Darkroom Portraits (Part 2)

[Kino]

Nice! You have room for a desk! Remains to be seen if I can jam one into my space.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

Nice! You have room for a desk! Remains to be seen if I can jam one into my space.

We put an addition onto our duplex a few years ago, which freed up the old master bedroom. Absolutely spoiled in terms of square footage.

This is about my 5th darkroom and is following the "You build your first darkroom for an enemy, the second one for a friend, and the third one you build for yourself" trajectory.

The foot operated water valve is pretty slick!

 

[Kino]

We put an addition onto our duplex a few years ago, which freed up the old master bedroom. Absolutely spoiled in terms of square footage.

This is about my 5th darkroom and is following the "You build your first darkroom for an enemy, the second one for a friend, and the third one you build for yourself" trajectory.

Your foot operated water valve is pretty slick!

I hear you. This is my third "real" darkroom, not counting all the temporary bathroom setups I have endured in the past. It will undoubtedly be my last one I build, so I am trying to get it right, if not pretty.

As for the foot valve, the jury is still out on that; it might be a good idea or not but I had to try it after finding the valve on Amazon for cheap.

 

[mshchem]

In total agreement on the functional over nice concept, which explains the three tier cascading into one drain Franken-Sink. It meshes with my Wabi Sabi nature. Water panel yet to come.

While drywall compound was drying, I just had to cobble thinks into place a bit. It'll look much nicer once everything has somewhere to go.

The gap between enlarging bench cabinets is where the UV light source will be going, with a heavy sheet of glass on a slide out shelf for contact printing.

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DRYWALL!! NICE!

 

[CMoore]

In total agreement on the functional over nice concept, which explains the three tier cascading into one drain Franken-Sink. .......

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You are like some kind of Cascading, Water-Flow, Evil Genius

 

[mshchem]

I hear you. This is my third "real" darkroom, not counting all the temporary bathroom setups I have endured in the past. It will undoubtedly be my last one I build, so I am trying to get it right, if not pretty.

As for the foot valve, the jury is still out on that; it might be a good idea or not but I had to try it after finding the valve on Amazon for cheap.

I built my "last" darkroom at least twice now . Never say Never. I use a utility room today, it's huge, but can't really have drywall. I have 4x8 interior commercial restroom, white, panels. I'm lucky to have plenty of plumbing options. I have 2 big sinks with mixing valves. I need to insulate the hot water lines and run a pump to circulate hot water throughout my house. It's not bad in the darkroom, but I need to run 3+ gallons to get hot water to my kitchen sink. Drives me bats.

 

[Fujicaman1957]

Yep, no drain. I figure if I can empty the drum every few uses, it won't be a hassle every time..
I've thought of running a hose through my yard, into my basement window, into my drain with a pump... Might be a bit much tho.
Also this will obviously be a darkroom only used for non freezing cold days, since the water is above ground hose. Still better than what I had me thinks.

I run a garden hose over to the clean-out cap on my sewer line from the 14 gallon drum I have the sink drain into. I have a sump pump in the 14 gallon drum and I threaded a 4" piece of 3/4 pipe into the cap. A pipe thread to garden hose adapter and problem solved.

 

[ProfessorC1983]

@Kino When are you inviting the locals over? We can bring beer.

 

[radiant]

I have been using a darkroom with no plumbing for years. I bring in water in 1-gallon jugs, used chemicals are put in jugs that I then send for hazardous waste disposal when I have a dozen gallons or so. I hold fixed prints in a large water bath tray until I am ready to wash them. Film and print washing is done outside near a hose & drains into the ground.

Same here! I put prints into water bucket after fixing to wait for wash. I mostly print under 8x10" so prints fit there fine.

Darkroom without running water is totally OK.

 

[awty]

In total agreement on the functional over nice concept, which explains the three tier cascading into one drain Franken-Sink. It meshes my Wabi-Sabi-ish nature with garage sale finds and left over materials from other projects. Water panel yet to come.

While the first application of drywall compound was drying, I just had to cobble things into place a bit. It'll look much nicer once everything has somewhere to go.

The gap between enlarging bench cabinets is where the UV light source will be going, with a heavy sheet of glass on a slide out shelf for contact printing.

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Looks great to me.
How did you waterproof your trough? I used waterproof pond paint on my last one, think I will do the same again.
What are you using for ventilation? I picked up an old stove range hood with 3 speed twin exhaust fans for $10, should do nicely.

 

[Kino]

@Kino When are you inviting the locals over? We can bring beer.

LOL! Well, it has to be really functional before that can happen! I'll keep you updated.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

Looks great to me.
How did you waterproof your trough? I used waterproof pond paint on my last one, think I will do the same again.
What are you using for ventilation? I picked up an old stove range hood with 3 speed twin exhaust fans for $10, should do nicely.

Pond paint sounds like a good idea to me, so might follow along with you on that one. I got a good deal on 3/4" lacquered both sides birch plywood, so that's what the sink/trough, enlarger bench, and desk tops are made of. I'll leave the bench & desk as is because it's a really nice surface for that, but the sink/trough will need something.

I use a Glycin developer and it stained my old darkroom sink with diffuse brown splotches, so maybe I'll look for a matching or darker brown paint.

As for ventilation, I hadn't given that much thought yet.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

but I need to run 3+ gallons to get hot water to my kitchen sink.

