[pure-silver] Re: New old home, new lab questions

  • From: Eric Nelson <emanmb@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 6 May 2010 14:04:12 -0700 (PDT)

Just want to say thanks to all who have been putting in their comments and 
suggestions.  I've been reading them all and passing them on to my 'guy'.  
I'm in a big time crunch to finish some jobs here before closing up shop to 
pack, and work on the new place, so I want to comment, but no time.  Printing 
old pyro negs presently from 6" x 3.5" roll film for a museum in the Gulf of 
Mexico...not Barbados tho.
Will respond asap!
Eric
 



________________________________
From: Tim Daneliuk <tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thu, May 6, 2010 3:27:40 PM
Subject: [pure-silver] Re: New old home, new lab questions

On 5/6/2010 3:07 PM, John Stockdale wrote:
> In your situation, is there merit in considering a slight fall in the
> floor surface to facilitate draining?  In my darkroom (above ground
> level) I have a slight fall and a drain outlet leading outside. Tiles on


Basements - at least in the area - vary significantly in just how they
drain. Older homes have floor drains and thus the sewer is *below*
basement floor grade. In this case, you do want the floor to "tip"
towards the drain.

However, below grade sewers have the problem that - if the sewer backs
up - it floods the basement with raw sewage. Newer homes in this area
are now all built with "overhead sewers". All the drains of the upper
floors flow into a master sewer pipe in the basement that runs at
about 6 feet above the basement floor. It doesn't dip down until it
actually exits the building 3 or 4 feet below grade outside. The
upside of this is that a backed up sewer has to rise all the way above
the 1st floor toilet before entering the home - some 9-10' in my case,
which is quite unlikely.

The downside is that if you want a drain the in the basement, you have
to *pump* the liquid up to the overhead sewer. In my case - happily -
there was a floor drain with a sealed ejector pump and sump pit
already in place (it was put there to lift the condensed water from
the air conditioner up to the sewer). I just ran my darkroom drain
into that sump pit where it is lifted by the same pump into the
overhead sewer.

One kindly word of advice - while tempting, and often easy to do - it
is a really bad idea to dump your sink drains into the *rainwater*
ejector/sump system. These are separate from your usual sewer and are
there just to take rain ground water away from the foundation of the
home. If you dump your darkroom drain (or any other drain) into this
sump, you're effectively dumping your crud into the storm sewer system
- i.e. Eventually right back into the ground. This is both bad manners
toward the planet, and almost certainly illegal where you live. By
having your basement drains go to the sewer system (below grade or
elevated via a pump), your darkroom effluent will then be treated at
the local sewage treatment plant before being returned to the wild.

> the floor plus a row around the wall as skirting (Tim's recommendation),
> the room can be hosed out like in the old pubs in Sydney after a busy night.

Sans bodies we presume ...

> 
> You are going to love working in your new darkroom!
> 
> John
> ================
> Eric Nelson wrote:
>> Thanks Tim & Howard!
>>
>> I will bounce this off my contractor guy as it all comes down to
>> timing, unfortunately, with everything needing to be move in ready by
>> the 17th-ish.  It's a large area that once dry walled, plumbed, &
>> floor sealed, could allow for the move in and then do the flooring and
>> just move everything around to do so.  If ceramic doesn't work out
>> timing-wise, then the vinyl squares may have to do.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Tim Daneliuk <tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> *To:* pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> *Sent:* Thu, May 6, 2010 11:31:32 AM
>> *Subject:* [pure-silver] Re: New old home, new lab questions
>>
>> On 5/6/2010 11:12 AM, Howard Efner wrote:
>> >
>> > On May 4, 2010, at 9:26 PM, Eric Nelson wrote:
>> >
>> >>  Ceramic would be too much work/time/money for the large area I've got
>> >> to cover, although it would sure would look nice!
>> >
>> > Eric, if you look around you should be able to find some tile for
>> > $1.00/sf or less.  When we built the studio/darkroom (24 ft X 32 ft) we
>> > found some close-out 12x12 tile at Home Despot for about $0.65/ sf.
>> > Just make sure they have enough - measured square footage plus ~ 10% and
>> > get it as one lot.  Yes it takes time - more time is usually spent on
>> > lay-out, floor prep. and %^)#$% grouting/clean-up that actually putting
>> > the tile on the floor.  We also had some stem walls to cover, so on went
>> > some more tile.  Now a wet mop and shop vac keeps the place clean.  One
>> > thing, if you do any tile work, get the GOOD thinset with the additives
>> > already in the mix - costs a bit more but does a better job.
>> >
>>
>> I second this.  Ceramic tile wears well and cleans up in a snap.  You
>> do need to put down anti-fatigue mats though, or your back will be
>> screaming at you.
>>
>> I had a family member who is a master tile setter do mine and he suggested
>> something for which I have been eternally grateful.  Instead of finishing
>> the floor with the usual wooden trim, he cut tiles in half and edged
>> them around the perimeter of the room.  This makes a mop cleanup
>> very easy.  You can see this in these photos:
>>
>>  http://www.tundraware.com/Photography/Darkroom/Darkroom-02.jpg
>>  http://www.tundraware.com/Photography/Darkroom/Darkroom-07.jpg
>>
>> He also used the thinset to level the floor as he went, since poured
>> concrete floors are not entirely flat. 
>>
>> Also, bear in mind that the *kind* of grout you use matters.  Wider tile
>> spacings require sanded grout.  This is my preference because I think it
>> lasts longer and better than the non-sanded grout and close tile spacing
>> approach.
>>
>> The only downside of ceramic tile (other than cost/time) is that it can
>> chip or crack if something heavy is dropped on it.  In 15+ years of using
>> mine, I've managed to only do this twice and it's been pretty minor.
>> There are many kinds of tile in the world, so ask your local vendor
>> whether
>> the tile is warm/cold, hard/soft, how it will wear and so on. 
>>
>>
>> P.S.  I was reminded of why I chose tile over anything else a few
>>       years ago when the hard coupling between the house and the outside
>>       sewer line cracked in the basement.  Thankfully, we'd just done
>>       some laundry and all that was in the sewer was soapy rinse water.
>>       However, there was some sewage odor.  Because the basement floor
>>       is entirely tiled, I cleaned up, mopped up, got the cat out of
>>       the way who was "helping", and went over it all one last time with
>>       a bucket of bleach water.  The floor was clean, dry, and odor free
>>       in a couple of hours.  I would NEVER put down wood or carpeting
>>       in a basement for this reason.  The cleanup is horrific with such
>>       floors.
>>
>> -- 
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Tim Daneliuk    tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> PGP Key:        http://www.tundraware.com/PGP/
>>
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