Lights, Sheetrock, Action!!!!!

[car-nut]

O.K. guys I have a few questions.
I am having a new garage built. Foundation is in and the framers arrive Monday morning. I am building a 36 x 28 with two 10 foot wide overhead doors. I have done a few searches and still have some questions.
I am a hot rodder and will be using the shop to do body and paint work as well as just plain working on hot rods. Basically this will be a hobbie shop.
Or Man Town as my wife and kids refer to it.

Lighting: I have been looking at lights at Home Depot. What would you guys think is best. T8 or T12?.....4' or 8'?......reflctor or no?.....how many lights would you use?

Sheetrock: Would you recomend 4x8 or 4x12? I read somewhere on here it is better to hang the sheetrock horizontal than vertical? Is half inch thick OK?

Anything else I should be thinking about now????

I would love to post pics but they are always to big of a file. I can't seem to get them smaller no matter how many times I have tried. The info on the Sticky is great but for some reason it will not work for me on this computer.
I just bought this house and moved in this past spring. I am lucky enough to already have a three car attached to the house and a wife willing to let me build my dream shop in the back yard.

Thanks.......car-nut

 

[Der Bugmeister]

I went with 4' T8s in mine based on assorted recommendations. Amongst other things, the 4' tubes aren't as expensive as the 8' tubes. Check the "K" value of the lights...that's how bright they are. Something in the range of 4800K will give you a good bit of brightness.

Check out this thread debating the pros and cons of vertical vs horizontal; I'm not sure if there was ever a consensus reached. Personally, I'm a fan of horizontal, however you can save yourself a bunch of **** joints by going vertical. Length will depend on your framing. I made the mistake of thinking "Ok, I've got 30' walls, so I can use 10' boards and minimize my joints (horizontal)"...only I didn't take into account that those 10' boards wouldn't be ending on a stud. Oops. So wait until the framing is done, take some measurements and decide on your board length then. You might find a combination of 10's and 12's are better. Obviously you want to minimize wastage as that's just money down the drain. Half inch should be fine, and you can get heavier duty ceiling board to prevent sagging. Talk to the guys at the yard to find out what's available.

For photo resizing, check out the PowerToys link in this thread: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5220

 

[car-nut]

Thanks for the link for the resizer, now lets see if it really works.

Also thanks for the info on the lights and sheetrock

 

[GShelton]

Lighting: I have been looking at lights at Home Depot. What would you guys think is best. T8 or T12?.....4' or 8'?......reflctor or no?.....how many lights would you use?

T-8s are more efficient to run and 4' bulbs are easier to bring home and store.

There are 4 things you need to look at with lighting:

Lumens, Wattage, CRI, and Color Temperature

Lumens is the actual amount of light put out by a bulb (most think it is the wattage, however, the lumens is the true mark)

Wattage is going to determine how efficient the lights are. The higher the wattage, the more you owe the electric company.

CRI (Color Reference Index) is how true the color is in the light. 100 is direct sunlight and the highest rating. If you can stay in the 90s your reds will stay red and not look orange or brown. (This is most important in the painting hobby.)

Color Temperature (the K number that Der Bugmeister mentioned) is how warm or cold the light appears to be. A rating around 5000 is the ideal place. There is a nice chart here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
It will show when the light becomes blue or yellowed.

(By the way, most of these are more bulb related than fixture related. Just make sure you get a fixture that matches the wattage of the bulbs.)

As for how many and whether or not to get the reflectors depends on somethings you did not mention. Ceiling height, wall color, ceiling material and color. Positioning also depends on where you work and what you are doing in that space.

Sheetrock: Would you recomend 4x8 or 4x12? I read somewhere on here it is better to hang the sheetrock horizontal than vertical? Is half inch thick OK?

Drywall should be hung horizontal as the "grain" runs the length and not width. Horizontal hung will give you far superior strength in your walls. 1/2" is fine. I would however recommend spending the little extra money and do the fire retardant drywall. Even in the detached garage, it could buy you some time should a fire start. You may be able to save the structure.

Anything else I should be thinking about now????

There are lots of things to think about. LOL! Air lines, electrical plan, etc.. should be higher on the list than the drywall.

Good luck to you. The pictures look great.

