Show us your "cool" garage features

[don_w]

Don, how high is your ceiling going to be? If it is 15' or higher, T5HO FTW! They are outrageously bright, but $$$. Sometimes the power company has rebates, but sometimes only for an upgrade. Just a thought. I'll post up a pic of my ceiling when I get home.

In a 16x16 center area (where the lift will be located), it will be 12' high. The area around that will be somewhere between 9' to 12' high (haven't got a final design done yet).

I'm not familiar with T5HO... enlighten me (pun intended).

 

[StreamlineGT]

T5HO are florescent replacements for low and high bay HID lighting, with roughly the same output, but far less power consumption. They are wasted if they are lower than 15 feet, so T8's are the way to go.

T5HO - http://www.lithonia.com/Products/family2.asp?brand=LL&family=IBC&producttype=Industrial%20Fluorescent&category=High%20Bay%20Fluorescents&subcategory=High%20Bay

Here is my garage, just a 9' ceiling in there, with 40 F32T8 lamps. Yeah, that's right, 40. I use it to work and detail.......... without a droplight.... I have 8 eight foot tandems and 4 four footers. It works great.

 

[don_w]

That lighting is awesome! I had 8 twin-bulb 4' fluorescents in my old garage , and thought it was well lit. Guess not. haha And thanks for the pointers on the T5HO vs the T8's.

BTW, that single incandescent bulb looks like a misfit outcast in there. haha

 

[SC boss]

need sunglasses in that garage! Thats some awesome lighting.

 

[Herknav]

The only bad thing about that lighting is your garage will always look dirty... very nice, I want...

 

[don_w]

Bump... I'm still looking for cool ideas for the garage. My home builder wants my final input to the electrical plan by next week, so I don't want to over look anything.

 

[StreamlineGT]

Bump... I'm still looking for cool ideas for the garage. My home builder wants my final input to the electrical plan by next week, so I don't want to over look anything.

Have him put a surface mount subpanel in there, that way if you have to add anything you can run conduit on the wall. That is what I did. A 100 amp should do ya.

I would definitely put lights up afterwards like I did, that way as technology goes by the wayside, simply take down the lights and put up different ones.

 

[StreamlineGT]

Don, do you have a set I can look at? I'd be interested in seeing what the rest of the house electrical looks like, and see if there is anything I should recommend.

 

[don_w]

Don, do you have a set I can look at? I'd be interested in seeing what the rest of the house electrical looks like, and see if there is anything I should recommend.

All I have is a large hardcopy... too big to scan in whole. But, let me see if I can piecemeal it for you.

 

[don_w]

Have him put a surface mount subpanel in there, that way if you have to add anything you can run conduit on the wall. That is what I did. A 100 amp should do ya.

I would definitely put lights up afterwards like I did, that way as technology goes by the wayside, simply take down the lights and put up different ones.

Thanks! At this point I was going to have some switched junction boxes installed at the most likely locations for lights. I figured I could run conduit from them as needed later.

 

[DKO]

Have him put a surface mount subpanel in there, that way if you have to add anything you can run conduit on the wall. That is what I did. A 100 amp should do ya.

I would definitely put lights up afterwards like I did, that way as technology goes by the wayside, simply take down the lights and put up different ones.

I've got a question for ya, since you seem to know quite a bit about lighting! I too enjoy detailing and I was going to install some flourescent lights in my garage when I move to South Carolina. I don't need something ridiculous, but I would like some very good lighting. What do you think I should go with, and what's a ballpark figure on lighting a one car garage?

 

[StreamlineGT]

Well, if you don't want to spend a ton, then T8 florescent are the way to go. Like I said, I have 40 T8 lamps in my garage, and I don't think I could have done less and been happy with it. The fixtures run around $40-$50 a piece, and the lamps under $2. So I have a little more than $600 in fixtures, and then add wire and conduit to that. Some things you need to think about before putting them up, is the garage door going to clear the fixture, as mine only clear by 1/4".

 

[don_w]

Don, do you have a set I can look at? I'd be interested in seeing what the rest of the house electrical looks like, and see if there is anything I should recommend.

This is the best I could do with reducing and scanning a set... I only have access to an 11x17 scanner. Hope you can read them. Oh, this is the basic design and does not include a bunch of changes/additions I want done.

Any tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

.

 

[StreamlineGT]

I can't tell from the plan, do you have any tray ceilings?

If so, have you thought about a crown soffit with indirect lighting?

I see you have a lot of outside soffits. Are there recessed cans for wall washing? If that is not an option, you can always do landscape lighting with the reverse effect. I'll try to find a similar application with them on.

 

[don_w]

That indirect lighting looks cool! But alas... no ceilings like that in there. The closest thing we have like that is the "shelf" that splits the 1st and 2nd floors in the entry and dining room areas, along the west and north walls.

 

[don_w]

Do you have any night time pic of this?

I see you have a lot of outside soffits. Are there recessed cans for wall washing? If that is not an option, you can always do landscape lighting with the reverse effect. I'll try to find a similar application with them on.

 

[StreamlineGT]

I don't know what religious beliefs you have, but in my house I have outlets under each front window, as well as over every porch column for Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa lighting and decorations. They are all controlled by one switch, which pulls in a contactor to run ALL the lights at once. Add a timeclock and photocell if you like.

 

[don_w]

Yep... got the "holiday lights" outlets and switch in my notes to add already.

I'm also adding additional lighting on the side/rear of the house, and a ceiling fan on the patio.

 

[StreamlineGT]

Do you have any night time pic of this?

I'll contact my customer tonight and ask them to take a picture with them on.

 

[StreamlineGT]

Just going through my pictures here.... how about tread lights?