What Interior wall color? How Many Lights?

[MJPPED]

I am in the finishing stages of My Garage.
Its 32x56 and 12'6" high.
I put up 10, 8'fixtures with T-8 bulbs.
How many lights or Lums should I have. Doesn't seem bright enough I going to paint the walls to see if that helps.
What would be a good color combo?
I will do the top half of the wall with white but undecided on lower

 

[Big-Foot]

White on the top and Light blue or gray for the bottom. All gloss or semi-gloss..

Light? The more the better but I am going with 6 banks of lights on 6 switches so I can tailor the lighting, plus I have 4 four foot T8 6 bulb panels for task lighting.

You'd think I was almost blind or something, but I'm not.. Just that the older I get, the more light I want and need..

 

[Always_Thinkin]

My paint color choices are white on top, grey on bottom and a yellow stripe. The white ceiling will help out with the lighting.

 

[glntom]

I think you need about 8 more fixtures....but I like lots of light.
I have 12 8ft T8 fixtures in a 36'x36', and am thinking about adding 3 more fixtures on the side walls to help when working under the lift.

 

[MJPPED]

My paint color choices are white on top, grey on bottom and a yellow stripe. The white ceiling will help out with the lighting.

that dosent sound bad, do you have any Pics with those colors and stripe?

 

[KPSquared]

I'm going to have 26 4', 2 bulb T8's in 832 sq.ft. (28x34 inside minus the 10x12 room in the corner) 12' 6" ceilings.

That should be lots of light based on my calculations. That doesn't include task lighting for the work benches.

Paint will help a bit.

I'll try and find the links to the simple lightning theory I used to calculate brightness in the space. I think you maybe undershot on lighting for the size of space if you were aiming for super bright.

 

[dladcock]

I'm running six two bulb 8ft T8 fixtures in a 24x32 area. It's giving me good light, but at some time, as I age, I may add to these. The overall shop is 32x47, so you could probably do with another 5+ fixtures, if not the 8 already suggested. I know there are all kinds of calculations for lighting, but having it on paper and having on the ceiling made the difference for me.

dla

 

[Always_Thinkin]

that dosent sound bad, do you have any Pics with those colors and stripe?

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures. I was hoping to have my garage painted this color combo last year but I haven't yet. I wanted something different from what everyone else has done.

 

[MJPPED]

I'm going to have 26 4', 2 bulb T8's in 832 sq.ft. (28x34 inside minus the 10x12 room in the corner) 12' 6" ceilings.

That should be lots of light based on my calculations. That doesn't include task lighting for the work benches.

Paint will help a bit.

I'll try and find the links to the simple lightning theory I used to calculate brightness in the space. I think you maybe undershot on lighting for the size of space if you were aiming for super bright.

Thanks,
I went to Electric Supply Company gave them the size and height. They used a computor program to figure what I needed. I went back and complained about pore lighting and He told me bulbs in a 40hr breakin time and they will get brighter.. My feeling I dont have enough light in My Garage

 

[KPSquared]

I've been digging through my book marks and my computer but I can't seem to find the stuff I based my layout on.

I know I printed it so I'll have to go dig though some physical files. . .

Edit* - I found it!!! Lighting the Small Workshop

i could be right out to lunch though. . . i still dont have a single light up. I just thought a lot about it. That article is just the simplest explanation I have found.

Heres a link to my lighting layout thread. . .not that it will help a ton.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142532


As for colors, I'm going with a gloss light grey on the walls. Really light, but not quite white.

 

[John in OH]

In my new shop, 34' x 54' x 12', I installed 12, 8' long, T8 fixtures with 4, 48" bulbs per fixture. Additional task lighting has been installed over work benches and saw tables. So far, this level of lighting has proven satisfactory.



The ceiling is gloss white steel and does a great job reflecting light. I'm still struggling with what colors I should choose for the walls, but the upper portions will definitely be a very light color. I've experimented with a Clover White upper, medium green lower, and dark green stripe and base, but I'm not yet sold on this scheme.

 

[MJPPED]

Thanks Everyone,
Im going to have to move My 2 rows and space them different. Im going to add 2 more rows. That will be a total of 20 fixtures with 4 T-8 bulbs in each.
I prob will still add a light above My bench.
What ***** is I already have the drywall on the ceiling finished and painted.

 

[Rick98Z]

I am planning on going with white tin ceiling for added reflection. On walls, white top with grey bottom and middle accent stripe with your color of choice. I have a 40x40 main garage area with 12' ceiling height and used 12 - t8 fixtures that are 8' long and use 4 of the 4' bulbs. I am very happy with the lighting but will still probably add a light over my workbench once I get that far...

 

[GarageEnvy]

My space is similar in size 34' deep by 53' wide. I used 16 8' T8 fixtures with 4 bulbs per fixture. The lighting is great. I think it could be done with less but I placed the fixtures over the benches and tools. There is a program called Visual Basic which was free to download that gave great information on the lumens at different heights. I found it helpful. Also, I really like the light from my 5000k bulbs.

 

[#1SomeGuy]

My space is similar in size 34' deep by 53' wide. I used 16 8' T8 fixtures with 4 bulbs per fixture. The lighting is great. I think it could be done with less but I placed the fixtures over the benches and tools. There is a program called Visual Basic which was free to download that gave great information on the lumens at different heights. I found it helpful. Also, I really like the light from my 5000k bulbs.

LoL visual basic? you're not talking about the programming language are you?

 

[chrisMason]

LoL visual basic? you're not talking about the programming language are you?

Maybe he meant Visio?

 

[regguy1]

I have 20 48" 2 tube fixtures with 6500K Tubes;

See more photos and videos here: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140674

 

[GarageEnvy]

It is Visual. It's been a couple years since I used it and it looks like they're no longer calling it basic but here's the link.

http://www.visual-3d.com/

 

[911mike]

Look into dual ballast fixtures as they allow you to split the bulbs into 2 circuits. Mine are 48" with 6 bulbs (T-8) and I have 2 bulbs on one switch and 4 on the other. When in light all 6 the shop is like a tanning both. Most of the time i use 4 bulbs and during the day just 2 bulbs as the window adds a bit of light. 6 bulbs are not for everyday work but when your under the car shadowed it's really nice. As you get older you just can't have enough light.