Setting up a Darkroom

[tylercooney]

I have been running around collecting equipment and buying lumber, etc. I am about to start constructing a sink and table tomorrow. Any last minute tips?

\Tyler

[Brian Ellis]

When you build the sink make sure it isn't level and don't put the drain in the center. Put the drain at one end and make the legs about an inch lower at that end to facilitate draining.

[lenser]

Make the sink tall enough for your height. Standard counter height, if you are too tall, can be a back killer after only a few prints. If it hurts when you wash the dishes, you'll hurt even more in the darkroom (more hours). Be sure to allow for a vent fan and plenty of air flow. A good radio or CD player helps the time pass.

Tim

[cyrus]

Make sure to put a bar or something along one side of the sink so you can lean up against it,

[Tori Nelson]

Two things I could not do without; a refrigerator and a really good lock on the door!
When mine is completely set up and ready to go I will post some pictures, just in case anyone is interested.

[phil sweeney]

It is a shame to cut all that wood yourself: I built two 8' sinks and when I picked up the plywood at home Depot I had them cut the plywood on their panel saw. 50 cents cents a cut and the guy did not charge me. Those panel saws do much better than me with a circular saw. I made the sinks sqaure and level adjusting slope with the stands.

[Alan Curtis]

When I built my sink, I made it level but the bottom is tilted so one corner, where the drain is located is lower than the others. There is a false bottom which is level that is about 1 1/2" higher than the real bottom. Simply made from 2" wide wood strips spaced about 1/2" apart supported on 3/4" strips. This way no matter how much water is moving around in the sink the trays, bottles, etc aren't floating around.

[bwaysteve]

The best thing I ever did was use Green code plywood (for bathroom applications)
and covered the interior seams with 4in wide fiberglas cloth and painted the interior with a product named GloveIt that is available in sailboat supply stores.(It's like a
polyurethane)Had it for 20yrs. without a leak!

[Martin K]

Oddest sink I ever saw was in a commercial darkroom. It was stainless steel and had a decidedly odd but recognizable shape that I couldn't quite decide where I had seen before. Slightly wave shaped. I asked the owner of the sink and he admitted that it was a public restroom urinal that he had laid on its back and mounted on legs. Weird but it worked very well.