Floor for darkroom ??

[johnschlicher]

I am in the process of building a darkroom. I live on 20 acres and there is a old 2 bedroom farmhouse--

Was wondering if there is some kind of chemical resistant flooring I could put on top of the original oak flooring ?

I'm bringing the cold/hot water, and the drain through the wall. so I won't damage the floor

Also I have another question--dumping these chemicals into a septic tank, I don't know if that would create a problem or not

Any thoughts would be helpful

thanks John

[John Brady]

Most vinyl flooring today can be loose laid, meaning no adhesive. The heavier the grade the more protection. Chemicals will not go thru the vinyl. If you clean spills after each session it should stay looking new. You will probably want to attach the edges that you walk over with a small transition strip. The small nail holes will be easy to fill later if you want to go back to the oak.

There is no need to buy an exotic chemical resistant floor that would be used in a commercial lab. They exist but save your money for film.

For the record I have owned many floorcovering stores, A hard wood refinishing business and have been a consultant to a large flooring manufacturer. Contact me by pm if you have more questions.

www.timeandlight.com

[shadow images]

Look into the garage flooring that comes in rolls.

[Bruce Barlow]

Don't sweat the septic. Chemicals in the volumes we amateurs use won't cause enough harm to worry about. In commercial volumes, yes, but not us small-timers.

[Allen in Montreal]

if you don't spill all your chemicals every session, it should not be an issue.

I have beautiful hardwood floors in my darkroom, but the hard floor tires your legs, so I made an interlocking foam floor with one foot square black pieces bought at the dollar store. It makes a huge difference on your ability to stand comfortably for hours while printing.

[Toyon]

Use a sheet of vinyl then use foam block flooring on top (available at COSTCO etc.).

[Toyon]

Don't dump the fixer in the septic system until you have removed most of the silver by putting steel wool in the tank - and then drain off from the top, not the sludge at the bottom.

[PViapiano]

Actually, don't dump anything into the septic system, esp fixer. Everyone always says don't worry, levels we use are low enough...don't live by that. I don't dump anything into my household city drain, let alone a septic system.

Keep the karma going with your photography, and bring everything to your local toxic waste disposal facility.

[vinny]

the cushy linkable squares available at any home depot or hardware store are very nice to stand on all day in front of your trays. Get a pack of those and add them to whatever floor you end up putting down.

[paulr]

My favorite darkroom floor was hardwood. Looked nice, felt nice ...
Harder than padded work floor covers, but much easier on the feet than concrete or tile.

Unless you're running a high volume production operation, I'd say keep the wood. Just clean up spills quickly.