setting up a dark room in unfinished basement

On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 15:41:51 -0600, Mike
wrote:



For over 20 years I used the whole basement as a darkroom. I built a
solid stand for the enlarger & placed it to one side of the laundry
tub. The washer & dryer on the other side of the tub was my sink.
I'd cover them with old towels & put my trays on them. I developed
film the same way, on the washer & dryer. The laundry tub was my
"sink" for washing film & prints. Blank out the windows & you've got
a darkroom.

Did you ventilate with fans? This is my issue...basement is so big that a
tiny fan won't do a thing.

Didn't ventilate & never really noticed a problem.


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Professional Shop Rat: 14,267 days in a GM plant.
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(Apkesh) wrote in message . com...
Hello,
I am looking at setting up a dark room in my bsmt. The only problem is
my bsmt is unfinished, which means it's all empty and to put up dry
walls to build a room it'll cost me lots of $$$. Has any one ever
setup a room for printing and processing in an environment like this
successfuly? Please help.
apkesh

If your basement has dividers in it already, or you do not have to
share it with anyone doing the laundry, you need put up no walls. I
use the furnace room in my house, which has a separate door that is
far enough away that light is not a problem. I also turn off the
lights in the adjoining rooms to keep the light from coming in. The
glass blocks in the basement are blocked off with black platstic.

Read up on Sintra. It's basically plastic plywood used for making signs
among other things. Lightweight & waterproof. Yes you can make your own out
of plywood and glue and screws and epoxy and lots of effort but why bother
when you can have a better one made for just a little more. I had a 6' sink
made for $130. by the New York Sign Co. in Flushing. Make sure they
countersink the drain hole. I make a stand from 2x4s and metal connectors.

Dust, heat & cold are issues you need to deal with in a basement. Try and
stay away from a boiler; it'll probably be too hot in the winter. Also if
the blue flame is too bright it'll fog your paper.

Natural Light Black and White Photography
http://mysite.verizon.net/geost/
-George-

"Apkesh" wrote in message
om...
I did consider putting up walls but that seemed like a costly job.
Someone suggusted why not buy black curtains, and have 2 layers of it
so to make a 'dar kroom within a darkroom'. This way they said the
light exposure would be minimized. One thing I never considered is the
moisture and dust, thanks for pointing that out. Candian winters are
very cold and usually no one in my family likes to go down to the bsmt
than me because it's so cold!

I was thinking of using the laundry sink in the bast but that is right
above the window. I dont want to spend $$ money on putting up an
aditional sink either. I just have to think creatively to come up with
a better solution to this!