Shop lighting

[Blake Foster]

Well Bulldog, i am in the same process on my home garage (the 10,000sqft one i work in everyday isn't big enough) mine is 3/4 of a 2 car garage one bay 10x22 and then the front 1/2 of the second bay in an L shape 12x15. the floor has alwaays been covered with carpet so i will epoxy paint it a light grey. the walls will be semi gloss white.
one tip we found at the big shop is we only use "Daylight" flouresssent bulbs, they are about double the price of cool white but man what a differance in the amount of light. i will use these bulbs at home also.

[XcYZ]

John, it's just a small 24x24 garage. It will have drywalled and painted walls and ceiling. Not sure about the floor right now, but I'd like to coat it at some point, might be a good project next summer. At the moment, it's just bare concrete.

I'd like to have it extremely bright, almost painful when working on the car. lol Maybe have multiple circuits? What do you think about using the small can recessed lights over the workbench/countertops?

I just like the idea of nothing hanging off the ceiling. I know these options aren't cheap, but I don't have that much space.

[awr68]

Scott my cousin flush mounted 2'x4' 4 tube fixtures in his garage ceiling and then used L-metal to trim them out. The L-metal is kind of like corner bead, you can find it at any store that sells drywall, ect. This makes for a very clean look!

He also used two wall switches so he could turn on half the tubes if he wanted or power up all by just flipping another switch. Sometimes you don't need everything on at once...especially if you install plenty of light like I like to do!

I have under counter task lighting at my work bench and really like it!

Are you going to do the drywall finishing?

[Fluid Power]

Scott,

This has been beaten to death on my second favorite site:

http://garagejournal.com/

Search lighting and be prepared to burn some hours reading the posts....great info at this place...

Darren

[bulldog19]

Scott, yes you can put the regular recessed over the work bench and flourescents in the bay area where you are working on the car. The other thing than can be done is with the flourescent fixutres they come with 4-tubes. To keep the cost down there is one ballast that runs all 4-lamps as all ballast nowadays are electronic, which are more efficent and quieter. I can order the fixture where there would be 2-ballasts each running 2-lamps so you could control how much light you wanted. Another option is the actual lense on the fixture. The normal lense is called a "prismatic" where it's somewhat clear, the norm in office buildings and strip stores. We could do a "parabolic" lense which is open lense, polished silver in appearance color, and cubed design. They cut down on glare and force all the light down. I ran the dimensions, with a 10' ceiling and to acheive a nice bright 75 footcandle average i reccomend 9-fixtures to light the garage. I used the parabloic fixture while more expensive it does a better job. The fixture are about $75-80 each + the tubes which can vary depending upon color rendering trmperature you decide on. The basic ones are $1.50 each but will make the red car look horrible!! The recessed over the work bench with a halogen bulb for plenty of light are about $20 ea for all parts and a basic white trim. The trims can also be in the polished silver to match the trim of the flourescents if you want. Let me know if you need any more info, i'll be glad to help any way i can. I can send you a layout for fixture placement when you get to that point.
Here's my e-mail: [email protected]
You can never have enough lighting in the garage and never enough receptacles and circuits. Also recessed around the perimeter is nice to highlight pictures and magazines articles, like yor recent feature when it's framed hanging on the walls. Think about receptacles high on the wall for neon or clocks. Have half the swtch operated by a switch for the neon so to eliminate a pull cord to turn it on.
Thanks
John

[bulldog19]

Blake, let me know what your plans are for the space. I'll be glad to help anyway i can. Whether it be with layout and even supplting product. It may get expensive to ship. I could even swap product for product if you want.
Thanks
John

[J2SpeedandCustom]

I also hate working under the car or inside and not have enough light! Putting some long flourescents on the walls about 3' off the ground makes a HUGE difference. Try using the T8 bulbs/fixtures instead of the T12's. The T8's are much brighter in my opinion.

Also look into getting a PDR light. https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/p-10863-13307.aspx I know there kind of expensive BUT man are they worth the money!!! Awesome for detailing, polishing working in the engine bay under the car.

[awr68]

The parabolic lens is nice and works great...but my experianse is that they don't like dust! Hard to clean! They would be fine for a show room/service type toom...but if you plan on grinding or doing wood working I would say it's a bad idea. And if you decide to go this route deffinatly cover them while doing the drywall! Don't ask how I know this!