Customer Reviews:
 Not focused December 20, 2003
Stephen McHenry (Olney, MD USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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.
Only buy this if you want basic building information. October 16, 1999
A. Singh (San Francisco, CA, USA)
59 out of 62 found this review helpful
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.
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