Building a Home Darkroom (The Kodak Workshop Series)

Rating:
Summary: Not focused
Review: This 1996 edition is the exact same copy as the 1981 original with some updated photos. Almost 50% of the book is the story of some guy building a darkroom in his basement, showing how it was done, meant as a guide for building a darkroom in your basement. Although it shows how this darkroom was built, it does not offer a lot of alternatives for different situations found in homes or garages or attics or the various possibilities where one might want a darkroom. The book struggles between trying to be a darkroom manual, or a construction manual, and comes out weak on both. The chapter on planning (14 pages) is the most helpful. The book should have assumed the reader has been in or used a darkroom before, and that general construction techniques for plumbing or electricity or finish carpentry could be gotten from other books; spending time instead concentrating on all the various types of home darkrooms, were they might be built, and various options for them, whether under the steps or building a new bathroom/darkroom combination. For example there is nothing in this book about using a temperature control device, or how to hook one up (something that would not be covered in a regular plumbing book). If you are planning to build a darkroom, or convert a space into one, this book can be of some help, but ultimately a disappointment because it could have been so much better.

Rating:
Summary: Not focused
Review: This 1996 edition is the exact same copy as the 1981 original with some updated photos. Almost 50% of the book is the story of some guy building a darkroom in his basement, showing how it was done, meant as a guide for building a darkroom in your basement. Although it shows how this darkroom was built, it does not offer a lot of alternatives for different situations found in homes or garages or attics or the various possibilities where one might want a darkroom. The book struggles between trying to be a darkroom manual, or a construction manual, and comes out weak on both. The chapter on planning (14 pages) is the most helpful. The book should have assumed the reader has been in or used a darkroom before, and that general construction techniques for plumbing or electricity or finish carpentry could be gotten from other books; spending time instead concentrating on all the various types of home darkrooms, were they might be built, and various options for them, whether under the steps or building a new bathroom/darkroom combination. For example there is nothing in this book about using a temperature control device, or how to hook one up (something that would not be covered in a regular plumbing book). If you are planning to build a darkroom, or convert a space into one, this book can be of some help, but ultimately a disappointment because it could have been so much better.

Rating:
Summary: Only buy this if you want basic building information.
Review: This books has actual construction as the focus. It will teach you how to layout and build floors, walls, etc. The segments on design and layout are very weak.

Rating:
Summary: Only buy this if you want basic building information.
Review: This books has actual construction as the focus. It will teach you how to layout and build floors, walls, etc. The segments on design and layout are very weak.