OP
diggler306
Well-known member
Thanks Dubber, your garage(s) have been a big inspiration to me throughout the years! I still have a long way to go to get to your caliber.
Josh's Blue Jay Garage (24'x24' Detached)
- Thread starter diggler306
- Start date
Thanks Dubber, your garage(s) have been a big inspiration to me throughout the years! I still have a long way to go to get to your caliber.
OP
diggler306
Well-known member
We’re quickly coming up to present day here…
A long time ago, my dad had given me a couple old T12 wrap around fixtures he pulled from his rental property. I was anxious to get some real light going, so in mid-December I to put those up somewhat temporarily.
Here is my lighting plan that I’m rolling with (excuse my MSPaint drawing). The numbers were meant to represent corresponding switches, but they are WRONG so please ignore. How I’ve got it switched is as follows:
- The light above the bench is independently switched from above the bench
- The two perpendicular fixtures in the middle are Switch 1
- The four corner fixtures are on Switch 2
- The rest are on Switch 3
I know there are issues with coverage when the doors are open, but to be honest, I don’t work with the doors open due to privacy mostly, but if I do, it’s the middle of day and bright out.
Lured some friends over with beverages and hung the two T12’s.
Wired them and fired them! Actually, I had to turn the heater on for a bit first because the garage is still being kept cold and the T12’s wouldn’t start.
Now in January ’15 (AKA 3 weeks ago!) I picked up a 4’ two-bulb T8 mini-strip fixture from HD and installed it on switch 2. This one has cold temp startup so it would at least start up when I wanted it to! I had to go with a mini-strip because the location of my stubbed wire was too close to the door support brackets, and I couldn’t fit the width of a wrap-around there. Truthfully, I like this fixture but after the cost of the fixture and buying the bulb protector sleeves, the total cost was out of my lighting budget in order to use it at the rest of the locations.
No idea what kind of bulbs are in the T12’s, but I used the Phillips 4100K in the T8 because that’s all they had at the store and I love the light color.
A long time ago, my dad had given me a couple old T12 wrap around fixtures he pulled from his rental property. I was anxious to get some real light going, so in mid-December I to put those up somewhat temporarily.
Here is my lighting plan that I’m rolling with (excuse my MSPaint drawing). The numbers were meant to represent corresponding switches, but they are WRONG so please ignore. How I’ve got it switched is as follows:
- The light above the bench is independently switched from above the bench
- The two perpendicular fixtures in the middle are Switch 1
- The four corner fixtures are on Switch 2
- The rest are on Switch 3
I know there are issues with coverage when the doors are open, but to be honest, I don’t work with the doors open due to privacy mostly, but if I do, it’s the middle of day and bright out.
Lured some friends over with beverages and hung the two T12’s.
Wired them and fired them! Actually, I had to turn the heater on for a bit first because the garage is still being kept cold and the T12’s wouldn’t start.
Now in January ’15 (AKA 3 weeks ago!) I picked up a 4’ two-bulb T8 mini-strip fixture from HD and installed it on switch 2. This one has cold temp startup so it would at least start up when I wanted it to! I had to go with a mini-strip because the location of my stubbed wire was too close to the door support brackets, and I couldn’t fit the width of a wrap-around there. Truthfully, I like this fixture but after the cost of the fixture and buying the bulb protector sleeves, the total cost was out of my lighting budget in order to use it at the rest of the locations.
No idea what kind of bulbs are in the T12’s, but I used the Phillips 4100K in the T8 because that’s all they had at the store and I love the light color.
Nick_Wa
Well-known member
What is the car parking mat?
OP
diggler306
Well-known member
It's just a water-proof mat made from PVC that has a 1" foam piece sewn along the edge of it to help contain the water and sludge. Bought it from the local Co-op Hardware store. My beef with it is a) the price b) the foam is squished and creased in a lot of places not giving a true 1" of protection. The ones with rope sewn into the edge are better, but it's doing its job so far.
