Indicators that a house is well-suited for building a darkroom

kylewilcox · Nov 19, 2015

Hi, everyone.

My family and I have been renting apartments so far, but might soon be buying a house. Installing a printing darkroom is on the list of things I've been waiting to do for a long time, so I have a question that might seem backwards compared to how most people approach the problem:

In shopping for a home, assuming it meets all my family's other needs, how can I judge whether a given house is well-suited for installing a darkroom space? What should I look for, if I have a choice? In terms of garage vs basement, water supply, air quality and dust concerns, light proofing, and all the things I don't know that I don't know?

Please don't say "I'm perfectly fine using the extra bathroom [or whatever] in my house." That's fine, lots of people are and I'd settle for that if need be, but I want to focus on the question of looking for a house that would avoid the common pitfalls that people have in darkroom planning. It's OK to talk about ideal-world kinds of things, but any practical considerations would be especially appreciated.

Thoughts?

Kyle Wilcox

Sirius Glass · Nov 19, 2015

The biggest single cost of a darkroom is the space it takes and whether it takes the space full time or part time. Just about any room can be made dark, but can you afford the space to dedicate the space? After that comes questions about water, sinks and ventilation.

Rick A · Nov 19, 2015

It has a vacant dungeon.

jamespierce · Nov 19, 2015

Roof height, larger formats require tall enlargers. Drainage, then water (hot and cold if possible, otherwise cold + heating it) and finally power. Generally power is easy, water is not so bad, but drainage can be a total pain. Depending on climate a small reverse cycle aircon unit makes all the difference to comfort and consistency of process. Finally you need ventilation.

My darkroom is built into a large brick shed, we made a room inside a room and the rest was pretty easy. A basement could work well if the roof height is enough.

2.5 x 2m is about the smallest practical space if you are building a darkroom - I'd say 3 x 4m is ideal if you want to make significant prints, have room for a couple of enlargers and a decent sized sink.

pbromaghin · Nov 19, 2015

I have found the perfect space in my house for building a darkroom. Someday...

It's in the interior part of the basement. 2 stud walls are already there. The previous owner was building a home theatre so it has it's own electrical box, independent of the rest of the house. Hot and cold water pipes directly overhead, sewer pipe just a few feet away. The exhaust fan will have an easy run under the ceiling joists to the outside wall. Heating and A/C ducts right above, but I will probably forego that due to dust problems.

Jeff Bradford · Nov 19, 2015

Ideally, you want to purchase a second house nearby to use for the darkroom and equipment storage.

markbarendt · Nov 19, 2015

I would have to say "an extra room" would be the most important.

If that room had at least a wall that already had plumbing in it (for say the bath above or in the next room), that would be great.

markbarendt · Nov 19, 2015

Jeff Bradford said:
Ideally, you want to purchase a second house nearby to use for the darkroom and equipment storage.

My wife and I joke about his and her homes on occasion.

bdial · Nov 19, 2015

My wife and I joke about his and her homes on occasion.

That would be perfect.

A small bedroom with adjacent water would be near ideal, or perhaps a basement that has plumbing for a laundry space or whatever. The advantage of the basement is that if it's unfinished space then it can be built out to whatever you like.

It took three houses for me to actually get a darkroom, even though house two had a space allocated for it, and was a semi-custom build. In house 3, I took over one of the bathrooms. The major problem I've faced with converting a bathroom is that it only has power near the sink, in one outlet. So far I've not gutted it, so it still has fixtures in place, though none are usable for their purpose, aside from the sink. If and when I do that, I'll be able to resolve the various issues, though it works pretty well for me so far.

bsdunek · Nov 19, 2015

My thoughts would be: 1. A large enough space in the basement or other area of the house, that isn't needed for everyday living. I use a 12 X 16 space in the basement. I walled it in, installed a door, etc.
2. You need electrical entrance capacity to add a couple of circuits. Two 15 amp circuits is plenty, and even one 15 amp circuit should work in most cases.
3. Water supply - can you tap into the water piping, both hot and cold, and route them to your darkroom area.
4. Drain! Gotta send that water somewhere. Can you route drain piping to the sump or another drain facility.
5. Heat and/or cooling. I could tap into the hot air duct, and run an outlet into my darkroom. Here in Michigan, heat is more important than air conditioning. You have to evaluate your local climate conditions. My basement darkroom would be kind of chilly in the Winder without some direct heat.
6. Usually easy to add - my darkroom has a phone, radio/sound system, clocks, etc. Just conveniences, but they make it nice when I spend long Winter afternoons in there. I also have a refrigerator across the aisle (not really just for me, but I do occupy most of the freezer) for photo supplies (not to mention refreshments).
After that, you'll have to decide what you need, depending on your working system.
Hope this helps.

