Late night shenanigans. Garage organization and lighting ideas.

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Anyone else work graveyard/3rd shift/some other goofy schedule that puts you at the polar opposite of the rest of the world? 4pm-4am here, tried doing the whole "change your sleep schedule when you're off thing" and it was truly miserable, so I keep the same schedule when I'm off.

Anyway... tonight's shenanigans are cleaning and starting to organize the garage after moving. I WILL be parking the 300 in here before I go to bed! Everything kinda sorta neatly in the corner was scattered around the garage before I thought of making a thread.

Also... shelving and lighting ideas?


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Edit: thank you M56959, I added the lighting/shelving bit after I made the title and didn't think to add that in!
 
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simply adding more light receptacles would work but definitely go with LED bulbs that are labeled daylight.


recently changed all the bulbs out in my garage to the led daylight bulbs and its a nice bright even white light


you can now even get the LED shop lights at most stores for not a lot of money



looks like you have a decent amount of room on the front wall, I would build some shelving part way and the other part i would put in some cabinets with a bench area on top so you have somewhere to work etc.
 
I forgot I also need to get a lawn tractor in here as well... any recommendations for LED lights? And should I run another circuit for it? Entire garage is currently wired off 1 20A circuit, but it's only powering 2 outlets and 2 lights, got TONS of room for more breakers, 200A service and PLENTY of room for more breakers.

Update: we are in!
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I work 3rd shift Sun-Wed 9pm to 7am, I definitely understand the goofy sleeping schedules. Unfortunately for me I cannot work in my garage in the middle of the night as I'm way too close to my neighbors, the light (and noise, heh) pollution would be getting the police called on me. I hope to eventually move outta town... Also I wish my garage was that big, can barely move around my cars...
 
You should install 1/4" pegboard. You should also consider insulating your walls before installing it even if your not ready to do your ceiling yet.
 
I was looking into that spray in insulation, need to do the crawl space as well... not cheap. If I do the walls, do I need to go all the way up, or do I stop where the ceiling would be?

First house was a starter house and I was just kinda winging it as I went along... I intend on living here for a very long time, so anything I do I want done right.
 
Wow Skippy
I must walk sideways in my garage and there's no room for vehicles.
My wife is bordering on being a classified hoarder. She wants nothing thrown out, or given away - or sold.
Divorce is not an option. Until death do us part..... right? But I guess 69% of former married couples disagree......lol
 
7p-7a. I have illumination.
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LED lighting in my garage, and yes, it's relatively orderly. Like yours, minus 30% or so of your space.
 
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For lighting I went with fluorescents running the length of the garage on the driver's and passenger sides of the two cars, then a row running across the garage in front of the cars. The place is totally lit up like daytime.

One thing I like from some other garages I've seen is a nice wide and deep work table against the front wall.
 
A couple of suggestions:

1) If possible, take one bulb out of each garage door opener and install an edison to outlet adapter. Then plug in an LED shop light or two, mounted nearby. It's a great way to have a lot more light when opening and closing the doors. Plus some door openers have a way to switch the light on/off.

2) Install quality LED lighting. I much prefer the 4 foot style. Choose shop lights or classic style with a plastic cover. Install them end to end. 3 in each row minimum. 3 rows for a 2.5- 3 car garage. Make sure the up garage door does not cover the last one too much.

3) Use 4000K color temperature lamps. I prefer not to go higher in color temp as it becomes more blue/purple. 3500 is OK too, but not much lower.

4) If possible, choose LED's with a high color index, like 90.

Costco often has shop lights on sale. They are fairly good and are "linkable" (they plug into each other)

I prefer the covered 4 foot lights, for a more finished look. But they can be far more expensive and on some, if the covers don't come off, difficult to clean inside.


Another interesting way is to simply install 4 mega bright corn-cob LED (edison socket) bulbs. Not quite as smooth a light pattern. But it works.
 
Originally Posted by motor_oil_madman
Go buy 4 48" florescent lights and screw them to the rafters. Two on each side.

I converted mine to LED.
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LED lights are the way to go. My garage had 4 normal light bulb sockets. I installed LED corn bulbs in the sockets and my garage is now super bright.

Spray foam in the walls is great but run the desired electric and maybe air lines first. You need to install sheetrock in the ceiling and insulate above. I like deep heavy duty metal shelves.
 
Insulate the walls and ceiling, add more lights, make sure you have lots of elect wall outlets. A pull down light is good too.
 
That orange wire wrapped around and around your joist is gonna magnetize it, and all your tools will jump up to it! If you're missing any, look up!
 
I wish I had insulated my wall before I started hanging and attaching crap everywhere. Now it would be a pain. I still wanted to put things on the rafters so I ended up putting 4x8 sheets of foil backed 3/4" styrofoam attached to the bottom of the rafters, along with soffit vents and ridge vents. Helps a lot in Tx.
 
Originally Posted by MasterSolenoid
If your Garage is attached to the House (for connecting water & drain plumbing) Wash Tubes are nice.
I get a lot of use out of my Sink.
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ðŸ‘

That's a nicer setup than most service stations.. heck, if i was your neighbor I'd stop by just to wash hands and ask ya to look under the hood and top off any fluids for me....‚
 
Did some (8) quick and easy Honeywell LED 4' 4000K 4000L in our little joint.
Relatively inexpensive and a real sense of functionality every time I flip that switch.

Let there be light!

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