OP
diggler306
Well-known member
Couple weeks ago I got to installing my 8” ceiling speakers I picked up from Monoprice. I’m not going for theatre sound in here, just general audio dispersion for TV and radio usage.
Spaced roughly 8’ from each wall to split the garage into thirds.
A shot from above after installing the speaker.
Both speakers installed.
I then started cutting up some spare ½” foam board I had in order to build some speaker enclosures. This will act as my vapour barrier and protect them from the blown-in insulation. One of the speakers is under my attic floor, so I only had enough clearance to build them 1 ½” thick. I cut all my pieces and started to glue them up.
Tuck taped and ready to go on, which is where they sit today!
Spaced roughly 8’ from each wall to split the garage into thirds.
A shot from above after installing the speaker.
Both speakers installed.
I then started cutting up some spare ½” foam board I had in order to build some speaker enclosures. This will act as my vapour barrier and protect them from the blown-in insulation. One of the speakers is under my attic floor, so I only had enough clearance to build them 1 ½” thick. I cut all my pieces and started to glue them up.
Tuck taped and ready to go on, which is where they sit today!
OP
diggler306
Well-known member
This post now brings us to present day!
As mentioned previously, I’m trying not to break the bank on lighting in here but I also don’t want super cheap fixtures. We don’t plan to be in this house forever, and I’m probably not going to take the fixtures with me, so I'd like to save where I can.
I looked at the cheapest Home Depot option which were the $25 Lithonia wrap-arounds… but they did not have the raceway protection cover and required an electrical box which I do not have. Plus, they are they ultimate in flimsy.
Peavy Mart had a small sale on these Greenchoice 48” wrap around fixtures, regularly $30 down to $25. Still cheap but the frame felt marginally stronger and they had the raceway cover that I needed, so I figured what the heck and bought 5 to try them out.
Mounted them 36” from the end wall, and 48” OC from the side walls. Still had to add the relief knockout and wire them up here.
I bought a pack of Phillips 5000K bulbs and installed a couple - HATED THEM. They were too blue, too… “clinical” for me. Took them back and bought the 4100K that I preferred.
Here it is with 4 of the fixtures installed!
When I drew up my lighting plan, I really didn’t know JUST HOW MUCH light I was going to need. I’m also struggling with the bare minimum 30A electrical feed to the garage (REGRET), so the least amount of constant load I can create, the better. My plan was to kind of add them in “one by one” until the light output was sufficient, but I just opted to omit the middle fixtures on the outside rows for now. The wires are still there and can be pulled down if I feel I need the extra light.
This officially brings us to present day! Thanks for catching up with me! My next step is to install my speaker enclosures, then I’ll be ready to blow in the insulation to the ceiling. For the price and effort, I’ll probably be hiring that out to the pros. It’s about $1/sq ft and I've already squeezed my way around the attic enough for my liking.
As mentioned previously, I’m trying not to break the bank on lighting in here but I also don’t want super cheap fixtures. We don’t plan to be in this house forever, and I’m probably not going to take the fixtures with me, so I'd like to save where I can.
I looked at the cheapest Home Depot option which were the $25 Lithonia wrap-arounds… but they did not have the raceway protection cover and required an electrical box which I do not have. Plus, they are they ultimate in flimsy.
Peavy Mart had a small sale on these Greenchoice 48” wrap around fixtures, regularly $30 down to $25. Still cheap but the frame felt marginally stronger and they had the raceway cover that I needed, so I figured what the heck and bought 5 to try them out.
Mounted them 36” from the end wall, and 48” OC from the side walls. Still had to add the relief knockout and wire them up here.
I bought a pack of Phillips 5000K bulbs and installed a couple - HATED THEM. They were too blue, too… “clinical” for me. Took them back and bought the 4100K that I preferred.
Here it is with 4 of the fixtures installed!
When I drew up my lighting plan, I really didn’t know JUST HOW MUCH light I was going to need. I’m also struggling with the bare minimum 30A electrical feed to the garage (REGRET), so the least amount of constant load I can create, the better. My plan was to kind of add them in “one by one” until the light output was sufficient, but I just opted to omit the middle fixtures on the outside rows for now. The wires are still there and can be pulled down if I feel I need the extra light.
