New darkroom

auntiemaryscanary

auntiemaryscanary

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I have just finished building a light tight 4' x 4' 3" (6' high max) plywood box in my 10 x 6 shed. This will be my darkroom.
0a1178b9-e698-4b31-a6ad-475f61600158.jpg1d8e55fd-59cc-4cf6-bbe8-b8ea33b7b0d7.jpg

My joinery skills are shocking and it's taken an age to get this far. I've now got to start cutting holes in it for ventilation (air in and out), power (mains and 12vdc) water and waste water.

These are the ventilation light traps (unpainted shows the probable layout), they've had 1 coat of acrylic paint inside and out now and will get a 2nd. It's probably way over the top but I'll be sure they are light tight.b5766b6f-3878-4404-9c1d-af950a34fcaf.jpg
The plan is for a fixed larger bench on the left hand side of the door (21" wide for the dry side (enlargers, film loading etc) and a fixed smaller bench on the right hand side of the door (11" wide) for the wet side (small sink plus space for dev, stop & fix trays. As soon as the ventilation is in (I couldn't stay in there more than 5 mins in today's heat!) then I can start using it with a portable table and bottles of water. I can't wait!
 
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My last darkroom was a wooden framed black plastic tent with the same dimensions as your "box". I was able to get a 5x4 enlarger into it by pairing it with a 16x12 Nova slot processor. I used the trolley from a very old photocopier to support my work bench. Whatever you use, the key is to make the thing solid - very little ruins a print more than vibration. :(

This shot (of the bench outside of its tent) may give you an idea of how compact your work area can be with such a set up. The masking frame on the enlarger's baseboard is 15x12...

Omega Prolab 45 enlarger and Nova processor.jpg
 
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That looks brilliant, you might need this sign. DD52153A-7575-4278-B54C-9A3BF6460304.jpeg
 
Ah that's better, I can breathe!974a159e-668e-4f0b-aea1-12dc879ea4b4.jpg



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There is a similar light trap arrangement at the far left (floor level, rear) of the darkroom with a pipe to outside.

The fan is set up to extract but can easily do blow if required. The blue box is the fan speed controller which will eventually be sited in the darkroom for my convenience.

I've certainly got available all the airflow I require. Thankfully it's greatly reduced the sense of claustrophobia I had in there when there was no ventilation

If I get chance this weekend the wet and dark side work benches will be fitted and then it becomes a very usable darkroom.
 
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I'd echo that "well done" and add whistles and a clap.. (y)
Its not easy finding enough space for all the crap we need.
Personally, I would have tried to make the entire shed light tight and not bother with the darkcoffin....errr room...:D
Maybe you needed space for other things in the shed, or maybe making it light tight was the impossible mission, I dunno.
Either way, I'm guessing the water and waste connection is not actually made in the coffin as it isn't required for the actual printing.
I'd be thinking about bench heights, allowing enough height for the enlarger.
print size too, 12 x 16 trays take spaaaaace, hang dry print space, I'd be getting excited about maybe having a proper DR sink instead of an ordinary domestic steel thing.
cupboards for chems and paper storage.
Not sure heating would be a good thing to point out in a holey shed, you'd probly get your street blocked by insulation protesters anyway....
 
Thanks @joxby

Long story short I started in a very limited way building the Darkroom in Sept 2020 & bought all the timber & ply then. We moved to a bigger house in May and the shed and wood moved with me. We have more space at the new house but I still need the shed to be shed as well.

This is Mk II - Mk I was only going to be 4' x 2' floorspace!!! So the new improved floor size of 4' x 4' 3" is comparative luxury!:ROFLMAO:

I've decided on the height of the wet side bench - what is comfortable for me The dry side height will be determined by the height of my tallest enlarger. Storage & shelving will be placed in positions in the usable space left over, mainly under benches.

Heating is planned too but that will be last.
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
My last darkroom was a wooden framed black plastic tent with the same dimensions as your "box". I was able to get a 5x4 enlarger into it by pairing it with a 16x12 Nova slot processor. I used the trolley from a very old photocopier to support my work bench. Whatever you use, the key is to make the thing solid - very little ruins a print more than vibration. :(

This shot (of the bench outside of its tent) may give you an idea of how compact your work area can be with such a set up. The masking frame on the enlarger's baseboard is 15x12...

View attachment 330416
Click to expand...
Not sure I can make a more stable base for the enlarger work bench....779bbdf5-fa1c-4b6e-babb-c4dcc5e51c7e.jpg
 
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