My new Darkroom in Phuket Thailand

[ndwgolf]

So I just called my brother in law as he is the one that is building the darkroom. The area that I have is going to be 12x15 feet with an 8ft ceiling.

My initial hand drawing is attached below:
168403

I am very open to ideas but basically I will have a large sink. The area for the wet trays will also have water below to catch spills in other words the trays will be sitting on a grating with 12 inches of water below.

The dark/dark room will be for unloading and loading film. I will have a 4x5 enlarger that I will be able to project onto the wall above the trays for large prints
I will have Aircon, an extractor above the wet trays and a storage room with fridge for storing film and printing papers.............and music

Please feel free to comment if you think I have forgotten anything

[jp]

There is a thread on here of darkroom photos; spend some time going through that for ideas..

If you think you might want a jobo, keep some room for that; otherwise a pain to take in and out every time you switch from film developing to printing.

You have not mentioned the electrical options... I have a tracklight for safelights. (red superbrightleds) I have a normal overhead fixture, a small lamp with incandescent bulb for alt-process work. and an undercounter LED strip I use to backlight drying negatives for inspection/preview. Other people have normal bulbs in various places with a pull chain or other convenient switch. Consider where you will be hanging film/prints to dry as well.

[Tim Meisburger]

I think you also need a compressor, to fill your scuba tanks:rolleyes:

There is a facebook group in Thailand ("Wet Plate and Alternative Processes in Thailand") you might want to join, if you have not already. Lot of large format folk there, although mostly in Bangkok.

[Duolab123]

Looks like you have considered proper temperature and humidity control . I live in Midwest of US. Gets very cold and very hot and humid. I run dehumidifier all summer long. It actually warms the room slightly but you really have to be careful of mold or fungus. My darkroom is in lower level of house, so stays 20 to 24 C in the summer 17 to 20 C in winter. If you are running black and white you may need to cool water a bit. It's easy to maintain 75 F for development and fixer, wash water can be somewhat warmer.
Looks like a nice setup.
Best Regards Mike

[Tim Meisburger]

Hi Mike,

When I lived in Thailand I always developed at ambient temperature, adjusting development times for that temperature, which is pretty constant compared to the US. I just found it too difficult to keep things cool. This worked fine for black and white, but not sure if that is possible with color.


Looks like you have considered proper temperature and humidity control . I live in Midwest of US. Gets very cold and very hot and humid. I run dehumidifier all summer long. It actually warms the room slightly but you really have to be careful of mold or fungus. My darkroom is in lower level of house, so stays 20 to 24 C in the summer 17 to 20 C in winter. If you are running black and white you may need to cool water a bit. It's easy to maintain 75 F for development and fixer, wash water can be somewhat warmer.
Looks like a nice setup.
Best Regards Mike

[George Richards]

Do I understand you correctly, you are planning on a sink 3ft x 9 ft with 12 inches of water sitting it? That's a lot of water and a lot weight to support.

[ndwgolf]

Do I understand you correctly, you are planning on a sink 3ft x 9 ft with 12 inches of water sitting it? That's a lot of water and a lot weight to support.
It will be a cement sink lined with tiles and will have a few supports, the worktop for the enlarger will also be made of cement and have tiles on the top.

Neil

[AtlantaTerry]

Why 12 inches of water in the sink? I have built and used a lot of darkrooms from Ohio to Texas to Georgia to Tokyo and never had that much sitting water in a sink.

[ndwgolf]

Why 12 inches of water in the sink? I have built and used a lot of darkrooms from Ohio to Texas to Georgia to Tokyo and never had that much sitting water in a sink.

I have no idea why, I just thought it was a good idea. The only reason it's there is to catch spills.

[MrFujicaman]

ndwgolf...I just did the math. A cubic foot of water is 62.4 pounds...you're looking at 1685 pounds of water plus the weight of the sink if you fill it to the top. I think I'd rethink that plan if I were you.

[ndwgolf]

ndwgolf...I just did the math. A cubic foot of water is 62.4 pounds...you're looking at 1685 pounds of water plus the weight of the sink if you fill it to the top. I think I'd rethink that plan if I were you.Water and cement are cheap in Thailand :)
Neil

[AtlantaTerry]

I have no idea why, I just thought it was a good idea. The only reason it's there is to catch spills.

For spills, all you really need is to have the sink base on a bit of a slope so fluids will move down toward the drain. Then put something under the trays to raise them up from the sink bottom.

If your rinse/wash tray is at the high end of the sink, the overflow will rinse the sink for you.

Be sure everything that is stainless steel (Type 316) and not something made for consumer or commercial installations. Anything not 316 will eventually rust due to the chemicals we use.

[Peter Collins]

MrFujicaman is right and you should be cautious. What is the load (wgt) limit--max--of the floor?

[Duolab123]

Hi Mike,

When I lived in Thailand I always developed at ambient temperature, adjusting development times for that temperature, which is pretty constant compared to the US. I just found it too difficult to keep things cool. This worked fine for black and white, but not sure if that is possible with color.

No doubt. Kodak formulated tropical developers and hardeners for the old days. Modern film with factory hardened emulsions work fine at elevated temperatures. Less room for timing errors. Color would be easy too.