Please help me design my darkroom

Hi,
I've found a space for my dedicated darkroom, the rent is cheap and I'm so happy about it. I spent last 2 weeks drawing and designing it, but in the end I still have nothing. Please help me out with designing one. Here's the layout, the measures are in centimeters, each square is 10 cm.

I want one part of the window to be able to be fully opened for light, the second part can stay closed. I don't care if it's the right or the left one. The box on the upper right is a water heater, it's hanging on the wall roughly 1 meter from the floor.

I need to fit following:
4 trays for 50x60 cm prints (20x24 inch)
one enlarger for 6x7 (I have durst modular 70)
nova print wash
jobo film dryer (mistral 3)
Sink 120x70cm (I have one already)
place to dry the prints (previously I've used big sheets of glass and taped the prints to it to dry)
storage for everything.

Would be nice:
a desk for retouching

And...
a chair to sit and relax + bookshelf
something to put my B&W zeppelin speaker on

Thanks for anybody sharing their ideas, feel free to download the pictures and anotate them.

A single entrance door by the small corner sink? And double windows? Or interior windows, balcony, and shutters?

I'd put the sink on the short wall adjacent to the actual corner sink. That gives you water and drainage where you need it without crossing the doorway.

The enlarger can go on the wall by the water heater, and everything else where there is space. You want to minimise walking between common pairs of items - enlarger to sink to enlarger.

Mesh racks for drying prints work well. I used to stack mine on a rack above the sink.

it's a shop window / window display. the outer windows cannot be opened actually but I didn't find a way to draw it in the software. Yes, the sink on the short wall makes sense

The only thing I can really offer is to recommend that you try to make one side 'dry' (books, negatives, enlarger, dried prints) and the other side 'wet' (trays). It makes life so much easier. In my case, I had to put the sink across one end between the two, with the door at the opposite end.

It isn't essential to do your retouching in the darkroom, but if you really want to, in front of the window would be the best place.

Is the water heater gas or electric? If gas, ventilation is critical. Some sort of ventilation is desirable, of course.

The water heater is electric, so this shouldn't be an issue. The ventilation would be nice but it's impossible, so I'll just open the door once in a while..

martinobanana said:

need to fit following:

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You already know what you want, so make a mockup where you position stuff into that space and see how/where it fits. Some thoughts:

martinobanana said:

4 trays for 50x60 cm prints (20x24 inch)

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martinobanana said:

Sink 120x70cm (I have one already)

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That'll take up a lot of space; the only way I can see this working would be to have the sink in the bottom right where there's presently already a small sink drawn in. Then arrange the trays on a 'wet' worktop along the top right corner. You'll end up with a corner that's slightly difficult to reach into, so maybe try to make the worktop along the top wall not too wide so you can still actually reach into the corner.

You could make a cover that sits over part of the sink area that you can put large trays on when needed. This may save you some space. Or maybe just ditch the long sink and replace it with a worktop with a single, smaller sink. Since you appear to work with trays for the most part, a large sink is not really a necessity. YMMV and it's a matter of preference.

martinobanana said:

one enlarger for 6x7 (I have durst modular 70)

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The obvious place IMO would be left of the door when you come into the room. You could have a small/narrow worktop that extends from the enlarger space into the lower left corner.

martinobanana said:

nova print wash

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Put it in the sink or on top of it if you make a cover for it; see above. When not in use it can sit on a shelf above or below the sink area.

martinobanana said:

jobo film dryer (mistral 3)

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I'd consider replacing that with a DIY construction in the upper left 30cm 'pocket' you've got above the shop window space. that's kind of an odd pocket, but you could fairly easily close it off with a door etc. leaving a small space that would be just right for drying film in. Put a fan at the top with a vent, and a vent with a HEPA filter at the bottom. Let the fan pull air through the space. Raise the bottom vent some distance off of the ground so it pulls in a little less dust to begin with.
If you want to keep using the mistral, I'd store it away folded up and only take it out when needed.

martinobanana said:

place to dry the prints (previously I've used big sheets of glass and taped the prints to it to dry)

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Maybe the shop window area? If you use glass plates, you can just set them on a counter and come back when they're dry. This works OK for me since I generally tape them up at the end of a session and by the time I come back to the darkroom, they'll be dry.

martinobanana said:

storage for everything.

