Another New One ;)

[Negative]

Just signed up.

I`m just in the process of buying a house and building a darkroom so figured this would be a good place to discuss and gain knowledge from experienced developers

I have a Jobo CPE/TBE and a Rondinax 35U so wish to get more into continuous agitation methods.

Cheers,

[MartyNL]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
The very best of luck with the darkroom build.

[Mike O'Pray]

Hi Negative and welcome to FADU It will seem strange to have to refer to you as Negative. If you have a first name and are willing to give it to us at the bottom of each post then this might be better.

If you can build a dedicated darkroom in the house then that's great. I converted a spare bedroom that had both hot and cold running water piped in and frankly I can't now conceive of managing any other way

Mike

[John King]

Unlike Mike I don't have the luxury of built in running water, but I have the next best thing. Directly opposite the spare bedroom I use as the darkroom is the bathroom and it is only 3 or 4 steps from one to the other. I have made a removable table that sits over the bath to support the print washer without risking it damaging the bath. If you do this there is a very slight risk of staining. If this happens I have found domestic bleach will remove the marks and not damage the surface of the bath. In 7 years I have had one instance. (Bleach will also clean up stained developing dishes too!)

If t'other half needs to use the loo she has the one off the hallway downstairs.

To ensure the passage carpet remains unstained when I go from one room to the other I use a temporary strip of industrial polythene sheeting about 3mm thick and that works OK for me. If you want a darkroom badly enough you will always find a way around obstacles.

Mine is painted matt white emulsion which allows maximum light reflection from the safelights without giving any 'hotspots' and it they get splashed they are easily covered over with fresh emulsion

You will need plenty of sockets as well. I have added 3 x doubles about 18" above the workbench and they all get used at once occasionally. It all makes for workable setup.

[Terry S]

Hi and welcome to the forum 'Negative' / 'Insert your name here', from 'Where ever' you are.

Terry S

[Nat Polton]

My set up is similar to Johns. Box bedroom/darkroom, no plumbing, bathroom opposite.

I only have the one 240v a.c. mains socket to supply everything.

So I have to watch what I plug in at the same time.

Although centrally heated I have a 2000watt oil filled heater, 300watt dish heater and 100watt enlarger transformer.

Plus small stuff like separate electrical thermostat for the dish heater, safe lights, and of course the wireless.

The big items add up to 2400 watts.

Using the formula Power = Amps x Volts the total comes to 10 amps on one socket. Plus the small stuff.

So I must be getting close to the maximum thirteen amps on the one socket.

Worth while counting up your power consumption and not depending too much on adding lots of multiplug extensions.

Hope this gives you some food for thought.

And by the way,welcome.

[skellum]

Like others here I've made a lot of prints in 'dry' darkrooms. Mix chemicals elsewhere, hold prints in a soak tray until you have a couple ready to transport to the wash area. Dumping used chemicals into a bucket is good- you're less likely to spill them than you are carrying an open tray from one room to another for disposal.
I now have a piped darkroom, by tapping into the supply to the en-suite next door. It speeds up both set-up and clean-up and the extra convenience means I get more done in a session.
If possible I would definitely recommend a fully plumbed set-up.
I have two enlargers, a light box, couple of safe-lights, and an exposure meter. However, there is never a time when everything is on at once, so I'm comfortable having 4 double sockets in the room. I only print black and white, where temperature control is nowhere near as critical as Colour. As a result I've never felt the need for things like dishwarmers, and my darkroom is never particularly cold anyway.
Good luck with the project.

[David Lingham]

Welcome to the forum. My own darkroom occupies about a third of our garage. On my website there is a brief account of its construction including a few pictures. here

[Richard Gould]

Hello and welcome to Fafu, I am a returning member as I haven't been able to be around for a while
Richard

[snusmumriken]

I built my darkroom shed from scratch on a concrete base. Floor of Stirling board over 3x4" frame. Wall and roof panels made from a sandwich of Stirling board (outside), 3" Kingspan insulation, MDF inside. Whole thing covered in breathable membrane, then larch lap boards (walls) and corrugated metal sheets (roof). 4 years old now, very happy with it.

Jonathan