Good idea!Originally Posted by Brian C. Miller
Good idea!
Genevieve, if you husband's garage domain includes a workshop I'd suggest a light false top for your table. Maybe 3/8" plywood with a waterproof cover. A raised edge all around would contain spills and a few cleats around the bottom would keep it from shifting on the table. A layer of fiberglass would be great but not needed. Seal the edge molding and a few coats of epoxy enamel should be ample protection. When you're done just wipe it down and stand it against a wall. I don't know how your windows are made but I'm using our utility room. Our windows are recessed so I made a 1x2 frame that will fit in the window recess and attached a plywood cover with an 1 1/2" or so overhang. It simply slides in and out of the window as needed. For a better light seal add some foam insulating tape around the edge.
There are no rules here; do what works for you. Obviously dust might be a problem but you can work around that if you're careful.
My darkroom has been in an under-the-stairs storage area, with the wet area across the hall in the bathroom. I just got used to sticking exposed paper into dark bags and carrying them across to the bathroom for processing. No big deal.
Where there's a will, there's a way. You might just have to figure out a creative way to keep the areas separated enough to work.
For too many years my darkroom was in the laundry room. It made me proficient at spotting prints.
My darkroom is in the basement and fortunately fully plumbed in my current house so doesn't face the same challenges you have. My last house had a set up similar to what you are describing and I made it work just fine with buckets.
My concern is the comment about blocking the basement windows. Are you planning on putting in some kind of ventilation to allow air to enter/exit the basement. Darkroom air isn't the healthiest stuff to breathe so some sort of venting in fresh air and eliminating bad air is a good idea.
Also is your oil or gas furnace or gas water heater in the basement? If so they both need air unless you have a high effiiciency furnace that draws air directly from the outside. At a minimum you want to put a light tight darkroom vent in somewhere. Not having enough fresh air venting gave me a chance to meet my local volunteer fire department when my carbon monoxide detector went off when our old low efficiency furnace started using too much house air to function prior to installing the fresh air intake vents. If the other rooms have windows this may be less of a problem for intake air, but you may want to think about venting fumes at a minimum.
If you have any plans to do color work in the future venting will be more critical as the fumes get really obnoxious in my opinion.
Good luck with that project. My first darkroom was adjacent to a wood shop so I became familiar with dust. My enlarger cover would accumulate a layer of sawdust between sessions.
One principle of darkroom design is to keep things as simple and foolproof as possible. Therefore walls are usually white, black or gray to minimize their effect on viewing prints and their effect on light spills. In a small basement darkroom, white might be best even if boring.
If at all possible, remove carpet and replace with vinyl flooring.
For print processing, consider a slot processor or at least a tray ladder to conserve space. A rotary processor would be nice for dust but takes up a lot of room by itself and even more when you start rinsing and drying drums.
Sounds like your husband is handy. Ask him to build you a dust free film drying cabinet appropriate for your space. Likewise, he could build you print drying screens or at least string up clothesline (that's what I prefer in a low dust environment) for print drying.
If you have not already done so, scroll through the Show Us Your Darkroom thread here and you will get some great ideas.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I am doing exclusively B & W. I have no desire to hand processes any type of color work beyond watercolors, and will send out to a lab for any color I take. The basement is quite large but subdivided and dry walled. The craft room is really a large downstairs bedroom, larger than our master bedroom, the previous owners had painted it lavender. I have a small office immediately outside the craft room that is neutral colored to view prints. The office is harder to kidproof as it has no door, and it isn't as large, otherwise I would use that. The basement is a walkout, which the furnace is located next to, and the craft room is already pretty much self contained, so the darkroom shouldn't effect that. I don't know that the room is any dustier or lintier than a laundry room or a garage. More loose threads, but those are relatively large and easy to get rid of. The main thing is protecting floor and table, and some ventilation. It has heating and air conditioning ventilation. One window opens completely out and is inset in blocks, so I might be able to make it light tight without being airtight. Thanks for all the suggestions!
More than a good idea. Sewing was my mothers obsession. All day every day till it killed her. Breathing the fibers so much over the years filled her lungs. Just like asbestosis and black lung. Yes, a very good idea. Possibly an ion generator to drop everything to the floor.
Re: Sewing/craft room darkroom combo
Perhaps, with a little brainstorming, you could arrive at whether your position is one of management or labor?
No matter...
Sharpen your negotiating skills and you should be able to convince your husband to see the merits of building you a separate darkroom facility on the premises...
If that doesn't work farm out the chores and charge them to him until he see's the light?
If the room can't be subdivided, I would sure consider using large plastic storage containers to remove your sewing projects to dedicated shelving as far from the darkroom chemicals as possible. I concur with the idea of air purifier. One unit keeps my darkroom seemingly dust free in the middle of a very dusty basement. And I also would certainly remove the carpet just as soon as possible and if not possible consider covering it with heavy plastic sheeting, taped down at the edges, (a strategy that might assure that the carpet will be ruined - and so removed - should your basement not be perfectly dry.)
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