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Shelves above the worktops, maybe a narrow shelf or a cabinet here and there below the worktops, you can get creative with the 30cm 'pockets' next to the shop window area, etc.

martinobanana said:

a desk for retouching

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I'd make a dry workspace along the wall at the top running 2/3 of the length or so, with a little space to the left of it so you can still get into that 'pocket' there. the workspace can be multi-functional; with a high stool, you can use it as a retouching station, and/or use it when standing upright for all those little chores & odds & ends. I'd not put a dedicated desk in there as it'll take up space that's difficult to use in a multi-functional way. Unless you do a lot with digital too and you need a proper workstation for that.

martinobanana said:

a chair to sit and relax + bookshelf

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Bookshelf can go over the dry workspace. The speaker thing can go there as well. Can you effectively tape off all the LEDs and whatnot?
I'd put the chair by the window.
You could allow the shopwindow space to remain a light space, darkening the inner doors. IDK how feasible that is; you'll have to decide on the spot how to manage that. Also for judging prints/toning it's nice to have easy access to daylight.

You may want to think about illumination as well. Ironically, can never have too much light in a darkroom.

martinobanana said:

4 trays for 50x60 cm prints (20x24 inch)

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That claims a lot of real estate. The sink size that you quote can accommodate just two of these trays. Will printing at this size be a regular activity, or do you just want to "preserve the possibility"? If the latter, remember that such large sizes can be processed in one tray, pouring solutions in and out.

@koraks, thanks a lot, that's a very comprehensive answer. I'll try to draw it into the sketch and see how it goes.

@bernard_L Since now I've printed digitally 50x50, so the trays are kind of necessary. Actually the sink is from the lab where they printed 50x60, and they had 2 of those sinks. I've only got one from them so that's the reason.

Let's pause this thread before I implement the ideas. thx.

Think about the space needed for the major items, and also the height requirements for maximum enlarger height, I needed around 2.5m. so the De Vere 5108 sits in the apex of the pitched roof. You may need to think about bench height or using a drop bench.



This was the final bench & sink layout, although the smaller enlargers were either repositioned or not used. The bench in front of the door now has two PC screens and a small PC. There are bookshelves on the spare wall space on the right. There's a scanner by the window.

In terms of wet bench space, although I have 4m including the sink there's plenty of room for large trays as one can sit in the sink. I found it very useful playing with various layout options before making my final decisions,

Ian

Ian Grant said:

In terms of wet bench space, although I have 4m including the sink there's plenty of room for large trays as one can sit in the sink.

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And do you often have to sit in the sink, Ian?

Ian Grant said:

Think about the space needed for the major items, and also the height requirements for maximum enlarger height, I needed around 2.5m

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The major items are listed in #1 as well as the dimensions of the space. The enlarger is an M70, also listed in #1, which can sit on pretty much any table top in pretty much any room where you can stand up.

I could show my darkroom layout as well, but what good would that do to OP? The dimensions of his room are different, his requirements are different, his equipment is different, etc.

Consider a tray ladder - it will have to be quite robust for trays of that size.
Alternatively, a working procedure that employs a single tray, emptied and then filled with the next chemical at the end of each stage.

koraks said:

The major items are listed in #1 as well as the dimensions of the space. The enlarger is an M70, also listed in #1, which can sit on pretty much any table top in pretty much any room where you can stand up.

I could show my darkroom layout as well, but what good would that do to OP? The dimensions of his room are different, his requirements are different, his equipment is different, etc.

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I was really suggesting drawing up possible bench/sink options, to scale, then the op can figure out the best layout. With the two doors on the right opening inwards some creative or lateral thinking is needed.

