How do I wire lights in a flat roof garage?

[Nick Danger]

I have a New Mexico flat roof house. The roof is fastened to the top of the joists, and the ceiling is fastened to the bottom of the joists.

The garage if unfinished with exposed roof boards. It's a single-car garage. I'm planning to insulate and install drywall on the exterior walls and the ceiling. I would like to install recessed fluorescent lights. They would give me more space than surface mount.

Can I install recessed lights in a space with no air flow?

How do I wire the lights? Can I drill a hole in each of the joists between the light and the breaker box, and between the lights? Or will I have to run conduit?

 

[Stuart in MN]

Light fixtures that are recessed into an insulated space like that have to be marked as IC rated, which means they can have direct contact with insulation.

Generally, you can drill holes in the joists for running wire and you don't need conduit when the wire is hidden inside a wall or ceiling, but you'll have to find out if there are specific rules against it in your town. Holes drilled in joists should be in the center of the beam, not down at the edge which can weaken it.

 

[Nick Danger]

Thanks! I appreciate the help.