Need help with lighting

[plum426]

Just bought a new house with 3 garages. My race shop is 24' by 32' with one 16' and one 9' door. 10' ceilings. How many T8 fixtures should I put in? Garage is not finished yet, but will insulate and drywall in the next month or so. I will have a lift in the one bay.

I was thinking (3) 8' fixtures in a row with 3 rows, total of (9) 8 foot fixtures. to much to little?

Thanks

 

[willysrule]

Put more than you think you need...
One suggestion I can give is to put the lighting on two or three separate switches, so you can decide how bright you want it...
Another big help is paint, if your finishing the inside mark sure the walls are nice and bright…

 

[Zengineer]

First off, I'd stick to 4' fixtures rather than 8'. Bulbs tend to be cheaper, better selection usually, and much easier to transport. For the purposes of this comparison I am assuming you mean fixtures with 2 bulbs per fixture. (I've seen plenty of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 bulbs per fixture out there though...)

Assuming you follow that advice, and put in 18 4' fixtures, you'll be at a whopping 1400lux (134 foot-candles) which is very bright, but not obscene. Depending on your age, eyesight, and the type of work you do it may be just right.

Realistically if you wanted a very bright space while reducing cost a bit, you could design to 1000lux, which would be 13 of the 4' dual lamp fixtures. This would be sufficient light for painting or other detail work.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Another big help is paint, if your finishing the inside mark sure the walls are nice and bright…

+1

How much light you need depends on what you plan on doing in there. Body work needs more light and from multiple angles.

Average homeowner would be fine with 2 or 3 - 4' double bulb fixtures per row, 3 rows. If your cheap, make certain to buy fixtures with pull chains. Install them all on one circuit with one switch and use the pull chains to turn off the ones not in use.

If you are planning on working in a cold garage (well below freezing) you might think about cold weather rated fixtures. Fluorescents won't always start when it is real cold (never had a problem in the garage in rewired last year, even in the teens this winter).

 

[plum426]

The garage will be my race shop for my Mopars. We build motors and transmissions on the side. Have a lift on order for the one bay and will do the engine buidling and fab work in the two car bay. I'm 34 years old, but want enough light for race stuff. No Painting will be in this garage.

The garage was built three years ago with brick/ block construction and 10 foot ceilings. Where the lift is going the ceiling is 14' feet.

The garage just has basic electrical 60 amp service. We are re doing all electrical and then insulating and drywalling. So I can do whatever i want as far as outlets and lighting ect....

so maybe do 3 rows long ways in the garage with 2 bulb T8 4 foot fixtures? I'll post a drawing in a day or so with the layout.

Been lurking on this website for a while and already finished my old garage. Just bought the new house and need a few ideas. Plan on staying for a long time.

Here are a few pics of my cars. The Scamp is street driven with a 340, the 69 goes 10.60's in street trim, and the 68 goes 7.30's @ 188 MPH.

Thanks

 

[regguy1]

Here's my 30' wide x 26' deep with 20 48" 2 tube / plastic diffusor using 6500K tubes. These are HD $20.00 wrap lights. The place is like daylight in there.

 

[Jagman]

Great project. Please post pictures. I am planning a 23 x 32 garage build this Spring with 10' ceilings and a 4 post lift. Let me know how the lighting turns out.

John D.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Here's a quick picture of what I used in my garage. The 4' shop lights are just extra lights if I ever need light down the side of a car.