I went the cheap way...but it works great. I got 4' fixtures from Lowes...the REAL cheapies on the bottom shelf, no cold start. I got 6 of em, 3 hung...3 to go. I want another 4 at least...so when the door is down I have good light all around. I also have two standard 75W bulbs up front so if I don't want all the FL's on, I can have a little light with the bulbs. For best lighting, ceiling mount them...dont hang em. The worst part is I have 3 Schwinns hanging from the ceiling...that now need a new place to hang. Maybe in the basement?

Also, if you intend to run any 110V in the ceiling, I HIGHLY recommend not falling through the sheet rock...it hurts...trust me! I hope to get to finishing the garage in the spring when it is nicer outside...and I dont have to freeze.

 

Fordman,

Why do you prefer to mount them direct as opposed to hanging them? I'm just curious.

My ceiling is semi-gloss white and I hung mine on short chains. I do body work and get tons of dust so it makes it nice to be able to just unplug them and pull em down for cleaning.

I'm interested in the advantages of direct mounting them. May need to rethink my layout.


Rich

 

Simple, the light from these lights fans out in a directional sweep due to the cover. Let's say for conversations sake it is a 90 deg. angle from the center of the light aiming down, 45 deg each way. The higher the light is from the floor, the more area it covers. If you took the covers off and only had exposed lights, there would be no direction the light aims, and it wouldnt matter where they hung.

A more complicated way to look at it is this...in a standard 24X24 garage with 9ft ceilings, you could place 3 lights on each side laterally from front to back (two banks of 3), and the light from the first would overlap the rear most light. Of course, my figures are slightly skewed as they actually produce more than 90 deg...but the idea is the same. Now...if those lights were 12" down, the light from the first and last would never meet. If that makes sense...if not I can sketch down what I am talking about...since a picture is worth a thousand words.

It basically allows the light to spread out more.

 

Nice topic!.. just getting the roof on my new 30x40.. the existing has 2-4 bulb banks of 8' want to make sure to get more

also like the idea of electric outlets vs hardwire..

Sam

 

If you do that, then you need to compensate for the reduced lighting levels -- you don't get more light for "free". Same wattage over a greater area = lower W/sf. It all depends if you want the same levels everywhere, or concentrated over work tables, vehicles, etc. One lesson I learned -- lights over the hood of a car are useless when the hood is open, for working on engines the light needs to come from the side and/or in front. (I think that's what trouble lights are for!)

There are some good free lighting design/layout tools on the net.

Here's a good discussion on the Garage Journal... some alternatives you might not think about: Lighting and CLF - The Garage Journal Board

They have a whole forum for Electrical and Lighting.

 

I,ve got 8 4ft fixtures that take the skinny tubes T5 or T8's which ever is which in a 24 x24 shop. I bought them on sale at Canadian Tire for $20 each for the fixtures and I waited a few weeks later when the tubes came on sale but can't remember how much I paid for them. I'd wait and watch the sales seeing as you have to build your shop and still have time. Glad to hear you got a shop in the near future.

 

Just for clarification, T12 fixtures can not be manufactured for sale in the US (as of Jan 2010); however, any existing stock could be sold. That is why some places still have them, when there gone there gone. That being said they are making replacement electronic ballasts for your old T12 fixtures (much better than the old magnetic). Do yourself a favor and make sure you purchase at least T8 fixtures and yes you can buy different lamps for these fixtures. 35 k series are more of a daylight bulb compared to 41 k series which are cool white. There are also different color spectrum lamps 800 series will show colors better than 700 series lamps. So 735 and 835 would be daylight and 741 and 841 would be cool white in T8 and T5 lamps. As far as lamp disposal, most electrical supply houses will recycle your old lamps or most municipalities collect them. Also, if you take your layout (L x W x H) to your local electrical supply house they should be able to lay out the ideal placement of your fixtures. I don't believe Lowes or Home Depot offer this. Good Luck.

Paul

Paul

 

Something else to consider is the surroundings your lights illuminate. The ceiling, walls and floor can aid you big-time if you have the option of setting up that way. They reflect the light more than most people think. Making your shop as reflective white as much as possible makes a huge difference.

