shop lights under gaage door

[Gmclowsierra]

ok im sure this has been asked before. I want to add more light to the front of my shop. problem is my garage doors are in the way. I thought about hanging a cable from side to side and hanging them from it. is there any other ideas to look at. my garage is 28 wide. I have 3 more 4ft shop lights that I can use. any help?

 

[ItsNemo]

Hang them on the walls just under the height of the rails.

 

[MrBalll]

If you have a tall enough garage with an extended height door and don't mind the way it looks then by all means hang the wire across your wall and hang the lights from it.
If not, like stated you may could just put them on the wall at an angle so they face under the door.

 

[jon72vega]

This is how I did mine:

 

[mrrooG8]

I hate having this problem. Plenty of light when door is closed. Then half my lights cut off when open. Since we have SUVs and I need all the height I can get, hanging lights towards the edge would not help. Not sure what my plans are yet. Only really a issue when working with the door open at night.

 

[787B]

Why not attach a couple of LED strip lights directly to the door?
Plug them in when the door is open, or leave then plugged in with enough slack in the cord that the door can be opened and closed.

 

[Blk88GT]

Why not hang them from the bottom of the rail? It can easily be done.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Mine come out from the side walls. I thought about having them hinge back so they could be moved out of the way, but I decided against it since I will never pull a car in on that side of my garage.

So when the door is up, there is still light:

Here's a video clip that shows how the door moves up and over the lights. The lights are made out of cake pans, by the way.

 

[Dustball]

This is how I did mine:

I see you used my idea

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=248095

 

[egnorant]

I have been keeping my eye out for ideas myself. My problem is that on one side I have my lift and must shut the door for most of my lift usage. But with something on the lift, light is blocked anyhow.

Current setup is only 2 lights on that side. Plan to add 2 more between the doors, drop them all to slightly below the level of the doors and trim reflectors to allow light to shine on my freshly insulated and white doors.

Looking at maybe some sort of light under the raised door, but on the lift side it would need to be tucked close to the front so it would not get in the way of my lift.

Bruce

 

[kingchevy]

I have an 18"door with this problem. I think the only way to span that far under the track would be to make a steel truss. I also thought about mounting lights on the door that could be only used in the up position. Is there any possible safe, legal way that they could plug in when the door is opened?

 

[brownsmustang]

At my house in tulsa I mounted lights to the door itself. Then if I needed the light I just plugged them in.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Gmclowsierra]

thanks for the ideas guys. gotta figure out what to do.

 

[REKIII]

So is there not enough room above the door for a light to hang when the door is open?

If there is, why not mount them there then close the door?

 

[rlitman]

I have an 18"door with this problem. I think the only way to span that far under the track would be to make a steel truss. I also thought about mounting lights on the door that could be only used in the up position. Is there any possible safe, legal way that they could plug in when the door is opened?

Funny you mention that. This just popped up today in a thread I'm following:
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5689247&postcount=44

It shows that a 20' span of unistrut will carry a 170 lb uniform load. That's plenty of strength to carry the strut itself, and two or three shop lights. No truss necessary, though at maximum load, there will be 5.6" of deflection. I'd plan on around 2" of sag in the middle...

 

[CoogarXR]

Does your garage door have a window? Line up the lights so when the door is up, they shine through the window.

 

[jimmyfloyd]

Does your garage door have a window? Line up the lights so when the door is up, they shine through the window.

This is what I did with mine. Works for the most part. I'm considering mounting a 4' set parallel to the upper rails as well, with the bulbs just below the rail itself to help with more light, although I really like the idea of mounting the light to the door itself.