Garage Darkroom

[eric]

Hiya,

I used to have a darkroom in 2 garages. One time, I just draped black painters plastic to make a "room". Another time, I just did it at night with the doors closed.

This time, I want to make a "temporary" wall.

Would these be good enough:
1x2 wood to make a frame from ceiling to floor
1x2 wood in about 3 feet intervals
1x2 wood in between the 3 feet
then cover it up with the painter's plastic.

I don't need complete darkness. Just dark 'nuf do work at night time. One side will probably be open and that side is the opposite of the garage doors.

 

[noseoil]

Eric, the 1x2's will work, but you might consider a spacing of 2' on center. 3' is a long way to span as 1x2 material usually has knots and grain run-outs which will weaken longer runs. I don't see a problem with your idea. Quick, simple and cheap, I like it. Black plastic stapled on one side should do the trick.

 

[JHannon]

Sounds like a good idea Eric. I agree with reducing the spacing to 2' on center. You could use dry wall screws to assemble and just unscrew everything with you have to remove it.

 

[eric]

Cool. Don't know much about the spacing but 2 feet in between sounds grand. I know have a couple of Nova verticals so my darkroom will be much, much smaller.
Dang...I LOVE those nova verticals. Don't know how I ever worked without them.

 

[geraldatwork]

My darkroom is in my garage and I had a similar problem. I picked up some light blocking curtains on ebay. It was a year ago so I don't have the name of the seller but the seller was either the distributer or manufacturer and they sold on ebay from time to time. A google search might turn up the source. One of the nice thinks is that they are white (although they are completely opaque) so when I hang them they reflect light back into the DR area. Since they are curtains they have a space at the top for rods that work with those little clips at the end. So when I do darkroom work it only takes a few seconds to put them up. The clips stay on the walls. They come in all different sizes so I found some that go from the ceiling to about 1/2 inch above the ground. The cost was about $25 for a set that was about 8 feet tall and spanned about 8 feet. So I needed two sets to go completely across the garage. I have a smaller set in the back. But for me the beauty is that they come up or down in seconds.

 

[doughowk]

My darkroom is in curtained-off area in garage. My wife made the curtain out of blackout clothe ( available at JoAnnes, etc where ever curtain material is sold). She sewed velcro on sides & used sticky type velcro for walls opposite. Put a board across top so don't get any light leaks above rod. Works great, even during daytime for my enlarger - dry area. Tried tubes for processing, but decided to do printing in evening or early morning in the wet area - remaining part of garage. Have a utility sink & built a cart for trays - shelves pull-out for staggering the trays.

 

[gma]

I think you will find that 2x2s cost less than 1x2s. They are twice as stiff and they do not require any more space.

 

[mobtown_4x5]

I have created a complete (daylight safe) darkroom in my house using only the (white) blackout cloth from JoAnnes Fabrics, wood and staples- works great- total cost- about $75 ( I bought the entire roll)

Matt