Insulate Darkroom, or no?

Amador · Nov 2, 2018

Hi All,

I am in the process of building an 8'x7' darkroom inside of my garage. My initial plan was to insulate all 4 walls but now I'm questioning whether or not it makes sense. My ventilation will pull air out of the DR and vent outside of the house. The inlet will be will pulling air into the DR from the garage. My thought is that since I am pulling air in from the garage, won't the DR end up being the same temp as the garage anyway? I would love to hear some thoughts. One wall of the DR will be the existing outside wall, so I will definitely insulate that one. I appreciate your thoughts!

Chris

Rick A · Nov 2, 2018

How cold does it get in the garage? Are you planning on heating the darkroom? If it gets below a comfortable temp in the garage you may want to use a small heater in the darkroom, insulation may be a wise idea. If it gets hot in there in the summer, are you planning on air conditioning it? Depending on the process, you may not need to vent as much as you think. I have minimal ventilation in my DR, I also use low odor Eco-Pro chems, and I never tone prints in my DR.

Valerie · Nov 2, 2018

Not sure where you are located geographically. My darkroom is also in the garage, but here in Texas the garage is an oven in summer and pretty darn cold in winter -- all 3 days of it ;-) So, yes, it is insulated. A/C is piped in from the upstairs as well.

AgX · Nov 2, 2018

Tackling the influx of cold air forventilation into a heated room can be the use of heat-exchanger between in- and out-let.

CMoore · Nov 2, 2018

Insulate it would be my first reaction
Fresh air exchange is not the same as Heating/Cooling.
But.....What is it like in your garage when it is Max Cold/Hot during the year.?

mshchem · Nov 2, 2018

Here in upper Midwest of US a garage darkroom wouldn't work. I have a nice basement darkroom, I have R15 insulation in exterior walls. If you live in mild climate you don't need much. Don't tone, use big print dryers in your space. If you can afford HVAC do it.
My darkroom, I run dehumidifier to keep humidity in check. Last thing you want is fungus / mold. Without adequate ventilation and humidity control you may be uncomfortable.

Sirius Glass · Nov 2, 2018

Where do you live? There is nothing worse than a cold or a hot darkroom. Insulate.

Amador · Nov 2, 2018

Thanks for the replies, Everyone. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. It can definitely get too hot in the summer, but cold is not really that big of a problem. I’ll have good ventilation system. My main curiosity is if the Darkroom will take on the temp of the garage, due to air exchange regardless if it is insulated or not? The air intake will be passive, so there is will be no way to change the temp of the incoming air, although I’m not opposed to changing that if there is a good solution.

Chris

Luis-F-S · Nov 2, 2018

Sirius Glass said:
Where do you live? There is nothing worse than a cold or a hot darkroom. Insulate.

My darkroom is in a garage with central air and heat and it’s insulated

Arklatexian · Nov 3, 2018

Valerie said:
Not sure where you are located geographically. My darkroom is also in the garage, but here in Texas the garage is an oven in summer and pretty darn cold in winter -- all 3 days of it ;-) So, yes, it is insulated. A/C is piped in from the upstairs as well.

Where I live it is also hot, hot, hot in the summer, all almost six months of it and cold other months of the year. An insulated darkroom can be heated or cooled with a minimum of equipment. It sure is nice to set the temperature at 68 degrees F (20 C) and leave it there. Just be sure that your ventilation does not let light in with the tempered air.......Regards!

ozphoto · Nov 3, 2018

I've insulated my darkroom - here in AUS it can get to 48C some days and the garage heats up like an oven! Winter isn't quite as cold as you guys get in the northern hemisphere, but on those days when it can't reach more than 9C, I'm thankful for the insulation - I heat it up for about 30-45mins and then happily print away. (Concrete floor retains the cold - brrrrr.)

Jim Jones · Nov 3, 2018

I live in northern Missouri, and insulated a 8x12 darkroom in an outbuilding with about 4 inches of fiberglass insulation. A small room air conditioner in the summer and a small space heater in the winter kept the temperature within a practical darkroom range. A small exhaust fan gave adequate air exchange for my needs. Some photographers may want more sophistication; others have done fine work with much less.