Ron789 · Nov 19, 2015

I'd say: any house is perfectly well suited to create a darkroom. You may, however, run into some issues when you (or anyone you will share thye house with) raise additional requirements, like a living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom etc. But without such luxury additions, any house will do fine.

paul ron · Nov 19, 2015

plumbing is everything!

also temperature n moisture of the site for your darkroom are a concern. most are basement instalations. garages can be cold n damp n no plumbing.

Mark_S · Nov 19, 2015

I have built two dedicated darkrooms in past homes, one in a space that was added on to the back of a garage, initially intended as a workshop, the other in a basement. In both cases the biggest headaches were plumbing. In both cases I ended up using a sump pump to send waste water out of the darkroom. In the garage installation I also had to add a small water heater to get hot water, in the basement, I was able to tap into a hot water line.

Things to look for in a basement are sufficient headroom - often basement ceilings are not full height, and that can be an issue. The basement should be relatively dry - I tend to run a dehumidifier in the darkroom to keep it dry anyways, but you don't need extra moisture coming in through the walls or floor.

In each of my darkrooms I have put in a dedicated electrical sub-panel. I put the enlarger on a separate circuit from everything else so that it is not affected by things like the sump pump or water heater switching on/off.

In the basement, you need to be creative with ventilation. I put a passive vent out to the outside, and then pulled air from the room above, filtered it and used it in the darkroom.

Both basements and garages tend to have concrete floors - invest in a rubber mat to stand on, well worth it.

Old-N-Feeble · Nov 19, 2015

If you can afford it, I'd say have a separate building built. Just don't make it so customized that it can't be re-purposed later for other needs such as a guest house, rental efficiency, garage, storage, etc.

MattKing · Nov 19, 2015

I'd look for something that:

1) has re-configurable space available;
2) has reasonably modern wiring and plumbing, that has some available capacity, which can be brought to the space; and
3) with respect to the available space, it needs to be dry, heated, and be easily ventilated - preferably to the outside.

It is also great if there is a nearby area for working on things like mounting and framing.

In addition, it is best if things like paper and film and lenses aren't stored where the humidity is too high.

So nearby storage is great.

Jim Jones · Nov 19, 2015

I've put together 7 darkrooms for myself and one for a friend. Only two had hot & cold running water. Four had hot & cold water nearby. Cold water was carried into one darkroom in jugs, and waste water carried out in pails. Two were in occupied bedrooms, and could quickly revert to that purpose. When one is accustomed to primitive darkrooms, they aren't too much worse than one that seems ideal. Consider Edward Weston's.

mgb74 · Nov 19, 2015

Obviously you need space. But assuming you have space the first thing you need a drain. Hard to put one in if it's not there. But it can be moved if it's a a few feet off. The next hardest thing to deal with if it's not there is water. Obviously you can easily run pex but you need access. If there's finished space between your darkroom space and water supply, you have a problem. Sometimes its an issue of which way the floor joists run. Finally, electrical. It's easier to run than water, but still can be difficult to run through finished space.

Some homes have floor joists (solid wood, typically 2x10 or 2x12) and some have floor trusses (which have openings). Trusses make it easier to run water and electrical after the fact without drilling trough joists; sometimes above finished space.

Vaughn · Nov 20, 2015

Jeff Bradford said:
Ideally, you want to purchase a second house nearby to use for the darkroom and equipment storage.

Ideal? Perhaps a detached garage/shed/outbuilding with water and sewer. Alas, I had that at one time...16'x20', too! Oh, well. But that is a good size -- divided about in half for a wetside and a dryside!

It can be nice to keep things separate. However, I live alone, so I am presently turning my garage (attached) in a darkroom...just put the second coat of paint on a work table today (actually painted the storage shelves under the table I just built). But the bathroom will also be part of the wet darkroom facilities (primarily for some film development and sheet film loading), and one of the bedrooms will be for print storage and print presentation work (matting, framing, etc). If any of my boys come back he'll have to sleep in a tent in the backyard (or stay at his mom's!)

