[pure-silver] Re: other new darkroom

From: "Shannon Stoney" <shannonstoney@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>



In addition to packing up and moving my city darkroom, I am thinking of
building one in TN in the country. It will be an outbuilding built from
scratch.  Any suggestions?  I know you have to have a wet side and a
dry side, and I am a stickler for perfect ventilation, and I want to
have a concrete floor.  Other than that I am open to suggestions.

--shannon
I'm currently in darkroom Version 5, and except for more space, I think I finally have the ultimate darkroom!
-Since you're planning on using an outbuilding, I would suggest that you have a non-darkroom area, with workspace and windows with a pleasing view and some comfrotable seating. After spending several hours in the dark, it's nice to get out in the light for a few minutes to 'decompress'. -It's nice to have a double door system, so that you can leave the darkroom without light coming in. In my case, my manual darkroom is inside a second darkroom, where the roller transport processor is located. I can leave the manual darkroom, close the door, and go through the machine darkroom to get outside. 
-I consider a good stereo system to be a must.
-Some people swear by positive ventilation. In a free-standing outbuilding, this would probably be a good idea. You pump filtered air into the darkroom, rather than sucking air out. This is supposed to keep dust to a minimum. Since my darkroom(s) are in the middle of the building, with clean space all around, I don't consider this to be an issue. -If you are going with a concrete floor, have a couple floor drains installed, and have the concrete sealed after curing. Consider a couple rubber floor mats. Avoid carpet-type mats. Keep a mop and mop bucket handy. 
-Depending on what type of heat you will be using, consider a humidifier.
-Use a wall covering in the wet area that can be easily wiped down. There are white plastic coverings used in commercial kitchens that would be great. Masonite (what I have) is ok, but it stains. I have a 4' darkroom sink, but I keep the trays on the counter next to the sink. The countertop is a pre-built type that has a small lip at the front edge and a 4" high backsplash at the back edge. Chemical spills can be easily wiped into the adjacent sink. -Depending on what enlarger(s) you use, consider using a lower counter height for the enlarger area. Most of my enlargements are big, and it would be easier if my enlargers were lower.
Try to tour other darkrooms and get the owners to tell you what they would do differently if they were to do it over. You can feel free to stop your tour here in SW Indiana! 

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