Matthew 5:15 and basement workshop lighting challenges

[Bruce Seidner]

"Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."

Having established the lumen's to light the shop I am debating ways to mount the 27 or so T-8 tubes needed according to calculation getting me to 100fc. (My futures so bright I'll have to wear shades.)

I have a basement ceiling that is just at 8' from the floor to the bottom of the floor joists that run across the 15' section of the 25'x15' shop space. The work benches are mounted on the walls and cantilevered with storage underneath. All assembly and work occurs on the benches. Machines are pulled out when needed and stay pretty close to the benches because with about 3' of bench running down both walls there is less than 10' of floor space between them.

The joists are about 2" thick and 10" tall and spaced about 12" apart. This gives me a something of a challenge with the tube mounted up and in between the joists. In a conflict of efficacy v. safety, it is safety that wins every time. I don't see a way to mount them on the joists without inviting disaster.

I have discovered that there is a large market for 2ml reflective mylar sheeting that is apparently part of an indoor gardening "bloom" of hobbyist plant fanciers. Even Home Depot sells the stuff. Apparently there is a market for indoor grown, table fresh salad and other baby greens.

My thinking is that I will be purchasing ballasts and wiring up the tube mounts directly to the wood ceiling and using this reflective mylar to cover the wood baskets that I will be burying my lamps in. The sheeting is cheap, is more effective than white paint, and I hate painting wood.

There are two obvious ways to mount the reflective film. One way is to line the 10"x12" rectangular space between the joists and the other is to create a triangle from the joist edges up to the tube.

So long story short is there any objective way to decide which would be the better choice of reflector shape. It will be easy to play with this and see what works best but I have confidence this question has been asked and answered by others and this wheel needn't be re-invented.

[John M Wilson]

indoor grown, table fresh salad and other baby greens.

mmm, salad! Especially good with Doritos, or Appa-Zappa bars, although in a pinch, cold pizza is good, too.

With the right mood music, you may never come out of the basement!

Soon, you will be looking for T-8 black light tubes, and day-glo Lie-Nielsen posters...

(Sorry for the frivolity, I just couldn't let your well-turned phrase go by...)

[Jack Lindsey]

Use something like this if you're worried about lamp breakage. Several manufacturers make similar fixtures. Check with your local lighting or electrical distributor. Ken has given you the layout.

http://www.acuitybrandslighting.com/...Sheets/FDK.pdf

[John Lanciani]

" In a conflict of efficacy v. safety, it is safety that wins every time.

But yet you want to cobble together your own fixtures by mounting ballasts and lamp holders "directly to the wood ceiling"? Really?? I hope that you reconsider this endeavor for the sake of the others that live in your home.

[Ole Anderson]

Personally I think that 100 fc is overkill and will just inflate your electric bill. Better to go with less general illumination and add task lighting. I believe you will be better off using pre-built fixtures with reflectors so you won't have to deal with the mylar and screwing all of your components to the sub floor above. Just use a spacer to bring them flush with the bottom of the joists and add tube protectors like these if you are worried about breakage:

http://www.fluorolite.com/tubeguards...FSlnOgod7T8y2Q

Locate your fixtures so they are above your machines and assembly areas, no sense over lighting large spaces that really don't need excessive direct lighting. My 2 cents, for what it is worth.

[Andy Fox]

The approach Ole describes is what works best for me.

[Bruce Seidner]

The approach Ole describes is what works best for me.

My wife and kids were hooting and crying with laughter last night and I went out to see what the commotion was about and it was the A&E show Duck Dynasty. I learned that there are those "what are educated and those what are ungutated." The show is a scream and this family is clearly having a blast being the subject of this reality TV series. They are dry, funny and not a mean bone among them, but they are merciless in goading one another. It is hysterical.

It never occurred to be to just mount the strips using the supplied chains so that they are just even with the bottom of the joists. Problem solved.

That was ungutated of me.

Those safety tubes are neat but I may see what some light gage chicken wire would do stapled between the joists to protect the bulbs. Wire is cheap and bulbs don't need replacing much for weekend warriors like myself.

I have been schooled. Thank you.

[Jack Lindsey]

Bruce - the chicken wire is certainly a creative way of providing some protection for the lamps. Be sure to stretch it tight, though. You mentioned mounting strips in the cavities. This is clearly an application for fixtures with reflectors since the dark cavities will absorb a lot of light. Just mount them with the reflectors even with or very slightly above the bottoms of the joists.

[Bruce Seidner]

Roger that, 10-4.

[Bernie May]

I put metal wires under each end of my lights to suspend them between the ceiling joists in my garage. i love em. Put in a couple of screws and wind the wire around them.