14x8 space.

[polexican23]

Hey guys I stopped at a buddies place last night that just bought his home. Funny enough it is a house that we also bid on and lost, but didnt know that he was the won that out bid us. He waaaaay out bid us.

One of the reasons he bought the place was due to a really cool bonus room on the back of his garage. It is a 14x8 room that currently has no lighting in it. He would like to put in some recessed lighting to not crowd the small space with a T8 or T5.

We have done our home work with the light splash circle and everything. But i would prefer a human response. We looked at 3" and 4" leds of this...

We thought about using 3 in the space all in line. Would you guys advise using 3 or 4 inch? and would you advise for against using this style can?

Not sure what we wants to do with the space yet. RC car building or just a little poker room.

 

[2ManyProjects]

Hey guys I stopped at a buddies place last night that just bought his home. Funny enough it is a house that we also bid on and lost, but didnt know that he was the won that out bid us. He waaaaay out bid us.

You guys should have talked to each other sooner. Either way, someone would have saved a ton of money.

One of the reasons he bought the place was due to a really cool bonus room on the back of his garage. It is a 14x8 room that currently has no lighting in it. He would like to put in some recessed lighting to not crowd the small space with a T8 or T5.

I can't say that I agree with your characterization of T8 or T5 tubes necessarily "crowding" the space. But there can be many other legitimate reasons for using recessed cans (or other types of lighting); so no big deal.

We have done our home work with the light splash circle and everything.

When you did that "homework", did you take into account that "working height" is significantly (possibly vastly) different from "ceiling height"? Which leads us to... Exactly what is the ceiling height in this space, and how is it finished?

But i would prefer a human response. We looked at 3" and 4" leds of this...

{image deleted}

We thought about using 3 in the space all in line. Would you guys advise using 3 or 4 inch? and would you advise for against using this style can?

As you should have gleaned from that "homework", it all depends on the specific photometric data for each particular fixture, and for the various different types of bulbs which can be used in those fixtures, both of which can vary wildly. In this context, "3-inch" vs. "4-inch" is essentially meaningless.

Not sure what we wants to do with the space yet. RC car building or just a little poker room.

That too will make a huge impact on determining "proper" lighting. In fact, I would consider it a prerequisite. Until you KNOW what you're going to use the space for, it is nigh-on impossible to determine how best to light it.

 

[polexican23]

thanks for the response. It is 8 ft ceilings sheetrocked.

Shoot I wish I would have talked to him, I didnt even know he was looking to buy. He picked me up and we went to his "new" house. Thats when I looked at him and asked if he was the Dbag that bid 10k over list but wanted a later closing date. As apposed to my 5k under list with a 30 day close date but negotiable to longer if seller needed it.

He had a few PumpKing ($8 a bottle) beers in his fridge ,and I drank them for payback.

The lights in the pic were the Ultitech 4 inch found at Lowes

http://www.lowes.com/pd_403329-4784...AWELAID=1460881786&kpid=3745685&"cagpspn=pla"

I am pretty sure he will use it as a poker (get drunk) room. He is better at that then building RC cars.

 

[pattenp]

Is the ceiling area insulated? You need to check that the recessed cans are rated to be within insulation.

Edit: Never mind, LED didn't sink in when reading your post.




*

 

[2ManyProjects]

thanks for the response. It is 8 ft ceilings sheetrocked.

OK, that gives us a starting point, at least.

The lights in the pic were the Ultitech 4 inch found at Lowes

Unfortunately, they don't seem to offer any photmetric data/charts for that model (which is their "house brand"; make of that what you will). So it's anyone's guess what the beam spread/pattern will be.

I am pretty sure he will use it as a poker (get drunk) room. He is better at that then building RC cars.

In which case, an entirely different lighting scheme is called for than would be the case if he were attempting to do any real work in there. One scenario might be to have a series of very small recessed cans similar to what you cited (but smaller, if possible) with relatively narrow-spread beams, spaced every few feet around the perimeter of the room, about a foot or so (maybe 1.5 feet) away from each wall. These would be set up as "wall washers", and provide some fairly dramatic (if deliberately uneven) general lighting; just HOW dramatic/uneven would depend in large part on the spacing between each fixture vs. their beam patterns. To this, add one large-ish/bright-ish fixture (could be another recessed can, or could be a decorative pendant-type lamp) directly over (and rather tightly focused upon) wherever the poker table will be. Switch them separately, using dimmer controls which can automagically do "resume dim" and "ramp to preset brightness level" functions. He will be overjoyed at the "coolness factor".

OTOH, if this is to be a "dual purpose" space, then some concession to serious light for serious work needs to be made. Part of that could be some nice LED-based strips mounted under upper cabinets in whatever becomes the "workbench" space. But some form of reasonably bright & even general illumination will surely also be needed. If the poker table is more-or-less in the middle of this 14x8 space, perhaps one twin-tube F32T8 fluorescent fixture on each side of the table, centered between and running parallel to the long walls? That would put him right at 100 (initial) lumens/ft.^2; which should be more than adequate, along with the under-cabinet/task lighting.

Understand, all this rambling is squarely in the "just a thought" category; and until your friend really nails down EXACTLY how he plans to use the space, it's probably premature.

 

[TiredDude]

Those are some pretty steep lights. I would think the same could be achieved for 1/3 the cost, but sounds like costs don't matter to this guy.

 

[polexican23]

2MP always a wealth of knowledge. your help is much appreciated. I am not sure he was worried about the cost so much as he figured he would only need 3 at most (was his thinking) they are IC rated and looked easy to install. Cut hole, shove in hole, wire, done.