Darkroom Update

[Deon Reynolds]

We’ve been in our house for over a year now and the darkroom is still not finished, although getting much closer… The finished garage had plenty of electricity and water/drain in place.

Trish and I built a corner wall where the plumbing has easiest access for the darkroom sink and utility sink on the studio side of the wall. We are painfully slow at construction, as we have zero clue as to what we are doing. We spent countless hours watching how-to videos and still managed plenty of mistakes.

Not withstanding clueless construction techniques, we accomplished everything to this point ourselves and it’s starting to take shape quite nicely.

Two wall mounted Omega D5XL enlarger chassis, one with a Chromega head the other with an Arista Coldlight head.

Light proof darkroom fan will covers window over sink. The next and last major step, plumbing! We’ve never done plumbing before, do we do it ourselves or find a plumber?

The rest of the garage is starting to be set up for digital printing, mounting, matting and framing of both digital and analog prints.

Blog Deon Reynolds Artist
Web Deon Reynolds Photography

 

[webestang64]

Cool stuff!
Next year I'm buying a house for sure and my darkroom will be in the basement as I will need the garage for my Mustang's.
Plumbing is not that hard to DYI. I'm sure there are lots of YouTube vids to help. Good luck.

 

[Rickbb]

Plumbing only has 4 rules, hot on the left, cold on the right, fix any leaks and s&$# runs down hill.

 

[John 2]

Do I sound envious? If I don't, you're not listening. Looks great. Enjoy.

 

[IanG]

I like the wall mounted enlargers, I;ve done something similar in a couple of darkrooms, but I added a drop bench, I could take the top out and slit it in much lower. Are the shelving units below the enlargers on wheels, that would mean you could make much larger prints.

I currently use a floor standing De Vere 5108, the bed will drop to a few inches off the floor, but most of the time the bed is at counter top level and I have a storage drawer unit on lockable wheels underneath. Very practical.

Ian

 

[Deon Reynolds]

I like the wall mounted enlargers, I;ve done something similar in a couple of darkrooms, but I added a drop bench, I could take the top out and slit it in much lower. Are the shelving units below the enlargers on wheels, that would mean you could make much larger prints.

I currently use a floor standing De Vere 5108, the bed will drop to a few inches off the floor, but most of the time the bed is at counter top level and I have a storage drawer unit on lockable wheels underneath. Very practical.

Ian

Yes, the cabinets under the enlargers are on wheels, so they can be rolled away if I need that much enlargement. I have a box that sits on the table to raise a contact printer or small easel, so I don't bend over so much.

 

[terri]

Wow! I missed this thread until now. What an undertaking, I think it's coming along beautifully!

I have the same Omega D5XL with Chromega color head (it's old of course, but that thing will spoil you for anything else).

I love the wall mount! We're in a new house with a basement and are thinking about how to set up. Your corner wall is where we're headed, but the walls are unfinished so there's lots to do. The darkroom fan also looks great, as we have some windows to deal with as well.

Very excited for you - this looks versatile and functional. And clean!!!

Personally I would opt for getting a plumber in, just a bit too outside my lane. But that's just me.

Looking forward to seeing the final darkroom!