Darkroom and real estate

Mr Bill · Jun 22, 2022

I would think that anyone who is serious about having a darkroom could do something like this youtube guy has done.

You just build an underground bunker in your backyard, then run a secret tunnel from your house to the bunker and then maybe to your shed. Don't let your spouse know about the tunnel. They'll think you're out boozing it up whilst you're secretly making 20x24" prints in the bunker.

Stephen Prunier · Jun 22, 2022

I'm currently using a 7'x12' bedroom. My enlarger sits on top of a bench/shelving unit that I built. A couple of feet away, I have a 30"x6' PVC folding table for my wet station. I use a 3-gallon plastic storage container as a holding tub. I use a couple of 1-gallon bottles of water kept at the same temperature as the chemicals, and a 2-gallon pail as a catch-all. The room has a central air ceiling vent right above the wet station for fresh air, and I plan to add an exhaust fan soon. The setup has worked really well. Having everything along one wall helps with not tripping over stuff!

Valerie · Jun 22, 2022

I took over one of the garage bays when we bought this house. The water heater was there, so not much more work to run pipes for a sink. And the AC is directly above, so fairly easy to add AC (total necessity along the Gulf Coast!). Before that, I used an outdoor shed. Water was piped in via a water hose.

Jim Jones · Jun 22, 2022

I've improvised 6 darkrooms over many years. The best was built into part of an unused chicken house. It was 8x12 ft. An 8 ft. ceiling restricted the 5x7 Elwood enlarger to siting on the floor: the Omega B22 perched on a gutted TV. A 2x8 ft. shelf accommodated the trays. Instead of running water there was walking water. I walked in with jugs of water and walked out with buckets of waste water. In an efficient darkroom, this system can thoroughly wash 8x10 prints in a long printing session with about one ounce of wash water per print. A sink is a convenience, not a necessity. There was even room for a desk. A small air conditioner and space heater maintained a comfortable temperature for chemicals and people. A spark from a nearby brush fire ignited the wood shingles, and everything was lost, including maybe 2000 rolls of B&W film.

Sirius Glass · Jun 22, 2022

mshchem said:
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

How about putting the enlarge on a lower table?

DREW WILEY · Jun 22, 2022

Siriusly? That might indeed mean a hole in the floor instead of the ceiling. One of my color enlargers is 14ft tall. But it allows me to make 30X40 inch prints from 8x10 negatives using an ideal 360mm lens, and the big vac easel at comfortable waist height. At the moment, however, the colorhead on that particular enlarger is due for maintenance, so I'm stuck using the "baby brother" Durst L184 system instead, a mere 9 ft tall; and I have to use a 240 apo lens with that to achieve the same scale. No big deal, just not quite as deluxe.

And unless one wants to risk the building catching fire, it's a good idea to have ample additional ventilation space above the top of any halogen colorhead, which I certainly do, plus true FRP (fire-resistant) fiberglass panel on the ceiling. But as per Jim Jones, an overheated old chicken house might be ideal for actually roasting chickens atop a high-output colorhead. Haven't tried it in my own darkroom yet; don't like greasy "finger-lickin' good" fingers when handling film and printing paper.

Sirius Glass · Jun 22, 2022

DREW WILEY said:
Siriusly? That might indeed mean a hole in the floor instead of the ceiling. One of my color enlargers is 14ft tall. But it allows me to make 30X40 inch prints from 8x10 negatives using an ideal 360mm lens, and the big vac easel at comfortable waist height. At the moment, however, the colorhead on that particular enlarger is due for maintenance, so I'm stuck using the "baby brother" Durst L184 system instead, a mere 9 ft tall; and I have to use a 240 apo lens with that to achieve the same scale. No big deal, just not quite as deluxe.

And unless one wants to risk the building catching fire, it's a good idea to have ample additional ventilation space above the top of any halogen colorhead, which I certainly do, plus true FRP (fire-resistant) fiberglass panel on the ceiling. But as per Jim Jones, an overheated old chicken house might be ideal for actually roasting chickens atop a high-output colorhead. Haven't tried it in my own darkroom yet; don't like greasy "finger-lickin' good" fingers when handling film and printing paper.

One of the photo finishers in Los Angeles that I used for years before he closed had a large enlarge set up horizontally with the paper held up on a vacuum easel wall.

mshchem · Jun 22, 2022

I have a Zone VI 8x10 enlarger, wall mounted about 20 inches above the floor. I use a table under the enlarger, approximately 30 inches above the floor to hold the easel, 300mm lens, I rarely print bigger than 16x20. VCCE head, I've never tried 8x10 color enlargements. Biggest color negative I can handle is 4x5.

DREW WILEY · Jun 22, 2022

Logistically, big prints are a lot easier to do via a horizontal enlarger versus a vertical one. But since this thread is specifically tied to the topic of real estate, it's also a fact that going horizontal takes up a lot more floor space. And floor space equates to $$$ per square foot. Depends where you live of course. Around here, half a million dollars these days wouldn't even buy you a rusty camper shell in the mud, where you need to sleep on the roof when the tide is in.

