Darkroom in my bathroom....?

Gandalf · Dec 2, 2006

Hey everyone! I'm so pumped for this project!

Ok, so here's the deal. I hate sending my film off for developement, doesn't feel 'right', it just feels 'incomplete' if you know what I mean....

Anyways, I'm looking to build a b/w darkroom in my (parents) bathroom; they're cool with it, so now I've got to see if it's feasible.

I'm wonderin' if you guys have any tips for someone like me, a complete noob to developing/printing their own material...

Btw, here's the room:

Side with the sink is roughly 6' by 2' ... I'd have to build an extension over the toilet which would give me some space for a few trays (including the sink)...

This is the tub... I can construct a counter over top of it to give me another 6' x 2' counter...

And here's the exhaust fan, think it would be sufficient?

Any thoughts/advice are appreciated (I hope this is in the proper section...)

Michael Humle · Dec 2, 2006

Hi, many years ago I learned to develope film in a small bathroom. I found this article for you and I hope it helps. It is very similar to the set-up I worked in......
Click on the liink:

http://www.darkroomsource.net/bathroom.shtml

Good Luck!

tasman · Dec 2, 2006

I have set up a darkroom in a small bathroom too. The most important things I found is the ventalation and putting something over the door to stop any stray light from coming in. As long as you have room to set up everything, it will work.

Have fun.

ThomThomsk · Dec 3, 2006

Looks like you have loads of space, and you have obviously got the will to do it, and the enthusiasm, which is more than half the challenge sorted out already.

My first 'darkroom' was in fact a shower room, as wide as a standard shower (say 3 feet) and around 8 feet long. Enlarger stood on the toilet at one end, trays of chemicals in the shower. It was a really tight fit once I got in there too, but it shows what can be done. I don't know about the regulations where you live, but here you can't have power outlets in the bathroom for safety reasons, which means bringing an extension lead under the door. Ideally you should use a circuit breaker (you can get ones that plug into the normal mains socket), so if you ever got any electrical faults in your enlarger you minimise the chance of getting electrocuted.

Thom