Not really sure if this is a roll call of how much you've got now/or who's got the least, more over it's a "Hmmmm" piece about how little our predecessors had, and what they accomplished with it. I work out of an older 50' x 30' shop next to my house, with four skylights and about ten sets of dual bulb fluoresent fixtures (usually don't kick them on until near dusk most of the time). And of course I've got the prereq lamps and overheads on my couple of workbenches, and outlet plugs all over the place, but I can remember growing up in a 60's garage (@ my Dad's house) with my dad getting by on extension cords for outlets, and one or two trouble lights hooked on the hood or frame of the cars for light (I miss those days of getting burnt on the arm from the good ol' steel caged trouble lites... NOT!). And he did some awesome work. How many of you out there have done overkill on your workspace lighting and how many are keeping it simple? (Sorry Ian B., I know you just lit up your new space... no offense, great surgeons are allowed all the light they need.)
I have a 25' x 25' garage beside my house, (largest alowed by code), with 10 8' twin tube, color corrected flourescents and 4 8' side lights and my body work still ****s! This is run by a 200 Amp dedicated panel with outlets for both convenience and 50 Amp 220V for the Mig and Tig on both ends of the building. I also have a huge Ingesol-Rand compressor running off this rigging. Until this thread I never thought about how fortunate I am. My Dad used to run a thinly veiled hot rod shop, disguised as a Texaco station back in the 50's and early 60's and produced better stuff with 1% of the tools and equiptment I've am***ed. And on top of that, he made enough money to feed 4 kids and give me the education so I can afford all this ****. Try that today!
I was out in my 20'x24' garage yesterday, we are re-arranging/re-wiring/insulating/panelling/painting. Doing it one wall at a time, just getting started. My buddy Levi(Konakrusiers)is doing all the wiring. I'll have a dozen outlets on this wall (20');one for the refridgerator, three above that for the stereo/satellite radio(a T.V. will possibly be added later), one existing and four new outlets above the workbench, a 220 for the drill press, and two more 110s for convineince. I have four 8' flourecents; I plan to double that. There is also 4' flourescent in one corner. I plan to put another 4' above the bench, and probably one in each corner. I am also insulating and panelling with 7/16" OSB(wafer board?), I have a 3 ton wall mounted A/C, but it only gets a bit cooler than outside. I am using this instead of drywall so I can screw into it for hanging tools. I painted the OSB white; I can already tell the white will make a big difference in brightening up the place. I like a lot of light, and a lot of outlets!
I am just in the process of finishing up my new 20 x 22 workshop. I have nine 4' T-8 fluorescents spaced evenly on the ceiling as well as two 4' T-8 shop lights above my workbench. The lights are run off three switches...one controls the two outer banks of 3, one controls the center bank, plus the workbench shop lights are on their own switch by the bench. For normal working conditions I only use the 6 outer lights. When all 11 sets are on it's bright enough to use as an operating room! There are 4 120V outlets on each of the three walls, plus 3 on the door end. There's two more switched 120V outlets high above the workbench on either side of the window to plug the two 4' shop lights into. I also have a 120V outlet in the center of the ceiling for a future GDO and an outlet outside between the doors. All of the outlets except the outside one and GDO are 20-amp, on 5 separate circuits. There's three 240V outlets for welders/compressors, etc, plus a 240V circuit set up for a future electric heater. Each 240V device is on it's own breaker. All this is run off a 100-amp sub panel.
Hey Al, nice job. I like the truck, I'm a big fan of the slot wheels. Do you plan to insulate and A/C? May not need it up in Canada, but it was over 100 degrees here today.
Try our sister site, www.garagejournal.com pure garage ****. As for me, I heat my shop with teh amount of bulbs strung from the ceiling!
I built a 30x40 future steel building back in 2007, just added 100 amp panel, (2) 30amp breakers for welder and air compressor, (1) 15 amp breaker for lights and (1) 20 amp breaker for (6) 4 plug outlets. 8 3 bulb t8 units, http://www.flickr.com/photos/51667001@N03/4921784389/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51667001@N03/4921783739/
Thanks Richard! Over the winter I plan to insulate and finish the interior walls, but it won't have a/c. While it can get hot up here it's not usually often enough to justify the cost of installing a/c. It will, however, be heated. I can work in 100F if I have to (was 93F yesterday), but trying to function in the winter when it's -30F ****s!
Funny Al, it's just the opposite here. 90-100 for ****in months. May get below 40 for a week once or twice. I bought a car a few months ago, didn't even ask if the heater works. But the A/C cranks!
I work out of the garage on the sideof the house now that is 22 x 25 and when I moved in I wired a dedicated 100 amp panel and wired 20 wall outlets and 6- 4 foot 4 bulb tube lamps on two switches. I have a 15 horse phase converter hard wired and 2- weld outlets and one for the compressor. With me beingthe only one working in there, it has been just fine. Now building a 36x56 shop out back and it will have 200 amp power and about 50- 110 outlets and 4 weld outlets. Over kill yes but you only have to do it once. Once I move out handle the wife move in the front shop it will be way over powered for just parking in but ill never have to look for an outlet or wish there was more light .
I just finished up my shop this spring. It is not very big it is just a 24 x 24, but it is what I could behind my house. I put in a 100 amp panel, I just me so it should fine. But I did insulate the living **** out of it. I put r-21 in the walls and blew insulation into the attic. And I have a gas furnace take hangs from the ceiling. I can not wait for winter, when I get a chance to get out there and build stuff.
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