Paul Howell · Jun 22, 2022

My friend who's father built her a darkroom in a travel trailer was a machinist he converted an Omega B23 to horizontal, she used a large metal plate and magnates for an easel. She could make up to 16X20 from a 6X9 negative.

mshchem · Jun 22, 2022

I turned down an immense horizontal 3x4 foot film, process camera about 20 years ago. I took the 2 Rodenstock lenses, shortest was 60 inch, I traded them off, I almost took the vacuum easel back, but I estimated it weighted over 200 pounds. I left behind a bench top uv exposure unit. Not really a plate burner.

logan2z · Jun 22, 2022

Some inspiration for the OP. It's also worth noting the age of the video creators. Nice to see relatively young people building darkrooms...

mshchem · Jun 22, 2022

logan2z said:
Some inspiration for the OP. It's also worth noting the age of the video creators. Nice to see relatively young people building darkrooms...

Yes, this is great to see. When I was in junior high school my Dad and I built my first darkroom. At first nothing but corrugated cardboard for the walls. Eventually I had a small dry area and a wet side. Pretty cool.

VinceInMT · Jun 23, 2022

Like others here, I’ve made do with lots of work arounds over the past nearly 50 years: bathrooms, extra bedrooms, garage, etc. In the late 80s I made a decision to solve lots of lifestyle issues like commuting, high cost of homes, etc. and went back to college, got a teaching degree, sold my house in Southern California, and moved to Montana to a great teaching position and NO COMMUTE.

The first house I bought was temporary quarters until we figured out where we really wanted to live and we only spent 9 months there so I didn’t set up the darkroom. During that time, we canvassed the part of town we were interested in, looking at lots of houses. Interestingly, for some reason, quite a few homes here have Cold War bomb shelters in the basement which would make a perfect darkroom but the one we decided on had am 11’x11’ room in the basement without a window. I jackhammered the floor and tied into an existing drain and ran hot and cold water over from the utility room across the hall. It’s a great darkroom.

My wife doesn’t complain about what I spend on my photo hobby (or any others like vintage foreign cars, vintage stereo, etc.) because not only did we get rid of the commute, we got rid of a mortgage when we moved here. Relocating solved lots of issues for us.

RalphLambrecht · Jun 23, 2022

McDiesel said:
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?

I was in a similar position while temporarily living in Southeast England. I opted for renting a small commercial space.

McDiesel · Jun 23, 2022

@RalphLambrecht that's a great idea, in fact there's an entire fully equipped darkroom I can rent in my area. The problem is that its owner is unreasonably terrified of covid and I'm just losing my patience. I haven't considered renting a small unit though

Dwayne Martin · Jun 26, 2022

I built a 400 sq f 2nd floor addition on the back of my house For the purpose.I realize not many people can do that but if you can find a way to have the space the result will likely be that you will print a lot.

Tadeusz123 · Jun 26, 2022

Growing up, my Dad and I would do enlargements in an under-stairs work/laundry room that had a utility sink complete with equipment scavenged from a local high school’s school paper. Now that I’m in an apartment, I have tried working in a windowless bathroom, but prefer to bring buckets or jugs of water into the bedroom or similar. Given enough 5 gallon buckets from the hardware store, I’ve found that anything is possible!

Paul Verizzo · Jun 27, 2022

A reason the hybrid darkroom is popular. Yeah, I know, not the same. I get it.

But if one's goal is to make images and not go through processes, it's great. And I can do things in a minute I could never, ever do with analog.

Duceman · Jun 28, 2022

McDiesel said:
These days my excuse for not having a darkroom is real estate.

This is the main reason I do not do much, if any, printing. I have another "hobby" which takes 1/4 of our basement, so I a have been told that I'm not allowed to take up any more space in the house. We have a laundry room with sink and table where I can set up an enlarger, etc., but I need to seal off a large window. Being that this can only be done on a temporary basis, the hassle of setting up--and having to immediately take down once finished--the whole setup has resulted in me not having much of a desire to make prints.

I've thought of making an outdoor shack, but when temps around here can fall to -40 c/f in the winter... that doesn't seem to be all that practical for year-round use.

M Carter · Jun 28, 2022

McDiesel said:
re-purposing an extra bedroom means adding water+sink which is a costly upgrade!

Not necessarily if you own the home. If there's a room with a wall against a bathroom or laundry room, you may be able to easily tap into the supply and drain. Open a chunk of wall, shut the water off, tap into the supply (depending on what's in there, PEX, copper, old houses may even have steel). Copper or PEX is pretty simple. Then PEX to your sink. Tapping into a tub or shower drain might be tougher, but remember you're doing a counter-level drain so maybe not bad, and the existing drain is most likely PVC unless the home is pretty old (hint - the laundry room wall will already have a drain pipe going up to about 3-4', easy pickin's). If the house has a crawl space, the world is yours as far as layout for plumbing.