Not sure what the situation is in the USA, but over here, undersink heaters are sometimes used to supply hot water for taps if the main hot water supply is too distant.

e.g. https://www.screwfix.com/p/ariston-andris-lux-undersink-water-heater-3kw-15ltr/2371g

 

[awty]

Not sure what the situation is in the USA, but over here, undersink heaters are sometimes used to supply hot water for taps if the main hot water supply is too distant.

e.g. https://www.screwfix.com/p/ariston-andris-lux-undersink-water-heater-3kw-15ltr/2371g

They're only sufficient for washing a few dishes in the sink. If you need continuous hot water at a certain temp you'll need something a bit more substantial.

 

[awty]

Pond paint sounds like a good idea to me, so might follow along with you on that one. I got a good deal on 3/4" lacquered both sides birch plywood, so that's what the sink/trough, enlarger bench, and desk tops are made of. I'll leave the bench & desk as is because it's a really nice surface for that, but the sink/trough will need something.

I use a Glycin developer and it stained my old darkroom sink with diffuse brown splotches, so maybe I'll look for a matching or darker brown paint.

As for ventilation, I hadn't given that much thought yet.

Is very nice timber shame to mess it up. Thought you might of been using something clear. Pond paint has worked well for me, just do a recoat every 18mths. You may want some slats so the trays dont wear through the water proofing.

Maybe you could fit an exhaust fan on the sliding window on a wooden panel.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

...Maybe you could fit an exhaust fan on the sliding window on a wooden panel.

Good idea. Will give it a ponder...the temperature will be dropping to -20C in a few months so it would have to be designed not to let that kind of cold creep into the house when the fan isn't running.

 

[Kino]

Just got my Intellifaucet back; or what is left of it after USP shot it with an RPG or ran over it with a truck.

What a pain in the ass.

Now did that driver, who tossed it on my front porch, really think this package was OK?

Now I know why the valve leaked each time it was sent.

Edit: I was afraid to open the box until I heard back from Hass, but they just responded via email and said to go ahead and open it. Luckily, it appears to be in good shape other than a scratch on the cover.

God I hate UPS.

 

[Renato Tonelli]

That is really annoying - I have received my share of damaged packages lately; all shipped either UPS or FedEx.

 

[awty]

Good idea. Will give it a ponder...the temperature will be dropping to -20C in a few months so it would have to be designed not to let that kind of cold creep into the house when the fan isn't running.

Also you need to keep the light out as well. I don't have a problem with it being too cold. I'm going to have to work out a light trap, but I think this should work well.


Also the Sparky came today to run the wires around. Next week I will hopefully have some power and air-conditioning.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Now did that driver, who tossed it on my front porch, really think this package was OK?

Delivery drivers for UPS and FedEx seem to be selected for their 98% human DNA and ability to shave their entire bodies (or at least what shows when wearing their uniform). Judging the condition of a package is more about "how fast do I need to get this offloaded and get out of sight?" than "should I let the customer inspect this for internal damage?"

 

[Pieter12]

Delivery drivers for UPS and FedEx seem to be selected for their 98% human DNA and ability to shave their entire bodies (or at least what shows when wearing their uniform). Judging the condition of a package is more about "how fast do I need to get this offloaded and get out of sight?" than "should I let the customer inspect this for internal damage?"

Management has some responsibility here too. The push to work long hours (at who knows the pay and benefits) and deliver many packages does not promote carefulness and maybe even resentment from the drivers. I have had my share of damaged packages delivered, some that ruined the contents, mostly by UPS. On the other hand, I just received a large, heavy book from USPS that was just in a non-padded, tight-fitting, thin plastic envelope and amazingly there was no damage, not even the corners!

 

[MattKing]

Delivery drivers for UPS and FedEx seem to be selected for their 98% human DNA and ability to shave their entire bodies (or at least what shows when wearing their uniform). Judging the condition of a package is more about "how fast do I need to get this offloaded and get out of sight?" than "should I let the customer inspect this for internal damage?"

Unless things have changed, some of those "drivers" actually own their trucks and operate as sub-contractors.
Some routes can be incredibly profitable for them.

 

[Pieter12]

Unless things have changed, some of those "drivers" actually own their trucks and operate as sub-contractors.
Some routes can be incredibly profitable for them.

Not sure where you got that info. As far as I know, all UPS and FedEx drivers in the U.S, are employees. Amazon may be different.

 

[MattKing]

It may be the same now here (Canada), but at one time a friend of mine was married to a UPS owner/driver who had a very profitable territory.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Amazon and FedEx Ground employ a lot of contractors, with most Amazon contractors (at least in central North Carolina) being small companies employing a few dozen drivers at most, and driving trucks indistinguishable from Amazon's own (or leased from Amazon as part of the contract, I'm not sure). Wouldn't surprise me to see UPS doing the same.

This practice saves money for the main company (no recruitment, maintenance, benefits, etc. cost, just the contract rate) and lets them shift blame when overworked drivers leave packages in the road, driveway, or lawn in the rain (as FedEx has done to us on many occasions). The contractors push their drivers even harder than the company that pays them, because they get paid by the piece. I examined the offer of one that was hiring in my area a year or so ago -- looked like the driver wouldn't have time to inhale never mind take a potty stop, eat lunch, or drink a soda or bottle of water, with something like two minutes allowed per package on a rural delivery route.

I try not to complain too much about someone doing a job I wouldn't apply for -- but I do insist they actually do the job. As in deliver a package in reasonably undamaged condition, onto my sheltered porch, and not let the barking dog behind the six foot fence scare them away, or (as USPS does) bitch about the condition of my road damaging their truck when I drive up and down it 250 times a year in a subcompact.