 

[PAToyota]

Drywall should be hung horizontal as the "grain" runs the length and not width. Horizontal hung will give you far superior strength in your walls. 1/2" is fine. I would however recommend spending the little extra money and do the fire retardant drywall. Even in the detached garage, it could buy you some time should a fire start. You may be able to save the structure.

Fire resistant drywall starts at 5/8" - and the extra thickness also means that it is a lot more resistant to abuse. You'd be amazed how easy it is to accidentally go through 1/2" drywall...

 

[car-nut]

GShelton,


Thanks for the info. Please do not misinterpret the question of other things I should be looking at. I was refering to the lighting and sheetrock. Heating, plumbing(both air and water) and electrical have all been thought out.

walls will be 10', all walls and ceiling will be painted white

 

[Egan]

If you have the space, think about tandem 4' T-8 fixtures. They're single 8' fixtures that are two 4' lights put together. It simplifies the wiring and mounting for you.

Here's what they look like in my high bay:

 

[Tyson]

Dear god don't get T12 unless you want yellow light, and to replace them after 2010 (you won't be able to buy bulbs after that).

Go T8, you wont regret it.

 

[Der Bugmeister]

Do you get much flicker with those fans so low under the lights, Egan?

 

[Egan]

Do you get much flicker with those fans so low under the lights, Egan?

None at all. The lights are maybe 4 or 5 inches deep, and the fans hang down at least 12". I can see shadows, but no flickering at all.

 

[red vette mike]

O.K. guys I have a few questions.
I am having a new garage built. Foundation is in and the framers arrive Monday morning. I am building a 36 x 28 with two 10 foot wide overhead doors. I have done a few searches and still have some questions.
I am a hot rodder and will be using the shop to do body and paint work as well as just plain working on hot rods. Basically this will be a hobbie shop.
Or Man Town as my wife and kids refer to it.

Lighting: I have been looking at lights at Home Depot. What would you guys think is best. T8 or T12?.....4' or 8'?......reflctor or no?.....how many lights would you use?

Sheetrock: Would you recomend 4x8 or 4x12? I read somewhere on here it is better to hang the sheetrock horizontal than vertical? Is half inch thick OK?

Anything else I should be thinking about now????

I would love to post pics but they are always to big of a file. I can't seem to get them smaller no matter how many times I have tried. The info on the Sticky is great but for some reason it will not work for me on this computer.
I just bought this house and moved in this past spring. I am lucky enough to already have a three car attached to the house and a wife willing to let me build my dream shop in the back yard.

Thanks.......car-nut

I am about through with my 31x54x12 garge additon. I used 'luan' board on the walls (4x8 sheets) and the ceilings. It took 3 sheets 4' high each to go floor to ceiling. I caulked the seams and painted all a semi-gloss white (I bought a paint sprayer which is real fast but burns up paint like you cannot believe). You can see the seams somewhat but the overall look is real nice. This 3/8" board is going to be much tougher than sheetrock. The board cost about $17 per sheet and was likely comparable to the cost of sheetrock installed. I was able to do the walls and ceilings myself. It is easy to mount things like lights, air tubing, etc into this wood. I have 25 4' 4 gang fluorescent fixtures (Lithonia) and it is bright as a sunny day in there. This web site was invaluable to me in getting this job done. Good luck.
Mike

 

[Ryan Wilke]

RVM,

I know that material cost is always an issue, but luan sheeting is typically only 1/8" thick!

If the walls will see any amount of "traffic" (like bikes or riding lawnmower), then I'd prefer to have a little more "meat" on the walls from the floor up to about 6' high, such as with some 1/2" plywood or OSB. Above 6' high luan or such would be fine in most cases. However, if you are only going to **** cabinets or hang shelving on the wall, then the 1/8" wall covering would likely be adequate.

If I was to do a garage again, here is what I'd do:
On my inside walls I'd install a 2x6 kickboard at the floor, then 4'x8' 1/2" plywood or OSB sheeting on top of the 2x6, then I'd split a sheet of it (2'x8') to get me roughly 6.5' off the ground. Then from the 6.5' plywood edge to the ceiling and across the ceiling, I'd install some foil-backed styrofoam sheeting (with the large ~1.25" dia. plastic washered nails) and have the foil facing toward the work space. I'd then install 1.5" wide furring strips along the styrofoam edges to trim it out and to ensure it would not sag.

