Darkroom Flooring? Suggestions?

[D. Bryant]

I have a room in our new house that will allow me to have my first dedicated darkroom--so cool ya know? Anyway the room had nasty on top of nasty carpet in the room that had to be yanked out. Now I have a wood sub floor waiting for a good floor to be added on top that will work well with its intended purpose of being a darkroom. The room is about 12 x 18 feet if that plays a role in your suggestions.

Thoughts and suggestions please. Although spending others money is one of lifes great joys it should be said I don't have much for you to spend so if its all the same keep the suggestions to middlin' to fair and we should be good.

Thanks in advance,


Monty

I've got 2 ft. sq. interlocking foam pads which really helps reduce foot fatique. It's pretty easy to install and can be pulled up if need be.

My 2 cents,

Don Bryant

[Merg Ross]

Monty, there is nothing like a dedicated space for a darkroom. Congratulations! My only question is the size, 12 by 18 feet. Do you anticipate the darkroom being that size? From a practical standpoint, and years of experience, I would suggest that is an excessive size for a wet space. Perhaps you intend to include a finishing room also.

As to the floor covering,you have received good advice; sheet vinyl with one of the available fatigue mats would be my choice. Have fun!

[Greg Lockrey]

Monty, there is nothing like a dedicated space for a darkroom. Congratulations! My only question is the size, 12 by 18 feet. Do you anticipate the darkroom being that size? From a practical standpoint, and years of experience, I would suggest that is an excessive size for a wet space. Perhaps you intend to include a finishing room also.

As to the floor covering,you have received good advice; sheet vinyl with one of the available fatigue mats would be my choice. Have fun!

If you plan on doing murals (which I used to do), that's a good size.

[weasel]

The last darkroom I built, I simply painted the subfloor. It worked very well- cheap, easy to do, and mopped up spills very well.
I am not sure what sort of area you live in, but if you want padding for the floor and live in a rural or semi rural area, go to a farm supply store and get dairy matts. They are dense rubber like pads to keep cows from tearing their joints up on concrete floors. I found them to be much cheaper than basically the same thing made for childrens' rooms. they come in pretty big pieces, but can be cut to fit your space.

[Monty McCutchen]

Monty, there is nothing like a dedicated space for a darkroom. Congratulations! My only question is the size, 12 by 18 feet. Do you anticipate the darkroom being that size? From a practical standpoint, and years of experience, I would suggest that is an excessive size for a wet space. Perhaps you intend to include a finishing room also.

As to the floor covering,you have received good advice; sheet vinyl with one of the available fatigue mats would be my choice. Have fun!

Hi Merg,

The room that was designated for the darkroom was the best room for me to take over based on what worked for the rest of the family so the size of the room was ultimately what it was. That being said I've taken on the folly of a 20 x 24 camera the last several years for Pt/Pd, Gumover, and Wet Plate Collodion as my desired ends, so at least initially before having actually completed it I was anticipating it being about the right size for a sink that will being able to handle the big trays, bigger print washer, (trays going underneath the sink) on one side of the room and then the other side would be lined with a countertop that contained a coating station, light table for registration of the big negatives for the gumovers, and the UV light source for the Pt/Pd printing. A big sink was the real shining star as I am tired of one big tray on a card table in the basement for pre-soak, empty, develop film, empty, stop bath, empty, fixer, empty go outside where my washer sat on the ground and wash.
The thought of all separate trays lined up in a big sink has me positively giddy!

While we're here I would love to hear your thoughts on what not to forget to include if the above doesn't sound right to you. Since this is my first darkroom I'm all ears as to what might be indispensable to having a successful outlay. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to answer!

Best,

Monty

[Don Hutton]

Monty

IMO, stake out the biggest space you possibly can early... It's way easier having too much room rather than too little. My previous darkroom was very nice and designed around silver 16x20s - it was 7x12 and worked perfectly. Of course just about the time I finished it, I was getting interested in alt processes with ULF cameras, so the compact well designed layout became obsolete and clunky for what I was trying to do. My new darkroom is 15x15 and it's wonderful - although probably larger than I now need (as I am using digital negatives instead of big in camera negs)... In my new darkroom, I have two separate sinks and I'd recommend that to anyone with the space. I also decided to make this one much more modular (after my previous experience, where everything was fitted and built in and my interests changed) - I can theoretically completely reconfigure the darkroom with minimal effort - all of the workspaces, cabinets etc (even the sinks) are separate units which can be moved.

Back on subject, I have a painted concrete floor (I considered the acrylic option and just didn't get round to it) with a few of those industrial type "rubber" carpet mats like they use in the entrances of diners. Every now and again (after too many spills etc) I take them outside and power wash them.....

[Turner Reich]

I have a cork floor. It came in 3 foot wide rolls and was glued down and covered with poly urethane. 30 years and still good. Spills are not a problem and a bit of cushioning on the feet for long standing.

Bill that's an interesting and natural choice. Any idea where a person can buy Cork today?

[Merg Ross]

Hi Monty-

Ah, the large space makes sense; I was thinking along the lines of a smaller end product. Also, perhaps a bit envious!

One aspect of the design, that I am sure you have considered, is an adequate ventilation system. I can not stress the importance enough of good exhaust and fresh air intake.

You should have a lot of fun designing the space; I look forward to updates.

Best,
Merg

[Richard Wall]

Bill that's an interesting and natural choice. Any idea where a person can buy Cork today?

You can get cork flooring at Lowes, at least at the one near my house or at lumber liquidators:
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/home.jsp

However, I put my vote in for linoleum or some flooring that is non porous and can be easily cleaned. I have worked in darkrooms with unsealed concrete floors and the small chemicals spills, that were cleaned daily, eventually were able to seep into the concrete and contaminate the floor. The room eventually became a nasty, possibly toxic, mess. The floors had to be professionally cleaned and sealed.

Richard

[Ralph Barker]

I concur with the suggestions of using sheet (roll) flooring (or, a poured floor), so as to avoid joints and seams if possible. As I recall, the standard rolls carried by most home centers is 12 feet, although 14' is available, I believe, by special order. Thus, having the room be exactly 12', or a little less, is better than say 12' 4". Cushioning rubber mats for the "standing" areas are also very helpful.

Having a center floor drain can be a plus for big spills and/or cleaning, but that also complicates construction - both for the room and for cabinets and such, since there needs to be a slight slope to the floor.