darkroom plumbing

Chuck_P · Nov 24, 2011

mgb74 said:
If it's connecting in the bottom of the crawl space, with tub (and presumably toilet) above, I would think you would want that vented. You could try it without and see if plumbing drains well but I would use one of vents I mentioned (I looked and they're call "cheater vents" or "check vent").

I'm guessing they're the same as what Steve Smith called "air admittance vents".

Thanks for the info you guys, I appreciate it. I will keep the "check vent" in mind when I get a plumber here------tomorrow, I hope to get the sink itself made, will be an 8 foot bottom and 32" wide as I hoping to accomodate some 16 x 20 printing some day, but mostly it will be 8x10 and 11x14.

ic-racer · Nov 24, 2011

Trond said:
I have filters and mixing valve mounted on a panel. Two taps are regulated and one is for cold water. All the taps are filtered.
View attachment 42020
It would have been nice to spread out more taps along the entire length of sink, but using garden hoses I can reach all parts of the sink.

Trond

Thats a very nice setup. Do you have a tubing bender?

Trond · Nov 25, 2011

ic-racer said:
Thats a very nice setup. Do you have a tubing bender?

Yes, and the panel was surprisingly easy to build. The only problem I encountered was that I ordered the mixing valve and water filters from the US, without thinking about incompatible threads... But that was solved by buying some bits and pieces on eBay.

Trond

RalphLambrecht · Jan 20, 2012

CPorter said:
Besides having a regulated water temperature mixer in the darkroom, how many of you also planned for and installed just the basic unregulated hot/cold faucet as well, and if so, why? I'm finally able to devote some money toward getting my darkroom built and the plumbing is foremost on my mind. I've gone through the "Darkroom Portraits" thread and it seems that there are a fair amount that have both---I'm wandering if those that have both were planned that way or was the unregulated faucet already part of the room where the darkroom is? I will be turning a spare bedroom into a darkroom, and getting the hot and cold supply in will be simple enough, but from there I have some decisions to make.

Thanks in advance.

thiis what iuse and it's great!

Mark_S · Jan 20, 2012

I put in a standard tap, with hot and cold, and then also ran a pipe with multiple taps which runs tempered water in my last darkroom. I am in the process of building yet another darkroom which will be much simpler, since I live in an area with exceptionally bad water and will be mixing all of my chemicals from bottled water, and will be using running water far less. I plan on relying much more on my jobo processor to maintain temp for film processing.

Chuck_P · Feb 10, 2012

Plumbing Woes

The plumber tells me venting the drain will be an issue. Here in Kentucky the code is that each unit, meaning each sink drain, must be individually vented to the main venting system. In other words, just installing a p-trap and running the drain down through the floor and to the closest drain piping in the crawl space, even though it is vented properly will not meet Ky Code. I'm told that if I lived across the river in Indiana, all that would be required is just what I metioned----installing a p-trap, then running the drain piping to the closest location, in my case, it would be the pipe draining the washing machine about 12 feet away in the crawl space.

This is driving the cost up, obviously, and is a big downer, but it has to be done. But rather than going into the wall with the vent piping and then up, it will actually have to be an exposed vent pipe adjacent to the wall, going up and through the ceiling, into the attick, make a turn and ran to tie into the main vent stack. Alternatively, it could just keep going straight up with another roof penetration, but that is out of the question.

Bill Burk · Feb 11, 2012

Code or no, if your plumber tells you you need a vent for proper operation. I'd follow the advice.

Proper operation of a drain may keep you off your hands and knees mopping the floor...

clayne · Feb 11, 2012

That being said, I've run a sink without a *direct* vent before and with the low levels of darkroom chemicals/print washing I never once came close to seeing anything back up. The drain was still plumbed into one of the main drains that the washer went into, so it may have had an indirect vent of some sort.

Either way, wasn't a problem for me, but it wasn't code legal either.

Chuck_P · Feb 11, 2012

Bill Burk said:
Code or no, if your plumber tells you you need a vent for proper operation. I'd follow the advice.

Proper operation of a drain may keep you off your hands and knees mopping the floor...

I'm going to do it, my home owner's insurance probably would not cover me if something bad happened and it was not installed to code. But what I find irritating is why it is code in one state and not another, leads me to believe it is not really necessary.

Steve Smith · Feb 11, 2012

Bill Burk said:
Code or no, if your plumber tells you you need a vent for proper operation. I'd follow the advice.

I wouldn't. I would just put in something which works.

Steve.

Chuck_P · Feb 11, 2012

Steve Smith said:
I wouldn't. I would just put in something which works.

Steve.

My initial feelings are along that thought, but there's obviously more to consider.

The first plumber I had here for an estimate of the job is the one that told me about the code being different across the river in Indiana, but then he proceeded to tell that he would install it against code if I wanted him to, as if I have a choice. Right away, I am suspicious of this fellow and the type of job that he would do. The next plumber, yesterday morning, tells me that he will not do it against code and informs me that it is illegal for him to do so, apparently, there is no such choice that can be offered from a licensed plumber, it is either done by state code or he won't do it. He was also much more thorough in his whole approach to the job task.

michaelbsc · Feb 11, 2012

Do you plan to sell the property in 5-10 years?

Do you have to get the modifications inspected by the county?

Do you care if your heirs have an issue?

Or do you have the leisure to come back sometime in a couple of decades and rip it out for the next round of improvements?

The code issue might be stupid government interventionalism at the behest of a plumbers union, but it it isn't going away. So forget that hope. The question I would ask myself is will it ever become an issue for me. If so, then "my what a nice vent line." And if not, well then it's not.

tkamiya · Feb 11, 2012

It's more of a liability thing. If a professional does it and it's against the code, he can be held liable. Not only would insurance not likely cover damages as a result, if someone be injured, he can be held liable for that, too. No professional of any kind will knowingly do things against code, if he values his livelihood.

I wouldn't discount insurance factor either.... you'd be amazed how much damage water can cause. Unless installation is such that any leakage will safely drain to outside, such as garage, you may be looking at a potential for a huge loss - which insurance may not help you at all.

Ultimately, it's how much risk you can tolerate and assume. My risk tolerance is relatively low, so I wouldn't do it.....

mgb74 · Feb 11, 2012

Codes change over time. What makes a certain practice acceptable at one point of time but not another? Or in one locality and not another? Some municipalities are more strict and some may be less reluctant to change.

That said, I'd be leery of a plumber who would do something contrary to code.

But are you sure that the air admittance valve mentioned in post #24 does not meet code in your location? If you haven't already, I would download the relevant info from the mfg and specifically ask your local inspector.

Bill Burk · Feb 11, 2012

Steve Smith said:
I wouldn't. I would just put in something which works.

Steve.

Haaaa. My advice comes from having something in that doesn't work.

fotch · Feb 11, 2012

When a house gets sold, it likely will be inspected and if the plumbing is not up to code, will have to be corrected. An alternative maybe, if a sink is not to far away, is to pump the fluid through a hose to that sink. Could be a small pump, plastic hose, and a plastic bucket.

darkroom plumbing

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