It doesn't have to look good, you can patch the wall back up with trim pieces for the plumbing, and you can make a great sink from plywood and porch paint and 2x4 support, stick a shelf under it. My 30x40 developing tray is plywood and porch paint and has held up great, and it probably "holds" more water than a darkroom sink ever will, since sinks are mostly for spill protection and ease of cleanup. You'd probably want a cheap faucet and one of those hand-showers with a hose (or a dish-sink version) would be great to have. When you sell, tear it all out and patch the wall back up.

If you're not a DIY kinda guy, you can probably find a handyman or plumber to do the work - it's really not complex, shouldn't require a licensed plumber since it's essentially a "temporary" thing. Really, in such a situation, my #1 concern would be what's on the floor and under it - carpet on subfloor, I'd pull the carpet up and slap some linoleum down. at least where the wet side is.

If you want a darkroom bad enough, I could see the whole thing costing less than two or three hundred bucks or so, even less if you can do the work or have a buddy/cousin.

Pieter12 · Jun 28, 2022

M Carter said:
Not necessarily if you own the home. If there's a room with a wall against a bathroom or laundry room, you may be able to easily tap into the supply and drain. Open a chunk of wall, shut the water off, tap into the supply (depending on what's in there, PEX, copper, old houses may even have steel). Copper or PEX is pretty simple. Then PEX to your sink. Tapping into a tub or shower drain might be tougher, but remember you're doing a counter-level drain so maybe not bad, and the existing drain is most likely PVC unless the home is pretty old (hint - the laundry room wall will already have a drain pipe going up to about 3-4', easy pickin's). If the house has a crawl space, the world is yours as far as layout for plumbing.

It doesn't have to look good, you can patch the wall back up with trim pieces for the plumbing, and you can make a great sink from plywood and porch paint and 2x4 support, stick a shelf under it. My 30x40 developing tray is plywood and porch paint and has held up great, and it probably "holds" more water than a darkroom sink ever will, since sinks are mostly for spill protection and ease of cleanup. You'd probably want a cheap faucet and one of those hand-showers with a hose (or a dish-sink version) would be great to have. When you sell, tear it all out and patch the wall back up.

If you're not a DIY kinda guy, you can probably find a handyman or plumber to do the work - it's really not complex, shouldn't require a licensed plumber since it's essentially a "temporary" thing. Really, in such a situation, my #1 concern would be what's on the floor and under it - carpet on subfloor, I'd pull the carpet up and slap some linoleum down. at least where the wet side is.

If you want a darkroom bad enough, I could see the whole thing costing less than two or three hundred bucks or so, even less if you can do the work or have a buddy/cousin.

If you read through the posts, you'll see that many have been able to manage without plumbing of any sort. For me repurposing a bedroom holds more of a challenge if it is carpeted, a dust-magnet for sure.

Sirius Glass · Jun 28, 2022

McDiesel said:
... and re-purposing an extra bedroom means adding water+sink which is a costly upgrade! T.

Not necessarily. I turned a bedroom into dry darkroom with the enlarge, light table and drum print dyer. The bathroom gets tuned into the wet darkroom with the shower used for hanging film to drive.

M Carter · Jun 28, 2022

Pieter12 said:
If you read through the posts, you'll see that many have been able to manage without plumbing of any sort. For me repurposing a bedroom holds more of a challenge if it is carpeted, a dust-magnet for sure.

If you'd read my comment, you'd notice I mentioned carpet.

I've done the dry room here, wet room there thing before, personally wouldn't be interested in that again, life's too short. I gave the OP some ideas on being able to create a full darkroom vs. a half-assed solution if he's the homeowner. He can consider those ideas or discard them. Personally, I really enjoy having a decent sized space with a good sized sink and the ability to print and process up to 40". but I suppose some people would prefer running paper across the house in black boxes or something.

While I'm thrilled that "many" have been able to do darkrooms without plumbing, my point was it's not impossible to do one with plumbing and could be surprisingly affordable, as the OP only mentioned "cost" as an issue. Sorry I caused you consternation, but I was replying to the OP, not to you, and I apologize for, umm, participating in a discussion? If there's a blocking feature on Photrio, it may be a good idea to block me and save yourself future frustration.

grahamp · Jun 28, 2022

When we moved in Jan 2020, the plan was to use part of the garage for a darkroom. But after looking at the effort required to accommodate the existing water heater and water softener, and the temperature variations over the year, my wife decided to merge the guest room and sewing room, and give the planned guest room over to the darkroom.

I doubt that I will plumb the space, even though it backs onto the guest bathroom vanity wall. I will swap out the fitted carpet for waterproof laminate. Since my wet and dry sides are going to be easily removed (with a powered screwdriver!) we should be able to revert the room if needed.

Darkroom and real estate

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