Perhaps workbenches that can be moved, hinged, on wheels/castors, some way of utilising the left-hand side. Maybe the best option is the desk is on wheels for retouching, wheels with locks are quite cheap.

Logically, if the enlarger was to the left of the single door and the sink on the bottom right wall, you can have at least 3.5m of bench space along the top wall and before the sink on the right. Way more than enough for 4 24"x20" / 50x60cm trays, which only need 2.5m.

Bookshelves top left corner, maybe partially removable or hinged part of bench alongside the enlarger. Desk and chair across the double doors, so close to the bookshelves. I'd add a stool, sometimes nice to sit while printing.

I needed to add my own darkroom layout to think logically, make comparisons in terms of size practicality. Actually the OP has a lot of space, it won't be a cramped darkroom.

One thing to think about is the maximum column height relative to the ceiling, The Mod 70 needs 129 or 133 cm depending on the version. So you might need to be careful on the bench height. I ran into this problem with my Durst A600.

Ian

Only rough



Ian

Ian Grant said:

Only rough

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Yeah, that's what I had in mind as well. Except for the desk; I'd avoid having anything stand in front of doors that might have to serve as an emergency exit. Even if it's a movable desk. I'd do the desk tasks on either the wet bench when it's dry or on the small bench next to the enlarger.

koraks said:

Yeah, that's what I had in mind as well. Except for the desk; I'd avoid having anything stand in front of doors that might have to serve as an emergency exit. Even if it's a movable desk. I'd do the desk tasks on either the wet bench when it's dry or on the small bench next to the enlarger.

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The OP said he'd like a desk if there was space, it could be pushed towards the bookshelves while enlarging, that would give more space around the enlarger and bench alongside. That bit of bench next to the enlarger I've drawn as 40 cm deep, it may need to be slightly narrower, so not practical for retouching larger prints. A desk would give somewhere to open up and go through negative files, or place larger boxes/packets of paper on, when making large prints. Also, it would be somewhere to make notes.

I'd turn the existing small sink 90º, and put the Jobo drier between it and the door. The Nova print washer could sit in the sink.

I would suggest using a Circuit Breaker, (Trip Current 15-30mA Cut off, Electric Leakage Protection for Power Tools & Household Appliances), for anything electrical used on the wet bench, like a dish warmer. I'm using one my father bought for his greenhouse, probably in the late 1990s. I felt it was an important safety requirement when my darkroom was used as part of the Ilford local darkroom scheme.

Ian

All right, I'm now thinking about something like this.

• The desk with the chair can be used as both for retouching and as additional dry space.
• The red thing is film dryer, on the opposite side of the windows there's a bookshelf
• The two trays closest to the sink are in the 120x70 sink I've mentioned in the original post. They will be moved out to put print wash inside after the print session. The print wash I'll have to store somewhere TBD.
• I'll dry the prints either under the wet bench on the right or as suggested, in the window space.

I'm still actually thinking about putting all 4 trays in one custom made sink but the size would have to be closer to 2.5 meters. So my next quest is to go there and measure it again to see if I manage to find at least another 10 cm on the right wall.

Sorry, the coffee machine is enlarger, I didn't find any free enlarger model

martinobanana said:

Sorry, the coffee machine is enlarger, I didn't find any free enlarger model

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It sort of looks like something made by Durst!

MattKing said:

It sort of looks like something made by Durst!

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"Durst" is "thirst" in German. There you go.

martinobanana said:

The ventilation would be nice but it's impossible, so I'll just open the door once in a while..

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Ventilation is essential. For your health.

I used to use a gas mask.

If you have the opportunity of designing your own darkroom, you need to think about what type of processing you wish to do in it. Design the bench heights to suit your own height.

It looks a bit tight. Make sure you have space to rock the trays. Also that there is no danger of splashing over the enlarger baseboard/coffee machine. It's amazing how far tiny splashes travel - I've learned this through using selenium toner and observing the pink stains.

Why do you need an armchair? It's not supposed to be a relaxing hobby!

loccdor said:

I used to use a gas mask.

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I just hoped I'd turn into spiderman.