garage lighting ideas?

[Dave L.]

Thanks Roy I'll look into it. They were to start my foundation this week but as of yesterday no action over at the lot.

 

[Blade]

If you go with the fluorescent fixtures then use 4' instead of 8', you can buy 4' bulbs just about anywhere, and some stores put them on sale. The 8' bulbs are hard to find and cost a whole lot more.

Break-up your light switches. Maybe into 1/3rds of the room, this way you only turn-on one small area if you just want to run inside and get a tool. Have a single light on one switch near the entrance that you can leave on all the time as a nightlight so you are not entering a dark building feeling for the light switches or trip over that solid axle!

 

[Thumper]

My garage is 25' X 40' and I have 10 4ft flourescent fixtures (two tubes per fixture) that I picked up at Home Depot on sale for $32 per fixture. They light up instantly, make no noise and turn my garage into daylight in the middle of the night. I also have a couple of ceiling fans that circulate heat and a/c depending upon the season. The only thing that makes noise is the ceiling fans. I need to upgrade those, but overall I am extrememly happy with the flourescent fixtures. There was no noticable increase in my electric bill.

I do use portable lighting when I'm underneath the car working. I just need to finish saving up for an above ground lift. If I could get the car 6ft in the air, I could probably get by without the portable lighting in most cases.

 

[Dave L.]

Thumper- Can you take any pictures of your lighting arrangement and post here for me? I was thinking of using 3 rows (garage length wise)of 8' double fixtures in my 30X40 garage. Maybe thats overkill? Your garage is about the same size as mine.

 

[Thumper]

I installed them two parallel, then two end to end, then parallel, etc.

= : = : =

evenly spaced throughout. Really floods the garage with light. I also have lights over my bench (under cabinet).

 

[Dave L.]

Thanks.

 

[vetzs]

I replaced my 48" tubes with Phillips Daylights from Home Depot.. Love them, they put out a whiter light...

 

[Dave L.]

Thanks vetzs. I'm going to check those out when I visit Home Depot this week.