-- The 2x6 kickboard is tuff and can be replaced easily if any water was to get against it and damage it,
-- The plywood is tuff enough to be banged against without putting a hole through it (unlike drywall),
-- The shiny foiled sheeting above that would reflect the room light wonderfully and provide some insulation!

Any electric or air line recepticles as well as most shelving would be easily mounted in the plywood section of the walls. Yeah, I'd likely also roll on a sealer, paint or stain onto the plywood section, probably a light gray...... Oh, yeah,,,,that would be NICE!

I wouldn't worry about the stepped thickness edge at the transition from the 2x6 to 1/2" plywood, as I would simply notch the bottom 6" section of any vertical support I may need, such as with a 2x4 mounted to the wall for shelving or a bench.

RW

P.S.
I have seen white sheet metal installed for an INSIDE wall, which seemed to make good sense for a paint or wash booth. But, for a hobby garage, I'd prefer the 'warmth' and flat surface of the wood sheeting.

 

[JMURiz]

If you have the space, think about tandem 4' T-8 fixtures. They're single 8' fixtures that are two 4' lights put together. It simplifies the wiring and mounting for you.

How is the light output with those 4 fixtures? I was thinking of using the same fixtures (and fans for that matter)...I'm guessing Home Depot?

 

[Egan]

How is the light output with those 4 fixtures? I was thinking of using the same fixtures (and fans for that matter)...I'm guessing Home Depot?

Lowe's.

I have two bays in my garage. One is 33' x 15' and 13' high. It has 4 of the 8' tandems and is pictured above. It puts out more than enough light for the space (we'll see how well it does once the lift goes in ). The other bay is 32' x 19' and 8' high. It has 4 fixtures as well and you can perform surgery in there if necessary.

The key is of course having a reflective surface. My interior is painted in a semi-gloss, slightly off-white color. Darker/duller colors would reduce the amount of light reaching the floor.

 

[JMURiz]

Good, just trying to get a feel for how many I will need (24x22 with 15' peak ceiling). If you don't have enough light with the lift you can do like I plan and mount a fixture on the side walls, for added light when detailing and/or working under the lift.

 

[Egan]

Good, just trying to get a feel for how many I will need (24x22 with 15' peak ceiling). If you don't have enough light with the lift you can do like I plan and mount a fixture on the side walls, for added light when detailing and/or working under the lift.

Ya, I almost roughed in for side lighting low to the ground but decided against it. If I need the light, I'll just get the plug-in type.

 

[norrie]

T-8s are more efficient to run and 4' bulbs are easier to bring home and store.

There are 4 things you need to look at with lighting:

Lumens, Wattage, CRI, and Color Temperature

Lumens is the actual amount of light put out by a bulb (most think it is the wattage, however, the lumens is the true mark)

Wattage is going to determine how efficient the lights are. The higher the wattage, the more you owe the electric company.

CRI (Color Reference Index) is how true the color is in the light. 100 is direct sunlight and the highest rating. If you can stay in the 90s your reds will stay red and not look orange or brown. (This is most important in the painting hobby.)

Color Temperature (the K number that Der Bugmeister mentioned) is how warm or cold the light appears to be. A rating around 5000 is the ideal place. There is a nice chart here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
It will show when the light becomes blue or yellowed.

(By the way, most of these are more bulb related than fixture related. Just make sure you get a fixture that matches the wattage of the bulbs.)

As for how many and whether or not to get the reflectors depends on somethings you did not mention. Ceiling height, wall color, ceiling material and color. Positioning also depends on where you work and what you are doing in that space.



Drywall should be hung horizontal as the "grain" runs the length and not width. Horizontal hung will give you far superior strength in your walls. 1/2" is fine. I would however recommend spending the little extra money and do the fire retardant drywall. Even in the detached garage, it could buy you some time should a fire start. You may be able to save the structure.



There are lots of things to think about. LOL! Air lines, electrical plan, etc.. should be higher on the list than the drywall.

Good luck to you. The pictures look great.

Are Lumens rated on a curve? What I mean is, if I could find a bulb rated at 1 watt but 10000 lumens, would it give off as much light as a bulb rated at 1000 wats and 10000 lumens?

 

[bmwpower]

Are Lumens rated on a curve? What I mean is, if I could find a bulb rated at 1 watt but 10000 lumens, would it give off as much light as a bulb rated at 1000 wats and 10000 lumens?

1 lumen = 1 lumen

Perceived output is dependent on fixture height, however.