<< I'm moving into a house soon and can finally build a darkroom
that will suit my needs. Any special considerations for an alt darkroom? >>
David-
I built a combination silver/alt photo darkroom 3 years ago in part of my
unfinished basement. A few ideas that worked out well come to mind;
*I installed a plug in the ceiling with a separate on/off switch for a sodium
vapor lamp for coating and printing. The white lights in the ceiling use a
switch that is mounted six feet up so there's no mistaking one for the other.
*The exposure unit (8 bl bulbs) were built onto a board that slid into a
cabinet at 3 different heights. It hangs so that the bulbs are facing down
but if you will be using a vaccum unit I suppose it can be facing up. The
unit can be on but with the doors closed, none of the harmful effects get
past the cabinet interior. This also freed up counter space.
*The exhaust fan was mounted at the "end" of my 6 foot sink on the wall
rather than in the ceiling. It is a fan intended for kitchens and built so
that the bearings are designed to be sideways. I also made sure the specs
for the fan matched the size of the room.
*I mounted the faucet on the right end of the sink top and the sprayer in the
center with a double length hose. I find that I never wash prints in the
center of the sink but do spray the whole thing down after every session.
*Shelves mounted above the sink are really handy. I bought inexpensive
laminate ones that once are ruined by one thing or another are easily
replaced.
*Allow a logical space for your trash can.
*Install a washable floor material and though I did not; to install a floor
drain.
*I instead bought a cheap water alarm that clamps onto the floor with a
suction cup just in case.
*I planned for a wall mount phone, an intercom that is connected to the
existing one in the house and a place for a cd/radio machine.
*And finally, I painted the entire room white and used white kitchen cabinets
and countertop rather that the typical black or grey room. Once you test the
emusions/paper for fogging it makes for a really pleasant place to spend a
lot of time.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your planning.
Carole
Gumprint@aol.com