My Turn - The Mega Dream Garage

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Definitely not anti-pegboard; just have a preference for slatwall after having both. Slatwall fixtures don't tend to pop out like pegboard. The trick to slatwall, cost wise, is to find a retail/wholesale fixture store and not an online or otherwise specialty "garage" store. Very cheap when you find the right place.

Your shop is coming along nicely. I'm starting to make a few key decisions on mine which unfortunately have been impeding progress.
 
Back in the mid 1980’s I paid $62.00 for 4x8 slatwall with a natural wood finish. We used it for retail displays with glass shelving. In cleaning my old garage to move into the pole barn, I found a crumbling cardboard box with about 150 chrome slatwall brackets 6” long. I’ve already hung 9 sheets of pegboard End to end and spent $150.00 on Amazon for quality 1/4“ pegboard hooks 4” and 8”. Around here pegboard runs $30 a sheet today…slat wall, no idea. After going on “overkill” mode with the floors, lighting, foam insulation, 4 post xtra tall lift and all the other “while I’m at it” things, no way I am going to spend $15,000 on cabinetry. On that note, I’m lovin’ the pegboard.
 
Went to Cruisers on the Rocks this weekend. All 100s and 200s.
Not me:
IMG-20221023-WA0002.webp
IMG-20221023-WA0001.webp


But the big news is the electrician came over last Thursday.
Dude works for some big company but does side work. He did a little work at our house but also wired all our cubicles at
the office. I really trust him.

He has a plan to wire the building off the existing meter on the adjacent 1 car garage. He suggested we do it in stages to get a better lighting and outlet plan.

Stage 1 is getting the power to the building and running outlets along the back wall to get off the generators.

He also suggested the UFO led lights he has at his work. About $100 each. He says I need 3 or 4 - so 4 it is.

We had a long convo about the amps I think I need and how I am over estimating :lol:

I am going to dig the ditch myself with the backhoe.

I CAN NOT WAIT! Having lights and plugs is going to be so sweet.
 
Lights are a game changer, especially with the day light hours getting shorter.
 
I'm about to pull the trigger on new lights. Looking at 16 15000 lumen LED linear high bays. That will put me at around 110 lumens at 30". (Dimmer function will take care of "too much light".) Can't remember the size of your shop but 4 UFO fixtures seems light. :meh:

Edit: I see you are 40' x 45'. I also see that's only "the back wall" so not sure what the 4 fixtures are trying to cover.
 
WarDamnEagle said:
I also see that's only "the back wall" so not sure what the 4 fixtures are trying to cover.
Click to expand...
I am not sure I understand. The light you are seeing is from a single LED work light on the floor.

I appreciate the input on the fixtures. Can you post the a link or the specs of the lights you are looking at? I would ve interested in comparing to those my electrician is suggesting. (I do not yet have the specs on those.)

Like this?
 
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So you are wiring the shop after the spray foam? I did mine first and cannot find ANY wire if I had to… the only parts I can find are the 6” or so as it enters the device boxes. Even my #8 compressor line is impossible to find.
 
Hugh Heifer said:
I am not sure I understand. The light you are seeing is from a single LED work light on the floor.

I appreciate the input on the fixtures. Can you post the a link or the specs of the lights you are looking at? I would ve interested in comparing to those my electrician is suggesting. (I do not yet have the specs on those.)

Like this?
Click to expand...

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For my shop I am looking at the 15000 lumen in a 5k temperature. 16 of those at 15' gives well over 100 footcandles at 30". That's probably too much light (if there is such a thing) but they have a dimming function which I will make use of. 16 12000 lumen fixtures gives 97 footcandles (which is probably plenty) but the price difference of the fixtures isn't that much.

Regarding my comment, are you looking at only installing 4 UFO fixtures for the entire shop or is that only "the back row" in the shop with more lights to be installed later? If you are only installing 4 for the whole shop then my comment is that's not enough.

I was originally going with UFO lights but they do seem to have more problems than the linear high bays. Apparently they generate more heat than the linear high bays which results in premature failures. I am not an expert by any means and I'm just going on my interpretation of what I have read. The UFOs are easier to install as they hang from one point instead of two and they do look pretty cool so I wouldn't necessarily shy away from them based on my information.
 
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Thanks for the explanation @WarDamnEagle .
I will need to get with my guy to see what the specs are of the lights he is recommending. I know that he uses them in the warehouse of the company he works for and he says they are monsters but I have not seen them. He was telling me, based on the size of the lights and my shop he would recommend only 3 or 4. But, again, I do not know the specs.
It will be good to discuss options with him.

Also, when I said wiring the back wall, I meant put up a line of about 5 duplex outlets just to get me going.

Lights and additional outlets will be in another stage of the plan.
 
knuckle47 said:
So you are wiring the shop after the spray foam? I did mine first and cannot find ANY wire if I had to… the only parts I can find are the 6” or so as it enters the device boxes. Even my #8 compressor line is impossible to find.
Click to expand...
Yes. As I mentioned somewhere, the plan is to put the wire in conduit on the surface. As you mention, you can not find your wires. I want to be able to make changes, additiins or repairs if necessary.
 
HH understand that lighting a warehouse is a different scenario than lighting a work shop. I have 5 23000 lumen UFOs in my 40x50 and I have issues with shadows in some areas.
 
You can't have to many lights. Definitely chat with him. Like @Michael B said, warehouse vs shop space, very different goals. Warehouse lighting is to illuminate an area, but not much else beyond that. You will want plenty of light. You can always add more if the ones you start with aren't enough.
 
Also the height makes a huge difference, in multiple ways. The lower the lights are hung, in general, the more fixtures you will need at lower lumens (wattage) to prevent shadows. Warehouses are generally lit to something like 10 to maybe as high as 30 footcandles at 30". While that will allow you to see it's wholly inadequate in my opinion for a shop.

@Hugh Heifer how high will your lights be placed? Lithonia has a lighting tool that will allow you to try lots of different lighting options and will give you the footcandles at any working height you specify.

Edit: Assume you are still 40' x 45' with 14' eaves? If you can hang the lights at 13' or 14' then I would look at 16 or maybe 20 12000 lumen linear high bays.
 
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Ditching for the power cable. This is what I got done last night before it go too dark.
20221027_083614.webp
20221027_083632.webp


You can see below there is a buried knee wall I need to demo to get the power cable through the area. This was a substantial little wall that a fence that surrounded the entire reservoir complex was atop.
20221027_083620.webp


The electric HF Hercules jack hammer will be deployed this afternoon.

When I waa in elementary school I always said when I gro up I want to be a ditch digger. :lol:
 
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jynx said:
You can't have to many lights. Definitely chat with him. Like @Michael B said, warehouse vs shop space, very different goals. Warehouse lighting is to illuminate an area, but not much else beyond that. You will want plenty of light. You can always add more if the ones you start with aren't enough.
Click to expand...
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Garage Plan Ideas

Your garage looks awesome. If you have lots of stuff, overhead storage is handy. As you can see from light placement storage was an afterthought for me.:slap: Big drains were a must. 40 hubcap for size reference:beer: Plastic cover lasted 10 years. Recently sliced up an improved...
forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com

I still use a headlamp at times to get enough light. You cannot have too much
 
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