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Garage lighting?

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Joe,

In my new garage (30x24) I installed 7 4ft 2 bulb fluorecent tubes (one over the bench). They do a great job of lighting the garage (white walls and ceilings)

Mark
 
Joe - give some consideration to putting A/C in your garage. If nothing else, put in a window unit.
Advantages: lower humidity (less rust), higher comfort level in muggy summers, fewer bugs, less mildew in the carpets,etc.
 
Joe

I've always found that florescent's give the best lighting in a garage, most other types seem to cast too many shadows for my poor old eye's to cope with!.....Plus I always use a high powered hand lamp, for detail work.

Cheers
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Joe for what it's worth I have Walmart 4" lights in my tractor sheid. and they have worked fine for 0ver 4 years. I replaced one bulb sense putting them in. I have 8 of them and a drop light for close work under the hood. I bought a Hamton free standing fan that I can move to where I'm working. The one thing you can't have too many of is outlets. I have them everywhere. Also have them put a 220 outlet where you may want to put a compressor.
 
3-ton central heat & air in the Garage-mahal...but, I prefer the old fashiopn 3' round fan that rolls around & can point directly on you when you're working!
 
In addition to lots of flourescent lighting, you might also want to install a couple of reel-type work lights on the rafters over where you work on your car.
 
I have two sets of 4ft flourescent lights. One set hangs over my work bench at the back of the garage and the other hangs about in the center of the garage. It is usually adequate, but I also have a coupld of those portable HID lights that I can light up a specific work area with if needed. Speeking of garage lights, I also recently installed a new security light in front of the garage and that thing lights up the entire block it seems. It also has a setting where you can have it stay illuminated, but at a low intensity, until 3 (or 6 or 24) hours after sunset. In other words, it comes on at a low level after sunset and stays on for 3 or 6 or 24 hours (you set the time) even of no motion is detected. Then, after the set time it will go out unless motion is detected. One of the settings causes it to stay on at low level (about 1/2 power) until sunrise the next morning.

Basil
 
I just have to add something to this thread.So much good advise one has to decipher.I would add that having a couple of 4' florescents mounted on each wall at about the 7' level as well is a good way to go.It eliminates a lot of shadow areas.
 
Chuck...I'd almost say drop them to about 4 feet from the floor - especially if you're gonna do bodywork...have you ever walked through the repair section of your local bodyshop...invariably they have a corner bay with lighting along the wall so the bodyman can see any imperfections while he's primering
 
Tony.
I know what you mean.I just don't have enough room to do so.
 
I've a friend who has a set of overhead garage door tracks mounted along the wall & overhead of his garage work area....between them he mounted a piece of plywood instead of the door (after all, its up against a sheetrock wall!)...on that piece of plywood are several 4-foot flourescent light fixtures....he leaves it 'up' most of the time but if he's working on a body or needs additional lights down low, he 'lowers' it....in the roof over the plywood are his fixed lights that work whether the plywood is 'up' or 'down'....I've always thought that was a neat & inexpensive idea.
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by tony barnhill:
Chuck...I'd almost say drop them to about 4 feet from the floor - especially if you're gonna do bodywork...have you ever walked through the repair section of your local bodyshop...invariably they have a corner bay with lighting along the wall so the bodyman can see any imperfections while he's primering<hr></blockquote>

I have some portable lights down low but intend to add a row down low if I ever get time
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I'm also using portable lights...but, if I had the room, I'd use my friend's overhead garage door idea.
 
I live and work by the idea that you can't have enough light in a work area, my wife hates it and doesn't see how I can work in such a bright area without getting a sun burn or snow blindness and my office is over lit as well.

I just improved my garage and workroom lighting again getting rid of the 8' shop lights. I often visit the builders supply overstock warehouses in my area and I found 4-3'X 4" lighting fixtures with defusers for $35.(total!!!) that price even included the 4' daylight tubes and ballast’s, pre-testing verified that everything worked and installation took about two hours including wiring them into an existing circuit from the previous lighting with independant switching this only requiring minor re-wiring using flex made it easy and faster than hard conduit. I still have a 3 tube 4'er directly above the bench but general shop lighting was improved by at least 50%

I also believe that you can't fix what you can't see. I'm very pragmatic about that kind of stuff, besides the older I get the more light I need to see well, I did say pragmatic didn't I?

[ 11-27-2003: Message edited by: Jim Weatherford ]</p>
 
I guess most of this thread was done while I was on vacation (Alaska Cruise) I just had some time to go thru and read it all!!! Some really great ideas!! I think this one stood out!!! Great idea!!
posted 08-28-2003 07:17 AM
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I've a friend who has a set of overhead garage door tracks mounted along the wall & overhead of his garage work area....between them he mounted a piece of plywood instead of the door (after all, its up against a sheetrock wall!)...on that piece of plywood are several 4-foot flourescent light fixtures....he leaves it 'up' most of the time but if he's working on a body or needs additional lights down low, he 'lowers' it....in the roof over the plywood are his fixed lights that work whether the plywood is 'up' or 'down'....I've always thought that was a neat & inexpensive idea.
 
Joe,

All of the suggestions have been helpful here, If I could add my $0.02 worth. The newer T-8 fluorescent fluorescent lamps are instant start, and will start down to 0 deg. F . They are also more engery efficient as each lamp is only 32 watts. They put out a little more light than the old T-12's (what we all know of as fluorescent tubes). However, they require a different ballast to power them. These are also available in the Home Deopt's of the world as well.
 
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