RobC · Nov 20, 2015

Ideally a room where the temperature can be kept constant. A shed, even with good insulation can be very cold in winter or roasting in summer which isn't good for chemical storage.

It should have one very solid wall which you may want to wall mount enlargers on. They can be very heavy.

Ceiling height should ideally be at least 8 feet depending on enlarger column height.

Floor should be solid. A wooden floor with enlarger on a worktop which is not isolated from floor can be a source of enlarger vibration when you move about. Hence wall mounting enlarger can be a great benefit.

Then all the stuff other people have mentioned, drainage, water supply, electricity, ventilation etc.

A basement is likely to have the most controllable temperature through the seasons with solid floor and walls.

Another thing to consider is that it is best to use ventilation fans to blow air into the darkroom rather than out of darkroom. The reason is that fans blowing out will suck air into the room through every carack and crevice bring dust into the darkroom where as blowing air into the darkroom allows you to filter air at one point and dust is blown back into cracks and crevices. Preferably the air being blown in is from the house where it will be at room temperature and not freezing if your darkroom was in an external shed (in winter).

Bob Carnie · Nov 20, 2015

I agree or something attached to your main house.

QUOTE=Old-N-Feeble;1953814639]If you can afford it, I'd say have a separate building built. Just don't make it so customized that it can't be re-purposed later for other needs such as a guest house, rental efficiency, garage, storage, etc.[/QUOTE]

Rich Ullsmith · Nov 20, 2015

A bonus would be a house where the owners had started converting a storage space or basement into a spare room, and ran out of funds/interest after installing electrical and plumbing.

MattKing · Nov 20, 2015

I may get a bit of reaction to this ....

Check with the city/municipal/county authorities in the area where you are looking to see if they have any bylaws that reference home darkrooms. There are some jurisdictions out there that impose special requirements.

You want to be sure that you obtain any necessary building permits for any renovations you intend to do, and that your renovations pass any required inspections. You never want to be in the situation where you need to make an insurance claim, but your insurance policy specifically doesn't cover damage arising from water leaks or fires originating from non-permitted plumbing, electrical or ventilation modifications.

Ian Grant · Nov 20, 2015

Rick A said:
It has a vacant dungeon.

My last house had two cellars, I built a darkroom in one, and one of my friends suggested I build a dungeon in the other No way !!!

A good basement like you have in US/Canadian houses would be ideal as long as you have enough height, these tend to be better built and damp-proofed compared to British cellars which were usually meant for storing coal and wood

I had the same issue again 2 years ago looking for a new house, we'd planned to buy one and put my darkroom in a spare bedroom but then changed our minds and bought a different house in the same street which had a stone and breeze block 13ft x12ft 6in building -t the end of the garden, a far better option, the house was nicer as well. Had there been no outbuilding I'd have erected a large wooden shed. I insulated the out building including the floor with polystyrene sheets, walls & floor, and the door, it's easy to keep warm even when below freezing outside.

Ian

Sirius Glass · Nov 20, 2015

Jeff Bradford said:
Ideally, you want to purchase a second house nearby to use for the darkroom and equipment storage.

I spend time at my place and my girlfriends place. She has a two bedroom condo and I have a three bedroom condo. I can leave my darkroom set up to print all the time at my place and that does not get in our way at her place. I also store my camera gear at my place and use my refrigerator and freezer for mostly film.

John Koehrer · Nov 20, 2015

If you're thinking about outbuildings as a possibility, a trailer like an Airstream will work
but to go whole hog, find a military surplus portable darkroom. Just add enlarger & go to town.
You should find a picture online

Indicators that a house is well-suited for building a darkroom

kylewilcox

Sirius Glass

Rick A

jamespierce

pbromaghin

Jeff Bradford

markbarendt

markbarendt

bdial

bsdunek

Ron789

paul ron

Mark_S

Old-N-Feeble

MattKing

Moderator

Jim Jones

mgb74

Vaughn

RobC

Bob Carnie

Rich Ullsmith

MattKing

Moderator

Ian Grant

Sirius Glass

John Koehrer

Indicators that a house is well-suited for building a darkroom

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