from the floor

[Black Dog]

Any advice on darkroom floor coverings ? The fllor will be concrete but I'm wondering what to put on top to make working in there more comfortable for 10+ hours?Thanks

 

[Jorge]

Anti fatigue mats?....

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Ideally something comfortable to stand on and non-porous that can be cut to the size of the room so it won't absorb chemistry. I'd guess there must be some kitchen flooring that would be appropriate.

 

[Ed Sukach]

Anti fatigue mats?....

I've got one of those. It is a grooved synthetic rubber material. Useful for taking the "shock" out of walking around on a concrete floor, but more useful as an anti-skid surface - liquids that spill will drain into the grooves, and not form puddles. They are quite common - a builders supply outfit or chemical supplier, or possibly your local automobile repair garage should, at least, know where to get them. Try, also, an office supply store, especially where they sell boxes, etc., for shipping departments. I remember seeing these in their catalogs.

 

[Shesh]

I use flip-flops instead of anti-fatigue mats. It make the cleaning up of the floor easier in case of spillage.

 

[DKT]

just get some anti-fatigue mats. home depot & lowes carry them now, as well as places like grainger & safety supply companies--even fisher carries them. at the home stores, they're sold in big square tiles, about 2 feet square more or less, that can be tiled together. all 3 of the darkrooms I use, have concrete floors. at home I use the tiles, at work--we bought the mats in big rolls, about 3 feet wide, and cut them out to fit in front of enlargers, sinks etc. the rolls are the best, the tiles are cheaper & easier to lay out, but they can accumulate dirt & scum in between....

btw--some of the mats have a slick surface & you can really bust your ass on these if they're wet--there are others that have a bit of tooth to them, grooves etc--and they come in all thicknesses too. first set of mats I had, got from Porter's of all places, dirt cheap too--they were factory seconds.

hope this helps

 

[Loose Gravel]

I've got the same situation. I thought about matts, but now I'm considering a pine wood floor. I only have to cover the area that is between the sink and the enlarger counter. In my darkroom that is 3 x 12 feet. I will make such a board and set it on some little spacers to make it springy. If I don't like it, I'll make something else out of it.

 

[Flotsam]

Shesh, That is funny.
I have also taken to wearing flip-flops while working in my cement floored darkroom. A couple of years ago I was given a pair of plastic Adidas sandals with thick, cushioned soles and a foot massaging texture molded in. They are a great alternative to anti-fatigue mats. They are comforable, cool, water (and chem) proof and wherever I go, even if I leave the room, they are always under my feet.

 

[Shesh]

Neal,
Exactly! I found them to be more comfortable than anti-fatigue matts, with the pimpled texture and all.

 

[lee]

I have about 6 anti-fatigue mats around the sinks and the enlarger stations.


lee\c

 

[Nige]

I had a good think about this and decided on industrial grade carpet, laid with underlay. I thought about spills, but decided that since in however many years I'd been doing this I'd never made a mess on the floor yet, I wasn't about to start to considering I would now have a dedicated wet area. I have a couple of bar stools which I'll rest my butt on occasionly (if my son's aren't perched on them)

 

[Alex]

I also use Anti-Fatigue mats (from Costco) over a concrete floor.

 

[margretp2003]

You could also consider rubber matting as used in horse boxes or horses' stables. They are slightly springy (to protect valuable horses' legs), non slip, chemically resistant and easy to clean.

Only snag is that I don't know where you would buy them from. Horse box dealers?