working in a small space.
Aside from all that, I am under orders to relocate the darkroom so that the bathroom can resume its former function, so I may carve some space out of my home office room, since the other bathroom isn't quite workable to convert.
I like working in the small space though, it's very efficient.

I have always had a dedicated darkroom. Shed is not an option due to heat and cold. Water service requires 2 meter below ground level to prevent frost.

Real estate here is 1/5th cost of a (nice) coastal location. My darkroom is in a quite large utility room, lower level walkout type house. AC keeps it 20°C max in warm weather, furnace keeps it warm in the winter.

Cold water rarely goes above 20°C in the summer. My wife is from New York, she knows not to make me choose between my darkroom and the East Coast

snusmumriken said:

That's exactly what I did. It was quite a lot of work, but it has repaid me in satisfaction. I built a concrete pad, constructed a lattice floor of 2x3s, and stuffed the spaces with 2in insulation board before flooring it with chip board. I had previously prepared water and electric supply from the house. Then I built four sides on the same principle as the floor, and assembled them onto the base. I added a pitch roof, then wrapped the whole thing in breathable roof membrane. Ship-lap boards outside this on the walls, and metal roofing sheets on top. Shots below towards the end of construction and still surrounded by clutter. There are 2 internal shots of the finished thing on my IG account here.
View attachment 308596
View attachment 308597

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I love this shed. Beautiful! The less glamorous shed nearby, the exposed roofing nails .

I've been wanting to build a nice shed in my backyard, my wife thinks I should put my lawnmower inside. Seems like a waste of a nice shed.

I started out with a proverbial spare bathroom setup, but that was only temporary. The property came with a sizeable commercial building, and I remodeled that. That kind of opportunity would be hard to find in this area nowadays due to the extreme climb in real estate pricing. I seriously insulated the building, and it has a high ceiling useful for really tall enlargers. The building is divided into five distinct work spaces for different shop and darkroom tasks.

DREW WILEY said:

I started out with a proverbial spare bathroom setup, but that was only temporary. The property came with a sizeable commercial building, and I remodeled that. That kind of opportunity would be hard to find in this area nowadays due to the extreme climb in real estate pricing. I seriously insulated the building, and it has a high ceiling useful for really tall enlargers. The building is divided into five distinct work spaces for different shop and darkroom tasks.

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I would need to convince my wife that cutting a hole in the guest room floor is a good idea to accommodate a enormous color enlarger. I have 9 feet max in my darkroom, floor to (in between) the floor joists

The shed adds another dimension, and also adds complexity and more money. Then there's things like leaks that may occur, a shed isn't a built like a home.

I've printed in the bedroom, that worked fine. Now I find it easier to print in the kitchen when it's dark.

If you can set your enlarger and trays on one end of the counter you can go from one tray to another and end up w/ the prints in a holding tank of water (big plastic storage bin) placed under the enlarger, or under a bottom cabinet.

From there I take them to the bathroom to drip dry on a string across the tub.

I have a 6 ft by 6 ft darkroom in a corner of my garage. A little snug, but large enough for my needs. Electricity, but no plumbing. I use buckets for wastewater, and bring gallon jugs of water from the nearby laundry room. A small electric radiator brings the room up to 20 C in the winter. In the summer it's occasionally too warm to use in the afternoon, but not often. The lumber, wallboard, and paint cost about $200 US four years ago. I think the cheapest hollowcore prehung door was less than $100. The building permit for all this was about $40. It wouldn't be hard to expand, or to add ventilation. Plumbing is a different matter: adding a drain line would involve cutting the concrete floor, and that's not going to happen.

Two useful but extensive Sticky Threads:
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/bathroom-and-other-temporary-makeshift-darkrooms.35581/
and
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/darkroom-portraits-part-2.89555/