Hanging lights question

I

imported_zenhog

New member
I have a 10 foot ceiling in my garage, it's 25 x 32.



I've got some 8 foot high output flourescent fixtures (2 bulbs per). How far apart should I hang them? How far from the walls? and.. i saw one place to hang them parallel to the way the cars park, another to do it perpendicular. Which?



Thanks!



Craig
 
I think it depends on what you want to illuminate. If you want general lighting then place them so they provide a balanced amount of light. If you need more light in certain areas, place them so they'll do what you need them to.



Shifting them a foot this way or 18" that way won't make much diff, especially if you use diffuser covers. Obviously things like garage door opener location and garage door tracks will limit placement options.



Just use some common sense and you'll be fine. If you need lighting in specific locations (over a workbench, in a corner, etc) consider task lighting for those areas. Use the fluorescents for large area lighting needs.
 
Thanks bret. I'm going to rely on the lighting to provide enough illumination to allow me to do some good detailing work. I'm tired of using halogens and peering into the concentrated glow and ignoring the brown haze they introduce, or waiving a weak flourescent hand unit around over the car like Hans Solo with a light wand - only to drive out into the sunlight and see everything I couldn't see.



So.. back to my questions. I guess I should have pointed out that there are no diffusers under the lights, and there are no reflective shields above them (not necessary for only a handful of lights so the lighting wholesaler buddy said). So.. how much of a "foot print" will an 8 foot H-O light mounted 10 feet off the ground have, and how much overlap should I plan?



i.e. if that light throws a 10 foot footprint and I want a minimal overlap than I can space them ... 10 feet apart, or just a little less for overlap. But.. do they throw a 10 foot footprint? or what? The last thing Iwant to do is hang these (by chains to make it easier) and then look and say ARrghhhg... I mounted them too far apart..



lol.
 
I can't answer those questions. If it were me I'd talk to the folks at Home Depot or Lowes or some lighting store. Or I'd contact the lighting mfr and get their input.



Actually, if it REALLY were me I'd just throw them up fairly close together knowing I'd get a good bit of overlap and be done with it. I've got 2 four foot fluorescents hanging in my 20x20 garage and they're fine for my detailing needs but I agree 8 ft lights are better for your larger garage.



Good luck. Hope it works out OK.
 
two four footers? wow, either my eyesight sucks, or your eyesight does lol. In the half of the garage that I do the detailing work in (25 x 16 or so) I have two four footers at the head of the garage, one in the center and two at the foot - and I'm changing that out because I can't see well enough! Don't you find a bunch of stuff (surface scratches, etc) in strong daylight that you can't see under that light?
 
I have 7 four ft double bulb fixtures in my 24x26 garage w/8 ft ceiling. I hung the fixtures across the garage rather than the long way and I need to change that so that the fixtures are lined up along the side of the truck rather than across the top. I'm not getting the light along the sides of the truck that I thought I would.



Truth is I didn't think it out very well when I put them up. The light fixture should, I think, be put up between the cars and between the car and the wall.



If you have a work bench it's obvious you want to put fixtures so you can see well in those areas.
 
Zenhog- I have my ceiling-mounted flourescents running parallel to the way the cars are (usually) parked. When I park perpendicular to the lights it doesn't make a big difference. As long as you have enough lights you'll be OK. Note (yeah, yeah, broken record) that some high-power incandescents will show off your swirls better than the flourescents- I have both and it's a dramatic difference. But anyhow..here's what *I* did:



I have my first row (each row has three 8' twins, roughly one fixture per ten-twelve feet of floor length) of flourescents about 6' out from the walls. Note that I also have some ON the walls. The other rows are either 6' or 9' apart (it's a peaked ceiling, they get closer together at the top). I'd say 9' spacing can work with your 8' twins, but I don't think *I'D* go any farther than that.



Hang some (big, powerful) incandescents too, you won't believe how they make the swirls appear.
 
More specs. It's an unpainted garage, dark brown walls. no ceiling, just rafters. finished cement floor.



I noticed that I get almost zero reach off the end of the fixture...
 
zenhog- Can't tell you WHAT the wattage is..can't see 'em that well from the floor and I can't get to my (tall enough) ladder at the moment. They're "mogul base" bulbs (bigger than usual), and whatever their rating, they throw a lot of light. I have them in fixtures with galvanized steel shades, three of them over each area where I polish the cars and another two in the center of the shop.



You're right about how the flourescents don't throw light from their ends. Something to consider when deciding how many fixtures you need. I mounted mine pretty close together, end-wise.



Painting the walls white would make an INCREDIBLE difference. Those brown wall must just suck up the light. Same with having something above your rafters (but yeah, a drop ceiling is a pretty big project). Note that I can probably get by with fewer lights since my walls and ceiling are painted a very bright white.
 
My walls were dirty....just plain 30 yr old dirty unpainted wood. I power sprayed them last summer and then sprayed them with white paint. It was a thorough pain in the posterior and took about a week to do...working several hours daily but it's been well worth the time, energy and expense.



I got inspired by this thread and went out to Farm King and bought a new 4 ft flourescent and a 4 ft long 600 watt Halogen light, put them up and repositioned my old ones so that they are now parrallel with the truck. It's surrounded!!
 
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