Makeshifting it.

[Stephanie Brim]

Okay. I'm going to be building an enlarger bench in the area where I plan to build the big darkroom for the Omega D5XL. I'm going to make a makeshift wet and dry bench out of the hollow doors that we have downstairs that we aren't using. I have some cement blocks I can use to do that. I can't put the D5 under the stairs because it is just too big, so I'm going to have to light proof most of the basement unless I can figure out a way to block off the light to the one area.

The big room is 10'3" across. My first idea was to just use lightproof draperies from floor to ceiling. I had planned to just go buy 15 or so yards of that opaque curtain fabric and go to town with a sewing machine. I figured that I'd go with the shiny side out toward the area of the room I'm not using.

Other ideas would be welcomed.

 

[ford prefect]

in my basement darkroom at my parents house long time ago i use 6mil? black contractors plastic with one of the self adhesive zipper doors with a flap of plastic over top of that to stop any light comming through the zipper i also doubled up the plastic on the "walls" just to be safe and since that stuff is dirt cheap i just staple guned it to the rafters and put some bricks every couple feet at the bottome to hold it all down

 

[Claire Senft]

As far as windows are concerned Stephanie, I settled for painting them black. If you really want to make them light tight...I mean windows... buy some aluminum flashing material at the hardware store. It is totally light proof and can be cut with a regular scissors and not expensive..

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Haha, that would actually work really well! Thanks.

 

[Lee L]

Aluminum foil over windows also works well if there's no danger of puncturing it and you use a good opaque tape to hold it in place.

I've also used foil-faced polyisocyanurate foam house sheathing (AKA Thermax, R-Max, etc.) over windows. It provides additional insulation, is relatively cheap, lightweight, and easy to cut to fit. Comes in 4x8 foot sheets at the home centers. In one basement darkroom I put in stud walls covered with homosote board behind the enlarger bench (a solid core door on a wooden frame). This makes a nice full-wall bulletin board behind the enlarger, but watch your local fire code on this one.

Lee

 

[MikeSeb]

I wouldn't use hollow-core doors for any table or bench that will support more than a small amount of weight; or to support items with feet, which concentrate the item's weight on small points of pressure. They are flimsy, and it's easy to punch right through them.

You'd be better off with plywood with a 2x2 or 2x4 frame, all of it sealed with marine epoxy or varnish. Even better, use kitchen cabinets with a countertop over them. You'll have storage drawers that way.

Another argument against cloth draperies is that they will be dust magnets.

 

[Stephanie Brim]

Note that this is just a makeshift setup, not a permanent solution. I'm going to be building a whole bunch of stuff. But for right now, I just need things that work. The only things going on the doors will be the trays with chemicals (on one side) and the spotting stuff (on the other). They're pretty sturdy, but I wouldn't put the enlarger on them.

 

[df cardwell]

I just need things that work

If you are committed to using hollow core door for your enlarging table,
lay a piece of 5/8 plywood or hardboard over it.

 

[Stephanie Brim]

The enlarger will be going on a separate table altogether that we'll be building with it in mind. I know for a fact that putting that enlarger on the hollow core doors isn't a good idea.

 

[removed account4]

i would look in the yellow pages under box companies.
they make studio sets, theatre sets and other stuff out of thick cardboard.
it would be find for makeshift window blocks ( and edge with black FELT ) ---- >> not expensive.
black canvas found at your local fabric store would be a better solution than
thick trashbags. you coud put a few 2x3s on the bottom, a few dowels or
lathe at the top and pull it to the ceiling on a rig so it would look like a garment bag ...
and you won't die from CO2 and chemical fume poisioning ...


for the table, what df said is it ..
when you make your table, get 4x4s put them at angle to eachother
and strap them with 2x3s or 2x4s then countersink 1/2" plywood ontop of it
for your top.
i have a table ( wish i built my sink stand like that ) that i made like that,
and it holds 2 huge enlargers, 1 smaller one, and a boatload of other stuff.

have fun ...

john

 

[Anscojohn]

Stephanie,
Take it from one who worked on the road in hotle rooms; had many a makeshift darkroom in apartments, basements, etc. All the solutions suggested to you are ok. But your ideas have the attraction of K.I.S.S. Instead of using curtain fabric (unless you have a use for it later) the black contractor's mylar is much cheaper. You do not say whether or not you have a finished ceiling in the basement. If so, easy. Just staple the mylar every six inches or so. If not, either go from joist to joist, or along a joist. Note well, if you do not have a finished ceiling, you are going to have trouble with dust and dirt coming from the floor above. In that case, mylar closing off the ceiling solves the dust problem. Either extra cinder blocks to hold the mylar in contact with the floor, or just lay some two by fours along the floor to hold the mylar in place. If you have the room, make the mylar into a maze access--no problems with doors that way and it might promote a bit of fresh air as well. As you have already decided, you need a rock-solid work surface for the Omega. For the remainder, the doors are just fine. And for a window, just water-based black poster paint is just fine and it can be easily removed down the line. None of these suggestions make for "elegant" solutions; but I know from experience, they work. And you can be printing away whilst thinking about your ultimate darkroom.

