Shop Lights on low ceiling

[jfsmith]

I am using one of my garages for a shop area. It has a low ceiling, paper backed insulation packed between the joists, and there is a garage door. When the garage door is up, there is very little space between the door and the ceiling.

Can I mount florescent light fixtures directly to the ceiling joists. Should I put up a piece of paneling to keep the light fixtures away from the paper backing?

Thanks,

Jerry

[fun4now]

i would say yes and yes. it would be best to add some ttthing between the pspper and the light but its not so hot that you couldnt flush mont it.
a 1"X6" pice of ine or even a strip of plywood would be a good idea. with the price of drywall plywood would be cheaper.
the balests can get hot but i dont see it getting hot enough to cause a problem even without the backing but i would still add it anyway.

[alha]

I agree with James, probably not necessary, but better to be safe than sorry, if it will fit.

[Fat-Fab.com]

Just but a light fixture made to be in direct contact with insulation.

[jfsmith]

I have a sheet of paneling that is not being used, I can put that up to shield the paper backing and then some 1 x 6 or 1 x 4 between the ficture and the paneling.

Thanks,

Jerry

[dabar39]

hanging fixture

Do you have enough room to put a bracket from the truss and drop the light about an inch or so from the insulation? or for that matter can you use a chain and drop it down just a couple of links? Back when I still did a lot of auto body work we placed lights around the walls and on the garage door itself so we didn't get a lot of shadow on the project we were working on. When the door was down we got light from all sides and when it was up we got that extra light from above. Just a couple of suggestions, Hope I helped. Dave

[jfsmith]

I put up a sheet of paneling that I found in the garage when I bought the house. Then I put up pieces of 1 x 4 x 8 leaving, one at each end of the fixture with an air gap between the paneling and the light fixture.

The fixtures have not been tested for duration in this configuration, maybe tomorrow I will see how hot they get if I leave them on for hours.

BTW - I have 1.7 inches of clearance between the fixture and the garage door when it is up.

Thanks,

Jerry

[Darmik]

Low ceilings

have you thought of pot lights with a daytime light they fit flush with the ceiling and give a ton of light.

[jfsmith]

I did think of pot lighting, that will be in the larger shop over each machine. I already have 8 T-8 fixture out there.

When I do my very delicate and fine work, I have T-8s and will have some pot lights in place some day.

AS to the garage in question, I have 3 garages, it is a utility area and where I have my radial arm saw, work mates, saw horses and several other wood working arrangements. Next I want to put in an area that can handle large vises, both metal and wood types.

Side note, I got some wall locker given to me, while taking them apart to get them in the van, one sheet panel was really bend up bad. I got body tools out, my welding sheet metal vice grips and my tamper (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...34&lpage=none), cleaned the floor, and hit the sheet metal with the tamper. The tamper took most of the bent and badly wrinkled areas out. Great little tool to have. Then used the other tools to get the lip back into shape. Then bolted it back on. Now I have a locker to put my leathers and my buckets into.

Jerry

[fun4now]

every one loves a freebee, lets see some pic's of the locker. is it blue.
that dosent look like too many of the sheetmetal tools ive seen but it sounds like it worked.

[jfsmith]

James,

Here are the pictures:

The end of the wall lockers you can see the area I flattened out.

http://anvilsandinkstudios.com/locker1.jpg

They were brown, then painted gray, my PT 275 is in the background.

http://anvilsandinkstudios.com/locker2.jpg

The Whole end of the wall lockers, with my forge in the background and my PT 275 peaking around the corner.

http://anvilsandinkstudios.com/locker3.jpg

One extra shot, See the wrinkles where I straighten them out?

http://anvilsandinkstudios.com/locker4.jpg

I saw people over seas flattening things out with various tools, so I tried once and it works. May not be perfect, but it works for me.

I can get 3 more units if I want to. Some will need some straighten while others are just fine.


Jerry

[jfsmith]

Here are the lights

Here are the lights:

The rear of the garage:

http://anvilsandinkstudios.com/lights1.jpg

In the low ceiling area:

http://anvilsandinkstudios.com/lights2.jpg

The rail for the garage door opener will give you a good idea of the space restrictions.

Jerry

[jfsmith]

The lights have been on since yesterday afternoon and they are no hotter than the ones in the back of the garage that are hanging from chains.


Jerry