This officially brings us to present day! Thanks for catching up with me! My next step is to install my speaker enclosures, then I’ll be ready to blow in the insulation to the ceiling. For the price and effort, I’ll probably be hiring that out to the pros. It’s about $1/sq ft and I've already squeezed my way around the attic enough for my liking.
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Wow, lots of great planning ahead . . . . . low voltage wiring (internet/phone/speakers, TV), Xmas light outdoor plug, attic space/attic door, insulation, electrical boxes with wrapped vapor barrier, etc.
For all that, it's a . .
However, all that electrical work/lighting etc and only have 30A and small subpanel with no shutoff, that's going to hurt you long-term. In the electrical conduit, is there room are for individual wires that you could re-pull?? What size is the conduit for electrical?? Looks like low voltage conduit is bigger . . . maybe switch the pulls between conduits??
Any air compressor planned for garage??
For all that, it's a . .
However, all that electrical work/lighting etc and only have 30A and small subpanel with no shutoff, that's going to hurt you long-term. In the electrical conduit, is there room are for individual wires that you could re-pull?? What size is the conduit for electrical?? Looks like low voltage conduit is bigger . . . maybe switch the pulls between conduits??
Any air compressor planned for garage??
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OP
diggler306
Well-known member
Wow, lots of great planning ahead . . . . . low voltage wiring (internet/phone/speakers, TV), Xmas light outdoor plug, attic space/attic door, insulation, electrical boxes with wrapped vapor barrier, etc.
For all that, it's a . .
I try my best to think of everything, which makes me overthink a lot. I love when things are perfect and just work out as they should.
hahaa That being said, I very much agree with you.
Electrical service wasn't even the nearest of my concerns when we first had the garage built. I literally just took exactly what they gave me and didn't know any better. It didn't even dawn on me until some point down the road that I was severely limited in terms of what I could have out there. By that point, I had already dug two trenches and built a deck over top of the path of the power. The #10-3 NMWU is actually direct buried and the conduit only runs to the bottom of the trench, then the feeder exits and goes on its own... making it much harder to upgrade now.
I do have 220v available, but i didn't install any receptacles for it. Truth is I don't weld, I'm not a mechanic... I just do light homeowner stuff and hope to get into some woodworking eventually. I know I'll have to be smart with how I manage things for sure.
Down the road, if I'm still in this house and have progressed to a point where I need more power, one option could be to take over the 1 1/4" conduit I ran for low voltage, and pull individual wires. Those low voltage wires are obsolete with Wi-fi and cordless devices anyway. It would take some remodeling, but it could be done.
As for a compressor, I'm hoping to get a 20-30 gal 120v unit as soon as I find a good one. At the moment I just have a small 5 gal dual-tank unit.
Money2536
Well-known member
This build process is looking nice man. 5000K isn't for everyone. It suits my space very well, but my theme was to make my garage very sterile and clinical. Suits my personality...
Please keep posting updates. I think it helps us all come up with cool ideas. I want to love this forum, but there is so much **** on here. I think we need a Garage Build section.
Please keep posting updates. I think it helps us all come up with cool ideas. I want to love this forum, but there is so much **** on here. I think we need a Garage Build section.
Read through your whole build thread. Great job considering you were green. I can't imagine how it would have turned out if you weren't. You are obviously a smart guy and caught on very quickly. It does **** that you only have 30A of electrical. If your careful you can work with this. I run all my woodworking machines at my home garage on a 20A breaker. The lights on another one. So it can be done.
When I started I was green as well but I have a dad like yours who is a machinist, welder, woodworker and knows everything there is to know about everything. So even now when I get stumped I just call him and he knows the answer. HA
You are very good planner. Look forward to you build thread and updates.
When I started I was green as well but I have a dad like yours who is a machinist, welder, woodworker and knows everything there is to know about everything. So even now when I get stumped I just call him and he knows the answer. HA
You are very good planner. Look forward to you build thread and updates.