 

[Monophoto]

I wouldn't use hollow-core doors for any table or bench that will support more than a small amount of weight - - - They are flimsy, and it's easy to punch right through them.

You'd be better off with plywood with a 2x2 or 2x4 frame, all of it sealed with marine epoxy or varnish. Even better, use kitchen cabinets with a countertop over them. You'll have storage drawers that way.

I suggest particle board - it's much less expensive than plywood, absolutely flat, much smoother than plywood, and doesn't look bad with a couple of coats of polyurethane. Be sure to put at least one coat of poly on the underside to seal it against water.

I used budget-line kitchen cabinets in my darkroom. The dryside countertop was a piece of laminated countertop from a discount lumberyard. I actually have two counters with an enlarger station between them. I bought one piece of surplus countertop and cut it in half for the two counters, and then made the enlarger station from particleboard.

The wet side sink was left over from my previous darkroom (in a different house) and was made from '1 by' pine lumber and with a 1/2" plywood bottom, all coated with several layers of two-component epoxy paint.

 

[Mark Fisher]

For something temporary....duct tape and aluminum foil for the windows. It is amazing how all that lights can leak in from all sorts of places so you may need to work at night.
I'd also consider covering the ceiling with polyethylene sheet (comes in rolls at the hardware store...Visqueen is one brand). It will help keep the dust down to something more tolerable. Keeping the humidity up will help too.

 

[declark]

This may not work for you, but my really simple solution to keeping light out is to use my garage/darkroom only at night. During the day I would have to block a lot of light leaks, but at night its plenty dark. I have one heavy duty bench for the enlarger and I just use one of those 6 foot long plastic folding tables for my trays; it cleans up and stores away easily when I want to park my car. The only downside to using my darkroom at night is it is quite a bit colder and have to compensate for that.

 

[Reinhold]

A few other ideas...

Modular shelving above your counters and sink instead of cabinets with doors is a cheap, flexible, and quick way to get set up. I'm prone to losing track of things in cabinets with doors.

Try to make as much continuous counter space as you can. If it's chopped up into little islands, you'll get frustrated when you need some space and cant find enough room.

A simple stabilizer bar connecting the top of the enlarger column to the wall makes a HUGE difference in eliminating vibration, especially on Omegas which have a relatively small footprint for such a large cantilevered mass.

Take a look at my darkroom, there may be an idea or two that you can use:

http://www.classicbwphoto.com/Darkroom.html

Have fun...

Reinhold

 

[ricksplace]

My first darkroom (over 40 years ago) was made out of cardboard in my parents' basement. I got a bunch of fridge cartons from a warehouse, cut them up, and made walls out of them, put together with black silicone sealant. A curtain for a door, and I was all set. I even had a water line (hose) in through a wall, and the drain back out through the wall with another hose. Have fun.

 

[willem]

For blinding the windows I used laminated particle board that has the same size as the window frame. I used a tacker to connect velcro tape (2 rows wide) on the edges of the board and I screwed 2 handles on each board. The boards have the same size as the windows an can easily be put in place by pressing it in the window frame that has the velcro tape's hooks on them (also tacked and glued in place). If the window frame has some uneven spots, you can use rubber isolation strips on the edges.

Willem

 

[Claire Senft]

Stephanie, If you were to paint the windows black and are still concerned then you could paint over the black with red for paper protection although it would do nothing for film that is panchromatic.

 

[ricksplace]

Cardboard also works really well as a window blackout. Cut it to size and duct tape it around the edge. Appliance cardboard (from a refridgerator or washer, etc) is completely opaque because it's thicker than most other cardboard.

 

[John Koehrer]

I disagree with the idea that a hollow core door isn't strong enough to support an enlarger or trays. As long as the weight is spread out & not on a small point of contact you'll be fine. The enlarger & what-not won't weigh more than 50# & if you want to be on the safe side build a frame underneath for additional support.
MDF spread over the same distance & with the same weight on it will begin to sag very quickly.
The idea to seal either of them with poly is excellent.

 

[ford prefect]

make the mylar into a maze access
john thats brilliant i wish i would have thought of that the zipper door does get to be a PIA but ya work with what you got i cant count how many times i crammed myself into a closet covered in blankets at people houses and apts. when out of town just to load a developing reel so i could make sure i had the shots i wanted before leaving. i did it once in a dorm room in North Arolina college i was visiting and i am a verry large man so that was interesting indeed