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View Full Version : Lighting for a low ceiling in garage



Jon Crowley
02-28-2008, 12:45 PM
Here's the situation... I'm using a 1 car garage in a 1949 cape cod style house for my shop. The garage is underneath the master bedroom, and has a relatively low ceiling, maybe 7.5' or so. The half away from the garage door is well lit with a few fluorescent fixtures.

I'm not sure what to do with the other end, the part of the ceiling where the garage door slides up. When the door is up, there is very little clearance between the door and ceiling - about an inch, inch and a half. Obviously not enough to put more fluorescents there. :(

I've thought maybe an IC rated recessed/can light would work, but wouldn't any hole through the drywall be an issue with code - the fire rating requirement of the ceiling? Due to shelves and other stuff, wall sconces aren't really an option either. Is there any lighting option I'm missing?

Chris Padilla
02-28-2008, 12:51 PM
Jon,

If your garage isn't painted a nice bright white, I would do that as it'll help reflect the light already exisiting in your shop. I used an exterior grade semi-gloss white for my garage and it really makes a HUGE difference in spreading the light around.

That is an interesting point about the fire-code. In my garage, I actually have half of it under living space and the other half is a cathedral ceiling reaching up to 12' (I know, lucky me, right?! ;) ). I have it all sheetrocked. I'll wait to hear what others say about the recessed lighting but it sounds like a great solution for you. You might have to surface mount conduit. I guess swinging sheets of plywood in there isn't very much fun....

Randal Stevenson
02-28-2008, 12:54 PM
Your lucky. My basement is my shop and has 6' ceilings (don't sneeze).

If your ceilings are white, one option I found is floor lamps (something like a torchere (spelling?). They can be brought over and setup, then moved away when done (reflect off of your garage door).
For something that could reach and be project specific, you might also look at drop lights (checking colors of finishes and such).

Jon Crowley
02-28-2008, 1:03 PM
The ceiling is drywall, and the walls are poured concrete. I went with surface mount conduit everywhere along the walls instead of studding out to save room. I recently painted everything semi-gloss white based on several recommendations read here. It does make a huge difference!

Kudos to the floor lamp idea. It's so obvious I didn't even think of it. :o If that ends up being the only way, I suppose it wouldn't be too hard to add a switched outlet or two to make it feel more permanent. Just have to tip over the lamp and empty the dust out of the top every once in a while. :D

Greg Cole
02-28-2008, 1:03 PM
Jon,
I feel your pain... my garage shop is about the same and where the HVAC ducting for the rooms over the gar-err shop run is on;y @ 6' and I am 6'2" and with a baseball hat on all the time I don't see "up" as well as I should, I still occasionally lose track of my situational awareness, ie I hit my damn head. I've learned to break down sheet stock in the parking lot when I buy it or do it in the driveway, I CAN flip them around, but I look like Kramer from Sienfeld in the process. Nope not "fun" especially when it's 3/4 MDF at 90 something lbs....
I have a row of 8' T8's, IIRC, that are installed precisely as close to the line where the overhead doors stop in the open position. I also use some task lighting that I move around as needed, but most of the time in the shop I keep the doors down (noise abatement for the neighbors and to keep any outside distractions to a minimum) and the insides of the doors are painted white as well as the 2 "rocked" walls. The other 2 walls are the foundation of the house and I've got a "round to-it" to paint those white too...."someday".:rolleyes:
Seriously, the white paint helps more than you'd think.
Interested to hear about the can lights & code too....

Greg

Greg Cole
02-28-2008, 1:05 PM
If your ceilings are white, one option I found is floor lamps (something like a torchere (spelling?). They can be brought over and setup, then moved away when done (reflect off of your garage door).
For something that could reach and be project specific, you might also look at drop lights (checking colors of finishes and such).

As an addition to my other post, my task lights are the clamp on style halogen ones and I can use in many positions etc... also in the winter they're one heck of a heat source too.....

Greg

Eric Haycraft
02-28-2008, 1:50 PM
Can you put fluorescent lights on both sides of the door? I would think that you should be able to almost outline the door with lights. As for cans above the door...well, I doubt that this would pass code. There are usually space requirements around light fixtures. You could probably get away with it if you ignore the code, but I would definitely put in CF bulbs and not incandescents if you went that route.

There are some exotic methods that would work such as LED strips or light pipes, but you are looking at serious money down that route.

Jon Crowley
02-28-2008, 3:14 PM
Well, I think I solved the issue of penetrating a fire rated ceiling. These fixture covers will allow installing can lights:
http://www.tenmat-us.com/faq.html

Now I just have to research the clearance issue around a fixture that Eric brought up...

Eric Haycraft
02-28-2008, 3:42 PM
Just to be extra clear, I am talking about the clearance below the fixture.

Jon Crowley
02-28-2008, 3:51 PM
Correct... bottom of light to top of garage door (when open).

So far, the only info I can find on clearance around light fixtures is in closets... numbers range from 6" to 12" depending on what type of light is installed. That's horizontal clearance though. I've yet to find anything on vertical.

At this point cans look like a no go... :( Guess I'll just put overheads where I can, then rely on plug in lights if it's not enough.

Lee Koepke
02-28-2008, 4:09 PM
As an addition to my other post, my task lights are the clamp on style halogen ones and I can use in many positions etc... also in the winter they're one heck of a heat source too.....

Greg
i also use clamp on lights for task areas.

I may end up with a wall mounted light or under cabinet light in my condition. I have lights above the door track, so when the door is closed, the lights are useful. When the door is open, I have natural light ..