On Building a Darkroom

[ROL]

I especially like #1, but #1 is pretty good too.

It's a good list, I can personally vouch for the wisdom of pretty much all of them.

Weird??. There's an echo in here.

[Francis in VT]

Ten great rules.
I couldn't afford AC but I did have heat and a pressurized darkroom.
In your case I suppose the Hepa filter will take care of the dust.

Francis in VT

[David Brown]

... I am still traumatized by the day I spent getting all of my connections watertight.

Been there, done that:

http://newdr.blogspot.com/2010/10/water-water-everywhere.html

[Dan Henderson]

David: thanks for sharing. Misery loves company! I especially liked your revised poem.
Dan

[GraemeMitchell]

I am still traumatized by the day I spent getting all of my connections watertight.

I get a nervous twitch just thinking about that experience. And I still get waves of occasional anxiety at the thought of a H2O connection bursting when I'm away.

[Richard Jepsen]

Given the choice I would prefer a nice DR in a basement. But I live in Oklahoma. Homes are on slab foundations. I have options but decided to keep things simple.

1. DR (unvented) set up in the utility room; 7 ft by 11 ft
2. The utility room window has a dark shade between the glass. There is a door to the garage and the kitchen. With additional light masking I could use the DR during daylight.
3. To extend and flatten my tray surface I place a 1/8 inch thick plywood on top of the washing machine. Largest usable tray size (4) 8x10 or (1) 11x14 for single tray processing.
4. The existing counter top between the washer and dryer is used for the enlarger.
5. Safe light is a 10 in diameter silver reflector with a Jr Lab bulb. Hung by wrapping electric cord around cabinet door handle.

I use a water stop bath and TF-4 to reduce fumes. After each print I dump the water bath in a nearby sink. The fixed print is placed in a water hold bath. I move in and out of the DR after each print. Final washing is done in a 12 x 16 in tray with the fill and dump method.