OP
diggler306
Well-known member
I just looked at your thread and holy smokes!! You are right that the 5000k lights look VERY good in your garage.
Thanks for listening to my ramblings! I do tend to pick things up pretty quick, and most of my planning ability comes from my background as a Programmer. Plan to code it right the first time so you're not debugging your life away later. Also, spending far too much time on this site helps.
OP
diggler306
Well-known member
Made a couple small (but major) steps since my last post. I finally did the last of the ceiling **** I needed to do before insulation could go in. I hung my final fluorescent light, which then allowed me to install my ceiling speaker enclosures, which then allowed me to re-install my attic floor, which then allowed me to……. INSULATE!
The last of the permanent fluorescents went up beside the heater. It’s spaced a bit closer to the wall so as not to be in front of the heater. It's at about 30" whereas the rest are at 48". This is also where my whiteboard will go so the extra light on the wall works well.
My foam enclosures got lined with some black death, then plunked down over top.
Once installed, I tuck taped and insulated around this one because it will be beneath my attic floor.
I re-installed my attic floor, which gives me a 6’x6’ area of cold storage. To hold back the insulation that was to be blown in, I just made a fence out of some cardboard. [SPOILER ALERT: Insulation!]
I had called around to get quotes on blow-in insulation and almost all of them came in around the $0.90-$1.00/sq ft for R40, and $1.15/sq ft for R50. So I just went with the company that could come the soonest. They showed up on Friday and got to work….
In under an hour, there was a beautiful sea of pillowy softness throughout.
Before I could turn the heat on and LEAVE it on (Hallelujah!), I had to seal up my attic hatch. I’m going to eventually install pull-down attic stairs, but this will be my temporary solution. I have a bunch of patching and painting to do still on the ceiling as you can see.
Installed some jambs for the hatch to sit on.
Then some weather stripping…
Felt so nice to put a lot of my junk back up into the attic. Here I’m starting to get cleaned up and yes, the HEAT IS ON!
Brought the Audi in from the cold to melt away. The A3, my wife and I are all extremely happy to finally be at this point.
The last of the permanent fluorescents went up beside the heater. It’s spaced a bit closer to the wall so as not to be in front of the heater. It's at about 30" whereas the rest are at 48". This is also where my whiteboard will go so the extra light on the wall works well.
My foam enclosures got lined with some black death, then plunked down over top.
Once installed, I tuck taped and insulated around this one because it will be beneath my attic floor.
I re-installed my attic floor, which gives me a 6’x6’ area of cold storage. To hold back the insulation that was to be blown in, I just made a fence out of some cardboard. [SPOILER ALERT: Insulation!]
I had called around to get quotes on blow-in insulation and almost all of them came in around the $0.90-$1.00/sq ft for R40, and $1.15/sq ft for R50. So I just went with the company that could come the soonest. They showed up on Friday and got to work….
In under an hour, there was a beautiful sea of pillowy softness throughout.
Before I could turn the heat on and LEAVE it on (Hallelujah!), I had to seal up my attic hatch. I’m going to eventually install pull-down attic stairs, but this will be my temporary solution. I have a bunch of patching and painting to do still on the ceiling as you can see.
Installed some jambs for the hatch to sit on.
Then some weather stripping…
Felt so nice to put a lot of my junk back up into the attic. Here I’m starting to get cleaned up and yes, the HEAT IS ON!
Brought the Audi in from the cold to melt away. The A3, my wife and I are all extremely happy to finally be at this point.
dubber
Well-known member
Congrats man, you both must be over the moon at this stage, especially in the midst of a Canadian winter.
MilMascaras
Member
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2015
- Messages
- 5
Damn impressive
Terranova
Well-known member
Yeah man, that's a great set up. It's great to have a mate that's supportive too.
OP
diggler306
Well-known member
Thank you both. It's certainly helpful to have a supportive partner. She'd let me buy any tool I wanted, without even having to ask. She also likes to get in on projects when possible. Even at 9 months pregnant she did all the pocket holes in 9 drawers I'm currently building.