 

Here's a quick drawing showing my 24 x 24 garage. The man door to the right has 1 lighted switch to turn the two halogen shop lights and stereo on when flipped on (right wall in picture). This is enough light to walk around the garage real quick when you need to grab the garbage can, air tank, a beer, etc... The other lighted switch on the opposite wall turns on the double 4 foot flouro cross pattern lights, all 16 of them (that's 32 4 foot lights). 15 of these are t12 cheapy shop lights, and are noisey. The other light replaced a t12, as a t8 4 bulb covered light. This light is wayyyy better. When money allows, I'll eventually replace all of the t12's with these. The last two shop lights on the left side are on a third switch with pull cords for halogen lights, an outlet for the drop light, and tees out into the lean-to woodshed for another light. I don't have that part done yet.

Overkill? perhaps, but when it comes to bodywork, the more light the better. Here's about all I have to show the lights up top. The stereo is in the chip board box in the corner (keep out dust) (wow, that's an old pic....everything's been moved around since then)

Needless to say, I look forward to building my new garage.

 

Don't rule out skylights, even on overcast days they provide a lot of light. For free, too!

 

Don't they explode? And, isn't there Mercury involved?

 

[quote=ALBUQ F-1;10036933]. One lesson I learned -- lights over the hood of a car are useless when the hood is open, for working on engines the light needs to come from the side and/or in front. (I think that's what trouble lights are for!)

I agree. The best light I get is when the front of the vehicle is facing the garage door and the door is open.

 

[quote=ALBUQ F-1;10036933]. One lesson I learned -- lights over the hood of a car are useless when the hood is open, for working on engines the light needs to come from the side and/or in front. (I think that's what trouble lights are for!)"

I agree. The best light I get is when the front of the vehicle is facing the garage door and the door is open.

 

I find, in my shop, I have a favorite place to pull a car in to work on it. Maybe even a couple places. I parked a car, opened the hood and then mounted 4, 500 watt hal. lights in the ceiling, each pair on a switch. I can pull a car in and turn on 2 or 4 lights. The lights are mounted two in front of the car and one about 8 feet on each side of the car. They all are pointed to shine under the hood when I park the car in the normal working place.
I have a paint booth, in a separate building, but occasionally will spray a small item in the shop. I have another area that I have 4 halogen's overhead and 4 portable units on adjustable height stands I use. I am old and have a hard time seeing so need a lot of light. So if spray something I can use that area.
I am lucky in that my shop is 40X80 so have more room than many, but I am a very firm believer in that if you can't see, your work will suffer. I have 4 tube 4 foot florescent fixtures in rows spaced 3 feet apart in the row and rows 6 feet apart. Every 20X20 section is controlled by a switch so I can only use what I need to and only light the area I am working in at the time.
I have a 200 amp panel box so I have plenty of options. I mounted a 220 50 amp welder plug in all 4 corners. I can roll my welder to anyplace in the shop and use it as I have enough welding leads to reach 50 feet. I have a couple places wired to use a 30 amp 220 for small electric heaters and a 50 amp wired for my big Air compressor and air piped through out the shop. In the areas of my work benches I have 20 amp plugs in's every 4 feet and 20 amp plug in's every 6 feet in the rest of the walls.
I have switches mounted so that I can turn the lights off and on from multiple locations.
I know this is long and much will not apply to your situation, but just trying to point out you need to plan ahead and plan for expansion. I have water lines in the shop and 5 drains in the floors so I can wash cars or power wash inside.
I have tie downs in the floor when I poured the concrete so I can tie down frames if I need to quickly bend a small section if frame. That's a very cheap thing to do and you might be surprised how often you will use them
All of this cost very little in the building phase, but will cost a lot more if you try to do it after it's built. So install as many electrical circuits as you can and try to install as large a entrance electrical box as you can so you have plenty of room for future things like welders and air compressors.
Opinions will vary but that's my ideas.
Larry

 

That is something that tripped up my plans. If I had water in the garage, all the circuits anywhere near water have to be on GFCI circuits. Power tools and GFCIs don't get along, some electronic ballasts don't work at all on them. Did your local codes require GFCI in your garage?