New darkroom, advise on my plan?

snaggs · Dec 3, 2012

Greetings, to start with I want to do B&W, 6x6 enlargements, max size 20"x20" in trays. I think I can just fit it in. I'm converting a study and already have this bench design in there. So I thought I'd loose a shelf and put in a wet bench.

Any comments or advise? When I do colour one day in the future. I'll probably go Jobo CPP route. Theres not really much choice where the sink goes, the water is right behind the wall where the window is, so plumbing will be cheap.

Daniel.

Jeff Searust · Dec 3, 2012

Looks excellent--- Since you are building in-- look at old photography books for such things as "dark drawers" for holding open paper, things like fan ducts and remember to use the vertical also --- lighting and high shelves.

fotch · Dec 3, 2012

Looks good. Like your 3D image.

snaggs · Dec 3, 2012

The cabinet guys did that for me when they designed the draws. I have a book called the "The Darkroom Handbook" by Michael Langford which has been great. I've already got draws, so I think I'll just reuse and leave the paper in the bag

Daniel.

adelorenzo · Dec 3, 2012

If you weren't planning on it I'd add a 2-3 foot high barrier between the enlarger and the wet area. Keep splashes of developer off your negatives and paper.

jeffreyg · Dec 3, 2012

When I built my darkroom I had the sink designed to be somewhat deeper so as to prevent any splashes. Also it has three removable tops that can cover it and be at the same height as the counter ("L" shaped as your plans) to give extra counter surface when not in use as a sink. An exhaust fan system and canister water filter (if your water quality isn't the best such as well water). Plenty of well placed electrical outlets. Storage under the sink for chemicals, trays and stuff. Blackout system for the glass door. I placed "L" hooks above the door and attached blackout material to two dowel sticks one for the top and one for the bottom as a weight. I can roll it up and remove it when not needed.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

snaggs · Dec 3, 2012

adelorenzo said:
If you weren't planning on it I'd add a 2-3 foot high barrier between the enlarger and the wet area. Keep splashes of developer off your negatives and paper.

I was wondering what to do about that, I thought I'd use something temporary each time, like a chopping board wedged between two bookends or something.

Daniel.

snaggs · Dec 3, 2012

jeffreyg said:
When I built my darkroom I had the sink designed to be somewhat deeper so as to prevent any splashes. Also it has three removable tops that can cover it and be at the same height as the counter ("L" shaped as your plans) to give extra counter surface when not in use as a sink. An exhaust fan system and canister water filter (if your water quality isn't the best such as well water). Plenty of well placed electrical outlets. Storage under the sink for chemicals, trays and stuff. Blackout system for the glass door. I placed "L" hooks above the door and attached blackout material to two dowel sticks one for the top and one for the bottom as a weight. I can roll it up and remove it when not needed.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

Thanks Jerry. Because we have rainwater tanks, its compulsory here in Australia to have a water filter and UV treatment system. So particles are sorted. However, does the hardness of the water matter? As we are in a relatively dry coastal area.

Daniel.

jeffreyg · Dec 3, 2012

I am on well water that contains a lot of iron and calcium-carbonate and while we have a softener and filtration system I still have a canister filter in the line to my darkroom faucet.

Jeff

John Austin · Dec 3, 2012

Swing the enlarger 'round to the middle of the short bench so you have room to move. To operate an enlarger you need to be able to stand in front of it and be able to spread your arms out fully and keep the width encompassed by your hands clear. For 10x8" I keep lots of space

David Lyga · Dec 4, 2012

One minor 'caveat': for left handers like myself, we like to work from right to left. - David Lyga

sepiareverb · Dec 4, 2012

The "sliding glass door" might be a bit of a problem no? I'm a big fan of pocket doors in darkrooms. They're easy to light proof, take up no space and never get in the way. But glass? maybe not...

Layout looks fantastic. I prefer working left to right in the darkroom, so the space left of the enlarger acts as a great staging area for paper safe or the pile of neg pages for proofing.

snaggs · Dec 5, 2012

Yes, the sliding door is the one problem. I'm going to see if a darkroom blind will work, but I wonder about the seal at floor level.

I'm left handed, but since I'm converting a study with benches/draws only 3 years old, I'll have to make do. In the kitchen I tend to go left to right with my cooking, so we will see.

jeffreyg · Dec 5, 2012

As I mentioned above the dowel sticks and blackout material have worked well for me for over 35 years. You could also consider the black plastic garden sheeting. I used that in a similar way to black out the two windows in my darkroom. It is pretty heavy and you could use a double layer. The nice thing is it can be placed or removed in a minute and when rolled up on the dowels like a scroll takes up little storage space. Make it long and wide enough to more than cover the door. The sides can be secured with self-stick Velcro.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

Bob-D659 · Dec 5, 2012

My only concern about the corner is having enough room to slide a large easel to the left or right when the walls might get in the way with the easel back against the column base.

pbromaghin · Dec 5, 2012

How about attaching the enlarger to the back of the counter top or to the wall and cutting a square out of the counter top so you can lower the easel to multiple positions for bigger prints? This is featured in examples of home darkrooms shown in the Kodak darkroom construction book.

New darkroom, advise on my plan?

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