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.

[Keith Pitman]

I dump everything in my septic tank. Six-plus years and the septic guy says it looks great!

[D. Bryant]

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.

Ditto what Allan said. I have the same type of interlocking foam squares laid over vinyl. The foam cushion really helps reduce foot stress and I can take it up if I need to.

I'm on a septic tank and I've never had a problem with it.

Don Bryant

[paulr]

I don't dump anything into my household city drain, let alone a septic system.

I'd be warry of dumping into a septic system, but have no experience with them. With municpal sewage, you need to look at the individual chemicals.

Exhausted fixer should never be dumped under any circumstances. Anyone dumping exhausted fix is either ignorant of the issues or is just an asshole. Silver thiosulfate compounds wreak havoc on sewage treatment systems and on aquatic ecosystems even in minute concentrations.

There are other metal compounds that should never be dumped. If you see elements like chromium or mercury on the ingredient list, assume you have toxic waste.

Chemicals like exhausted developer, fixer, hypoclear, selenium toner, etc., can go into municipal sewage, no problem. They're easily broken down by organic processes. For the sake of your pipes, it's a good idea to more or less neutralize acids and bases. Easy to do: just mix your developer and stop together, and flush down with plenty of water.

I don't know anything about color chemistry, but am guessing the issues are similar.

[johnschlicher]

[QUOTE=paulr;504931]I'd be warry of dumping into a septic system, but have no experience with them. With municpal sewage, you need to look at the individual chemicals.

Exhausted fixer should never be dumped under any circumstances. Anyone dumping exhausted fix is either ignorant of the issues or is just an asshole. Silver thiosulfate compounds wreak havoc on sewage treatment systems and on aquatic ecosystems even in minute concentrations.


Would this affect, the ground water?

I only have well water, I have it tested every year. So far every things good, a little high in nitrates from the farmers who dump far more chemicals into the earth then I the
( asshole-ignorant man ) ever could

[PViapiano]

What is easier to do (and you never need to worry about who says what and is usually wrong!) is to bottle up your stuff and take it down to your local facility.

This discussion has been going on at APUG recently as well...

Of course, everyone who chimes in believes they're right (including me), but it usually just comes down to convenience and/or laziness, or "the amount I use is so little compared to the plant down the street/household cleaners/etc" mentality.

[neil poulsen]

I would hold off on dumping spent fixer and selenium toner.

As to your floor, I put in something that I was told would be stain resistant. Not top of the line, though. Guess what? Stains. If you concerned about stains, I would get the best.

[johnschlicher]

Thanks for all the advice

I'm going to go with the vinyl flooring that John Brady suggested and I guess I will be taking my toxins to the local toxic waste faculty

Now anyone want to help move the 8 x 10 Elwood enlarger in there

[jp]

I'd suggest something from griotsgarage.com.

[PViapiano]

Thanks for all the advice

...and I guess I will be taking my toxins to the local toxic waste faculty

Good choice for many reasons, John...bravo!

[paulr]

You can also recover your own silver, easily. Just store spent fix in a big jug, and when you have a bunch, pour it into a bucket with a wad of fine steel wool. Through ion exchange, you'll drop the silver out of solution. It will for black sludge on the bottom of the bucket.

This low tech method is extremely effective. I forget what percentage of silver ions it removes, but believe it's well over 99%. The sludge could theoretically be recycled, but you'll probably have so little of it, and it's probably so impure, that it's practically worthless. After ten years of doing this I ended up with a small jar of silver sludge.

[jeroldharter]

In regard to the floor, I agree with vinyl plus some of the antifatigue mats of your choosing. An important consideration besides protecting the hardwood floors is the suppression of dust. Old hardwood floor in a barn are probably dust bombs everytime you take a step. That is the worst part of reclaiming space like that for darkroom work. I would pay attention to walls and ceiling also.