Non-plumbing Darkroom suggestions

Hello all, I'm building a darkroom out of a storage unit that I'm renting (I got the OK from the land lady) and wanted some advice on how to go about doing so. I've taken darkroom courses in community college and tried a few times to make something but never really got anywhere. Now however I secured a location for a darkroom.
I already have everything I need material-wise. I will be using one of those cheap Home Depot Plastic stilt sinks.

As to why I'm doing this in a storage unit, I live in the SF Bay Area. My apartment is a glorified studio and space is at a premium. This storage unit is discounted since it's owned by a co-worker in my family business. Doubles as a place to store my prints. I've included a few pictures of the 8 x10 unit with the door open and closed. My friend is building a curtain out of black out cloth.

I've made cyanotypes and van dyke browns in a plastic garden shed when I lived at home. It was far from light proof but I had figured out how to get the lack of plumbing situation up and running. I know however that photo paper is completely different.

Note that I will not be developing film here, not yet anyways.


Have a few questions for the you experienced folks here.

I'm curious if its possible to "half wash" my prints without damaging them. What I mean is, drop the prints in a tray of water, let them sit, drive home at the end of the session, and rinse them in my shower?

Can I skirt around using stop bath for paper? Is straight water ok?

What advice can you give for not having plumbing?

Water is okay instead of stop bath, if it is running water.
Stop bath is better if you don't have running water.
Are you using RC paper, or are you using FB paper? RC paper washes quite quickly.

Crickster said:

'm curious if its possible to "half wash" my prints without damaging them. What I mean is, drop the prints in a tray of water, let them sit, drive home at the end of the session, and rinse them in my shower?

Can I skirt around using stop bath for paper? Is straight water ok?

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Water is fine for stop bath. The development process should be pretty much done by the time you dunk the print. If you use an alkaline fixer (use it in two baths), water stop is appropriate and the residue of developer (there will be very little) won't impact the fixer (well, not much, anyway).

You can keep your prints in a bucket of water for hours before washing them. It's not ideal, of course, but you can do it. You can definitely wash them at home.

Crickster said:

Hello all, I'm building a darkroom out of a storage unit that I'm renting (I got the OK from the land lady) and wanted some advice on how to go about doing so.

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Hi, I wish you luck, but think you may be asking for headaches with dust and light leaks, maybe even with temperature and humidity. I think you might be better off to put some of your furniture into storage to make room for your photo gear in the apartment. Maybe you could even change to a folding bed to free up a little work space.

If you're really set on using the storage space here's a couple things to look at first. Go into it, midday, with a thermometer. Mostly close the door and see how the temperature looks. Can you stand to work there? Second, with respect to dust, lay down a small piece of clean glass somewhere. A hand mirror would be fine, make sure to wipe it clean. Check if in a day or two to see how much dust it has collected. Decide if you can stand that much dust in your darkroom.

I'm guessing that all of the units share a common, vented air space at the top, so dust can flow freely. And likely light will come in if your neighbor opens their door. You might conceivably build a large "tent" out of black plastic inside of the unit, provided that the temperature is ok. But personally, I'd work towards rigging a compact setup to use in your apartment. There's a lot to be said for having a comfortable chair and a refrigerator for snacks when you wanna take a break.

Something else to consider, as seemingly this is a pure storing complex: Is it even legal to work inside such room? Think of any insurance problems in case of a mishap.

For years my darkroom was in a farm outbuilding with electricity but no running water. At least there was walking water: I walked in with jugs of water and walked out with buckets of waste water. For RC prints I shuffled maybe a dozen prints through the first wash a few times. Then I stuck the stack of prints against a plastic panel that drained into the wash tray. Slowly peeling the prints, one at a time, reduced the carry-over of contaminated water into second wash. This process was repeated one more time. The first tray was dumped. The second tray was promoted to first position, the third tray to second place, and the first tray, well drained by now, was filled with fresh water for the final wash. Very few RC prints with that technique from 50 years ago have shown signs of inadequate washing. Most prints were for school yearbook pr publicity, and didn't demand archival processing. Exhibition prints were processed fewer at a time,and with more water baths.

Maybe try to find a little slot processor, minimal volume less fumes. That's going to get pretty close with the door closed. RC paper shouldn't be soaked for too long.

A slot processor is a good idea, but pricey and can be hard to find. What kind of ventilation will you have? How are you getting water in and the tray chemicals out of your darkroom?

You can put fiber paper that has been soaking in a blotter book to take home for a proper washing. I would suggest squeegeeing it first to get rid of excess water.

I assume by glorified studio, you mean studio apartment. Still, maybe your bathroom would be a better idea for a darkroom. Or you could black out the window(s) and the door and make the whole apartment a darkroom when you need it.

Thank you all for the replies, you have all given me some ideas and thinking to do! I did forget an important piece of information, I do have access to a hose on site so I can refill buckets of water but that is really it.
Regarding temperature, I have 24 hour access to the unit so I can go in at night and print when its cool during the summer and during the day I can print my alt processes.

