Lighting Input on 32X24 Garage

[XJay]

Hello GJ!

Been a long-time lurker on the site for tool research. I work on cars as a hobbyist and have finally taken the plunge on building my first garage.

It is a 32X24' garage, 2x6" construction with a 10' walls. Where things get tricky is that I have a vaulted truss which gives an interior height of 13.5' at the peak.(roughly 2/12 elevation inside)

I have read the lighting thread several times but could not comes across an existing design that would work with my constraints. I understand the concept is to run light around the cars but with the vaulted ceiling/overhead door rails, this would be a challenge.

I have drawn up the following, which I think is the best I can get away with and am looking for suggestions/input please! I cannot be the first guy to run into these simple constraints.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Gerald O]

Even with the vaulted ceiling you can still run rows of lights lengthwise between the car bays rather than across the middle of them. Suspend the fixtures from chains (commonly done) if you want them level, or mount directly to the ceiling if you don't mind sloped mounting.

 

[XJay]

So guys typically run them in between the overhead door rails hard mounted to the ceiling?

I did some experimenting the other night and tried a set in between the small and large door and it wasn't too bad. On the exterior edges by the rails I moved them inboard and this seemed better than between the wall and rail.

Thanks for the input -

 

[Gerald O]

In between and crosswise at the front and rear for car work. Lights over the center tend to cast shadows under open hoods.

The lights in between the door rails can cast some shadows where blocked by the rails, but that depends on relative height and reflector shape.

 

[wssix99]

So guys typically run them in between the overhead door rails hard mounted to the ceiling?

If you are going to do that, I'd definitely drop them below the rails, so they don't scatter the light. But - I agree with you. I think having the lights hanging from a vaulted ceiling would be a little odd.

There are pros and cons to anything that you'll do. With a vaulted ceiling, you have a great place up high at the peak to put lights that will scatter well across your entire area. With that in mind, I'd also put the doors on follow-the-ceiling tracks so they don't block out too much of that high light. (If you keep the lights in the middle of the bays, it looks like one light in each bay will be obstructed by the door, which is normal - so having that high light will keep things bright.)


I kept my lights mid-bay as I perceive it to be more efficient for general lighting and don't mind bringing in task lighting for specific work. My garage is the same size as yours except I have a 14' flat ceiling. I have two twin tube fixtures in each bay and have found that adequate for general lighting. (With your ceiling design, I like your three-per-bay layout.)

I did want more lighting for work, so in one bay, I installed 4 tube fixtures. Two of the tubes come on with the normal lights and then I have an extra wall switch where I can power the extra tubes in the fixtures when I need more light to work. I also put a two tube fixture on the wall ahead of the work bay that shines in to my open hood:

View media item 52180
No matter what you do for room lighting, your body is still going to cast shadows in the engine bay, but I've found the fixture mounted on the wall really nice for general maneuvering around the engine.

 

[Kevin54]

Basically my garage is very close to yours .I put in four rows of T12 lights. Each row is 24'. My garage is 28' x 36'. But 8' of my ceiling is 8' and the rest is cathedral trusses set on 10' walls. With all four banks on I get 700 LUX on my IPhone meter. My walls and ceilings are white. Excellent light in there.

 

[XJay]

Gentlemen, thank you for your input! After spending so much time reading, some conversation about this really helps!

Regarding the overhead door rails i've set them as high as possible to my stud height but level to the garage floor. I cannot do a "follow the trusses" setup at the moment. Long story about how the doors were ordered incorrectly.

I'm thinking perhaps remove the middle row at the peak and run 4' 2XT8 fixtures down from the peak between each of the vehicles for a total of 4 that could be used as the "general lighting" and then have the exterior rows on a 2nd switch.

I am not against using task specific lighting and had planned for 2 "work lights" between the 3 bays for underhood work.

Thanks wssix99 for including a picture, really helps as i'm a visual person.

Kevin54 I would love to see a pic of your setup if possible. Are there any in your "the addition" build thread? I will take a stroll through it, love to see these shop builds!

Thanks again gentlemen!!!

 

[wssix99]

I'm thinking perhaps remove the middle row at the peak and run 4' 2XT8 fixtures down from the peak between each of the vehicles for a total of 4 that could be used as the "general lighting" and then have the exterior rows on a 2nd switch.

I had a thought after my initial post that was the opposite - to keep the row a the peak for general lighting and then take out the lights along the wall in lieu of task-oriented lighting. That would give you more utility from the lights that would otherwise be obscured by the open garage doors and would take advantage of the wide spread you'd get from the fixtures at the peak.

You might want to experiment with the fixtures coming down from the peak. If they are pointed at an angle with the roof, you could get some odd shadows and other effects with the light angles and from the fixtures crossing each other. Your "beams" would be crossing. (Yes, that is a Ghostbusters reference - I'll spare you the photographic illustration of that.)

 

[XJay]

Another excellent point, I am starting to think some experimentation might be the key to optimizing my setup. I liked the idea of the beam across the peak and have had a 4' LED worklight setup as temporary lighting in the middle of the garage which has been good enough to do my initial wiring in the walls.

I will have to rough in some boxes this weekend in the roof in flexible locations to try a few different setups.

Oddly enough this has been one of the hardest decisions i've had with the garage. Everything else was a pretty straightforward decision!

 

[wssix99]

Oddly enough this has been one of the hardest decisions i've had with the garage. Everything else was a pretty straightforward decision!

I feel your pain! It took me months to get my lights up. (After the electrician screwed them up twice... and got fired...)


So - do you have an unlimited budget? Want to do something really wild? You could also do an industrial light pipe across the peak - that would be really cool. http://www.insightlighting.com/products.php?family=illusions - light pipe

 

[XJay]

So - do you have an unlimited budget? Want to do something really wild? You could also do an industrial light pipe across the peak - that would be really cool. http://www.insightlighting.com/products.php?family=illusions - light pipe

Sadly I am a mere mortal and my budget matches!