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Thread: Second Best Darkroom Door

  1. #41
    Roger Thoms's Avatar
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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    Frank, if you decide to go the pocket door route, check out this hardware. http://johnsonhardware.com/111pd.htm. Very high quality and will last for years.

    Roger

  2. #42
    jp's Avatar
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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    [QUOTE=Bazz8;825342]
    Quote Originally Posted by ROL View Post
    I'm not a fan of the revolving door, particularly used ones that work less than optimally. Pocket doors seem ideal, but anyone who has ever had one in their home will likely attest to their un-ergonomic tendencies, and limited useful lifespan (perhaps mitigated with newer construction materials).


    May be the pocket doors fitted in USA are different to the ones I have fitted on my own home 25 yrs ago, the simple leveling principles and the fact of being able to
    have your floorspace taken up by swing doors is a no brainer
    a little lubrication to the tracks every year makes for a well operated barrier for light
    the very reason i placed some example picture of the simplicity of lightproofing these units.
    (un-ergonmic tendencies) please elaberate as i will be able to teach my carpentry students how this is so
    I think pocket doors are super cool, but couldn't use one for my darkroom. The wall adjacent to the door where the door would hide is filled with pipes and wires for my darkroom and bathroom. Normal doors, you don't have to think about what's in the wall for a door's width to the side.

    My darkroom is a room off the bathroom, so at night, I can actually darken the bathroom and open the door and sneak out while processing film in trays.

  3. #43

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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    I don't like pocket doors because the bottom of the door is difficult to lightproof.

    My favorite is a standard (i.e. inexpensive) flush panel steel exterior door. It comes with a magnetic weather seal and an aluminum threshold on the floor. The seal is good and it is easy to nail up some garage door flange material around the three sides.

  4. #44

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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    [QUOTE=jp498;825794]
    Quote Originally Posted by Bazz8 View Post

    I think pocket doors are super cool, but couldn't use one for my darkroom. The wall adjacent to the door where the door would hide is filled with pipes and wires for my darkroom and bathroom. Normal doors, you don't have to think about what's in the wall for a door's width to the side.

    My darkroom is a room off the bathroom, so at night, I can actually darken the bathroom and open the door and sneak out while processing film in trays.
    thats valid for sure the space saving factor is another consideration eg. .8x.8x2 = 1.28 sq mtr floor space .

  5. #45

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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    [QUOTE=jp498;825794]
    Quote Originally Posted by Bazz8 View Post

    I think pocket doors are super cool, but couldn't use one for my darkroom. The wall adjacent to the door where the door would hide is filled with pipes and wires for my darkroom and bathroom. Normal doors, you don't have to think about what's in the wall for a door's width to the side.
    It's easy to add a pocket to the surface of an existing wall...and light trapping the bottom of the door is no problem if you don't mind stepping over a 2 inch high threshold channel. That's what my darkroom door is like, and it's worked great for 25 years.

  6. #46
    Tracy Storer's Avatar
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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    Another entry in the cheap-o hollow-core door with added weather stripping here. It was already there, metal and rubber weather stripping and painting the edges black did it. Carpet scrap inside and black plastic sweep outside to close the bottom.
    Windows got blacked out with foil-faced foam insulation board caulked in with black latex caulk.
    Tracy Storer
    Mammoth Camera Company tm
    www.mammothcamera.com

  7. #47

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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    [QUOTE=Gordy;826087]
    Quote Originally Posted by jp498 View Post

    It's easy to add a pocket to the surface of an existing wall...and light trapping the bottom of the door is no problem if you don't mind stepping over a 2 inch high threshold channel. That's what my darkroom door is like, and it's worked great for 25 years.
    I agree the post was from Originally Posted by ROL: View Post
    I'm not a fan of the revolving door, particularly used ones that work less than optimally. Pocket doors seem ideal, but anyone who has ever had one in their home will likely attest to their un-ergonomic tendencies, and limited useful lifespan (perhaps mitigated with newer construction materials).

    I have posted some shots of how simple light proofing a cavity slider is.
    the post showing a simple lighttrap using a piece of quad against the edge of a swing door works well too.

  8. #48
    Greg Greg Blank's Avatar
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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    At the community college I went to back in 1984 they had two darkrooms, one had an Arkay door the rotating type...not so good for large trays in and out of the dry area. You can get them bigger, but I worked for Omega when Arkay was part of the lines we carried. They were actually made not by us or Arkay but rather Eseco. They had to be drop shipped and there were always issues like shipping damages or folks that got the wrong item. Never the less the main darkroom had a two door system, thats where I went with my my previous darkroom. Also I attended a second com college for a special advance class doing zone system work they merely had a large maze like opening with no doors or curtains. I really like the pocket door idea. I am still finishing Darkroom 3 in my not so new house house of the last 6 years. Damn you guys! now I am going to have to figure out how to cut a notch in 6 inch concrete block
    "Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will
    accomplish them."
    Warren G. Bennis

    www.gbphotoworks.com

  9. #49

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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    I partitioned off one part of a large room to make my darkroom, and built a pocket door for access. A pocket door takes up almost 0 floor space, unlike swinging or rotating doors, and so can be made larger without compromise. Mine is just smaller than 4' wide to allow for a light trap. Originally I made a half-circle, double curtain enclosure on the outside of the door so I could go in and out of the darkroom without letting light in, but in practice I found it unnecessary, and removed it. I'm not sure why some seem to think light-proofing a pocket door is difficult, and a 2" threshold is massive overkill, in my opinion. Light can't bend around any size corner, so why make a stumbling block? My threshold is a 1/4" groove in a 1/2" board, tapered on both sides.

    I like my pocket door, but previously had regular swinging doors with a sheet of black plastic over the inside on a hinged rod, and that was just as effective and almost as convenient.

  10. #50

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    Re: Second Best Darkroom Door

    Not sure if you have the room for this, but this reminds me of something I saw years ago. I took a workshop under Howard Bond and his darkroom in the basement had no door at all. As I recall, it was a concave opening wrapped around a wall end with flat black paint on the surface. I thought it quite ingenious and quite effective. Certainly made carrying things in and out easier.

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