They offer RV portable waste water tanks, which can sit on the floor and hold 15-20 gallons of waste water. They have wheels to tote away and drain elsewhere. Then, a fresh water tank up on a stand/shelf (Walmart sells a 7.5 gal. unit in camping dept.). Then use trays old plumbing fixtures, or whatever to work out of.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Portab...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Reliance-Jumbo-Tainer-Water-Container-7-Gallon/21903055

I think this is very doable as long as the unit is sealed off (light-wise) from other units. If it is dusty there you can run a HEPA filter for a day before each work session. All the other things can be worked around, if you have the desire. IMO yes you can half wash them and finish them at home. RC paper can sit in water for quite a long time (it's not ideal, but it really does not seem to cause much of a problem in my experience).

Andrew Patteson said:

RC paper can sit in water for quite a long time (it's not ideal, but it really does not seem to cause much of a problem in my experience).

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I am using an unheated cellar as a darkroom, with no plumbing or fresh water.
Still, it works, I use water tempered in 5l canisters and use the same type of canisters for waste water collection. I do keep a dehumidifier running too keep the relative humidity down to 60% (when not printing).

RC paper does have a problem with prolonged exposure to water in my experience: it seeps in from the cut edges and wraps them over time. So I do a quick and dirty wash let them dry (they dry quickly) and do the real wash in our apartment.
With fibre prints this is less of a problem, just make sure they are not mechanically damaged while wet.

You can do it, with a little effort. And some imagination. You can do anything even in a jerry-built darkroom, if you apply a little intelligence to your planning.

I'm assuming you have electricity, so you will manage. Without power, forget it, unless you plan to do contact prints by kerosene light...

Ventilation may be an issue. Check out the area completely. Will you have access to fresh air? It's important. I dislike stop bath and fixer fumes but even a small fan on your darkroom table will help to waft these away.

When I lived in Melbourne in the 1980s and 1990s, I had a darkroom in a small laundry room on the top floor of the old Carlton Fire Station, in the city center (well, almost the CBD). The biggest problem I had was with dust. I sealed everything up and I vaccumed the entire room before every processing or printing session.

I put in a small office cabinet, a floor to ceiling one with two doors, lockable. Kept my enlarging lenses, film holders for my Durst 66, as well as any valuable item a thief could have broken in and stolen, safely in my apartment and took them up as I needed them. Ditto paper and chemistry. I would take up what I needed, mix my chemistry on the spot and dispose of the used chemicals later.

Fortunately I had a big double laundry trough sink, a two-sink unit, with running water, even hot. I made many fine prints in this setup, some still hang on our walls. Ah, the long ago, good old days...

Stop bath wasn't a worry. i used filtered tap water with a dash of white vinegar, a not-too-strong solution did the trick even if during long printing sessions I had to change this at least one time. As for paper, back then I used mostly RC but nowadays I print with FB - I now have a permanent if 'minimalist' darkroom in our second bedroom, a luxury for me for the first time in 45 years. No running water, but I use a Jobo Duolab, do my prints in cat litter trays, and wash the finished prints in our kitchen or second bathroom, so all is good.

I do hope you are able to let yourself in and out of the storage unit/locker/whatever with your own key/s - otherwise you may find yourself locked in overnight, which could create new problems for you.

Let us know how it goes, please. Others will surely benefit from your experience.

AgX said:

Something else to consider, as seemingly this is a pure storing complex: Is it even legal to work inside such room? Think of any insurance problems in case of a mishap.

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I don't know about Germany/USA, but in UK so long as the building or whatever you are working in is not being used for a small business making a profit, there are very few restrictions. With electricity connected, the actual owner of the building has a duty of care to ensure that the wiring set up is safe for use especially that rent will be paid.

My darkroom is in a spare room with no plumbing. Here are my bins:



The enlarger is to the right of these six bins. Each bin is 8.5x11 inch, well suited for 8x10 prints, made by Sterilite, part # 1965LAB86 (search for that # if buying them online).
The front three bins are the usual developer-stop-fixer. Stop is water.
The rear three bins are water. What for?

Little-known fact: RC prints can be washed to archival quality in just three baths, 15 seconds each (I use 30 sec each). The towel on the right is used to blot remaining water from washed prints, and I dry them with a hair dryer. Here is a quote from an Ilford document about washing RC prints:


Thus, there is no need for you to bring wet RC prints home. This arrangement also lets you see the effect of dry-down on prints when deciding exposure.

Mark

albada said:

My darkroom is in a spare room with no plumbing. Here are my bins:

View attachment 347641

The enlarger is to the right of these six bins. Each bin is 8.5x11 inch, well suited for 8x10 prints, made by Sterilite, part # 1965LAB86 (search for that # if buying them online).
The front three bins are the usual developer-stop-fixer. Stop is water.
The rear three bins are water. What for?

Little-known fact: RC prints can be washed to archival quality in just three baths, 15 seconds each (I use 30 sec each). The towel on the right is used to blot remaining water from washed prints, and I dry them with a hair dryer. Here is a quote from an Ilford document about washing RC prints:

Washing Photographic Film and Papers​

Instructions for Minimum Water Usage​

RC Prints​

... It is also possible to use a sequence of three trays with still water in. Wash for 15 sec in each, with agitation. Change the water in the trays after each session.​

Thus, there is no need for you to bring wet RC prints home. This arrangement also lets you see the effect of dry-down on prints when deciding exposure.

Mark

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Nice setup! I have some of these bins, never tried using them for trays but this would work perfectly.