Lighting Advise for Bulkhead Complication....

[TPM01]

Hello all, been doing a lot of reading on these forums and I think I have a setup figured out, but I thought I would post up here and get peoples feedback.

We recently purchased a house with a 21x19 garage. I'm looking to install some lighting in it because currently it has 1 incandescent bulb socket. I recently installed some chamberlain door openers which has increased the light, but still not sufficient.

What complicates my garage is that I have multiple bulkheads protruding into my garage along with a set of stairs, which makes things challenging.

The Biggest bulkhead is 7ft and 7in from the floor. I was thinking about installing 2 x T8 8-foot open bulb fixtures that take 4 foot bulbs, mounted across the garage on the lowest bulkhead.

I dont use the garage as much as a lot of you do, but I need some good task lighting for garage projects. Anyone have thoughts on this please?

Thanks very much in advance.

Please excuse the messy pictures, we just moved in.

 

[tfi racing]

You will lose about 5" of headroom with T8 fixtures,not a bad solution,but here is a better one.Head on over to Home Depot,grab 3 or 4 of the 48" LED strip lights(about $80 each,I have them in my wife's garage,they work and look good,especially at such a low ceiling height) and wire them end to end on the bulkhead,feeding them by covering that existing octagon box.I'll try to find the model#,I think this is an ideal application for these fixtures, you should be more than happy with them.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Is there any space between the beam and ductwork that Im guessing is inside the bulkhead?
Maybe some small can lights in there?

 

[TPM01]

Yo.I'll try to find the model#,I think this is an ideal application for these fixtures, you should be more than happy with them.

Cool, thanks.

 

[TPM01]

Is there any space between the beam and ductwork that Im guessing is inside the bulkhead?
Maybe some small can lights in there?

Unfortunately not as much as I would need to do a lighting application like that. There is ducts in there.

 

[happy2rv]

If you have enough space in the bulkhead to run wiring, I would probably put up a couple of 4' LED or fluorescent fixtures spaced fairly evenly on the bulkhead. That's assuming head room isn't a problem. They shouldn't hang down any more than the CFL that's there now.

I would add additional lights around the rest of the area depending on how you plan to utilize the space. If you are going to keep your tools and maybe a work bench or work area where the toolbox is now behind the car, I would hang another 4' fixture in the center of that recess. I would also add fixtures toward the front of the garage between the bulk head and the overhead door. If you're not planning to do serious work in that area, you could get away with keyless fixtures like the CFL that's on the bulkhead now. Money permitting, I would put the 4' fixtures there as well. For the areas other than the bulkhead, you could use the relatively inexpensive 4' hanging LEDs from Costco or Sam's club. For the bulkhead, I think you will want a flush mount wrapping lens type fixture.

It's hard to tell from pictures, but the way that area behind the bulkhead is broken up with the angled bulkhead to the wall, you might need a fixture over the stairwell to get decent lighting without shadows there as well.

All of this assumes you can get access to run the wiring. If you have access overhead, great. Otherwise, you're looking at lots of drywall repairs. It's doable, but not nearly as much fun...