Ian Grant · Nov 3, 2018

My darkroom is down the end of my garden in a breeze block shed. It's fully insulated floor, walls, ceiling, and even the door. It needs very little heating even when the temperature drops below freezing outside and stays cool in a hot summer as long as the door's not left open too long.

It's worth insulating.

Ian

Amador · Nov 3, 2018

Thanks again, All. Sounds like i’d better insulate! Hopefully in just a few short weeks, I’ll be printing in my very first dedicated darkroom! I can easily plumb in heating and A/C from my house HVAC, I’ve just been worried about the dust that could create. Am I over worrying about that?

Chris

voceumana · Nov 3, 2018

I built a darkroom in my garage in the SF Bay area (Newark, specifically); the darkroom was not insulated. I used a space heater to remove the chill when it was cold, and it was more than enough to heat the entire darkroom. Darkroom was about 9 ft by 12 ft. Insulation wasn't needed.

jacaquarie · Nov 3, 2018

Insulate!!

CMoore · Nov 3, 2018

IME.......it is quite easy to heat a cold darkroom
Cooling is Much More Difficult

Maris · Nov 3, 2018

For my latest and best darkroom: insulate...no!, reverse cycle air-conditioner...yes! I'm in there several hundred hours a year and I indulgently convince myself that I deserve to be comfortable no matter the outside weather. And a small darkroom only needs a small (cheap?) air-con.

grahamp · Nov 3, 2018

My darkroom is in a wooden building with a concrete floor. I insulated it when I paneled it using fibreglass. Over time, any space will tend to take on the temperature of the surroundings. If I am not running the fan, the space changes temperature slowly. In winter, with the fan running, an 8x9 space like mine will chill from outer ambient air. So I run a thermostatically controlled heater. In summer, it can get hot, but working in the early morning can help there. I'd say this space, which has at least as much direct sun exposure as the garage, tends to a more even temperature.

If you need heating or cooling, it is much easier and cheaper to control the darkroom and not the whole garage.

I'm in Richmond, across the Bay. We do not get the fog and cooling effects of the Pacific as much. Right now it is sunny and in the mid-70s

jvo · Nov 4, 2018

jacaquarie said:
Insulate!!

+! - indubitably!

mgb74 · Nov 5, 2018

Will the garage still be used for a car? If so, consider CO accumulation. Not so much an issue in the garage itself as it dissipates when you open the garage door. Building your darkroom inside the garage may be against code; but I won't tell anyone. But I would put your garage to darkroom ventilation high on the wall as CO is heavier than air.

mnemosyne · Nov 5, 2018

mgb74 said:
Will the garage still be used for a car? If so, consider CO accumulation. Not so much an issue in the garage itself as it dissipates when you open the garage door. Building your darkroom inside the garage may be against code; but I won't tell anyone. But I would put your garage to darkroom ventilation high on the wall as CO is heavier than air.

CO (a byproduct of combustion engines or open fires) is highly toxic in extremely low concentrations and will kill you before any accumulation could take place. It is CO2 (a product of biological processes) that is heavier than air and will create a danger by slowly accumulating in pools on the ground level of closed environments with a source of constant CO2 output like fermentation (wine cellars, silos)

Amador · Nov 5, 2018

Thanks again, everyone! I have decided to go ahead and insulate. That, along with drywall is next weekends project!

I appreciate the concern about CO2. There will be no cars in the garage.

Chris

Doc W · Nov 6, 2018

Amador said:
Thanks for the replies, Everyone. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. It can definitely get too hot in the summer, but cold is not really that big of a problem. I’ll have good ventilation system. My main curiosity is if the Darkroom will take on the temp of the garage, due to air exchange regardless if it is insulated or not? The air intake will be passive, so there is will be no way to change the temp of the incoming air, although I’m not opposed to changing that if there is a good solution.

Chris

Insulate. If you try to keep chemistry at a constant temperature in a darkroom that has a wide temperature range, you are going to drive yourself nuts.

ac12 · Dec 1, 2018

It is easier to insulate during construction than afterwards.

Insulate Darkroom, or no?

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