Question about lights around the garage door

[fotoflojoe]

When my garage door is raised, there's not enough clearance for overhead light fixtures. As a result, all the lighting is "pushed back" toward the rear of the garage. This makes the front area darker than I'd like it to be.

I've always just used a work light to get around the issue. But since I'm redoing the overheads, I'd like to create a permanent solution.

Only ideas I've come up with are either:
- 8' strip hung on either side of horizontal door track.
- Some sort of spot/halogen fixture on either wall on their own circuit.

I don't think either of these ideas are that great, but so far, that's all I've come up with.

Does anybody have a better idea?
Thanks!

[Ezzie]

Use a garage door made of translucent panels instead of solid. Lets most of the light through but enough for privacy when closed. Has an added benefit of letting in natural light during the day when closed.

Like these:

http://www.polydoor.com/product.htm

[kbs2244]

This is one of my pet problems.
I like to work with the door open on summer nights, but you get this dark spot.
The easy way is just put lights right along the door side rails to shine as much as possible under the door.
I do have a light in the middle of the door width that is blocked with the door up and if I realy need the light I put the door down.
To solve it at different places I have gone to 2 doors so you can put a light between them. (This also lets you have the flexabilty of opening only one door.)
I installed sliding doors on one shop because of this.
I a planing on either a horizonal hinged bi-fold door or a single slab hyro lifted door on my next shop.

On other threads we have talked about putting a pice of uni-strut across the bottom of the tracks so the door goes up and over it and then attach the light to it.
Other guys have screwed the lights to the inside of the door and used an extension cord to plug them in when the door is up.

[2LTim]

You could strategically place a windowed panel in the door, or as I did on my detached garage/work shop, make the overhead door open like an airplane hangar. Hinged at the top and middle, and rollers only at the bottom. This arrangement also facilitates a rolling I-beam for a trolly mounted engine hoist that never gets in the way, and doesn't take up any floor space.
Tim

[Buckled]

Can you mount lights on the wall in the front part of the garage where the doors are??

[rsanter]

how about you hand an 8ft florecent fixture from chains on the end so it hangs under the open door when in the up position

otherwise put some tubes right next to the rails on either side

bob

[kbs2244]

2LTim:
Did you make that door yourself or buy it?
I am in the process of gathering info on them and havn't had much luck.
My bigest intrest is the tracks and latching.
Any PICS or drawings would be a big help.

[Torque1st]

I don't like the polydoors, they are too transparent at night.

For lights I just mount mine outside the tracks and run the tracks as close to the ceiling as possible so the door blocks little of the light.

[rburke65]

I have an 8 foot flor. fixture mounted on my garage door. I previously posted pictures here when this question came up...???last year. Maybe you could do a topic search. But it works well and it has been on the door for 20+ years anyway.

[buening]

You could always mount some strip lights a foot or two below the ceiling on each wall. This is similar to the idea of chained lights hanging from the tracks, except this is more permanent and stable.

[DarthMuffin]

How about a couple of recessed lighting fixtures? If not that, maybe track lighting on either side of the door rails, and you can point the spots inward.

The original post was asking how to get lights that the garage door wouldn't hit, not about adequate lighting when the door is up.

[Torque1st]

...The original post was asking how to get lights that the garage door wouldn't hit, not about adequate lighting when the door is up.

Sounds like he is asking how to get enough light up front to me...

... This makes the front area darker than I'd like it to be.
I've always just used a work light to get around the issue. But since I'm redoing the overheads, I'd like to create a permanent solution.

[fotoflojoe]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm most likely going to hang eight footers outboard of and level with the door track.