Over the lift

[Joe R.]

Re: Over the lift

This might not be what you are asking, but I'll mention it anyway. You didn't say how much verticle height you have. I have 11' 4" but I still moved my garage door rails up an additional 2 feet had the door rebalanced, & eliminated the conventional opener out of the middle of the garage ceiling. I got a Chamberlin Liftmaster Jackshaft opener, about $300 on ebay. It is really slick mounts up on the wall next to the door. It has an electrical solenoid lock, remote light, plus other accessories.

Glen,

I'm getting estimates for a roll up door right now. I'm planning to use an opener similar to the one you describe.

Joe

[Daniel K.]

Re: Over the lift

Joe,

If you have not as yet purchased your lights, I'd recommend the use of high performance T-8 lamps matched with instant start ballasts. You will not hear any noise from these fixtures and they will provide the most lumens for the money. Purchasing the jackshaft door opener is also a great investment. If you have not already, make sure you have the appropriate wood backing for the torsion bar spring and plenty of wood stock for the door hardware to mount to. It's important to know that the installers for the door(s) are not always "in tune" with your desired outcome for the installation, so if you can, please be in attendance to supervise. Powder coating or rattle can paint on the door hardware can really help to dress up the door and the interior of your shop.

[Joe R.]

Re: Over the lift

Joe,

If you have not as yet purchased your lights, I'd recommend the use of high performance T-8 lamps matched with instant start ballasts. You will not hear any noise from these fixtures and they will provide the most lumens for the money. Purchasing the jackshaft door opener is also a great investment. If you have not already, make sure you have the appropriate wood backing for the torsion bar spring and plenty of wood stock for the door hardware to mount to. It's important to know that the installers for the door(s) are not always "in tune" with your desired outcome for the installation, so if you can, please be in attendance to supervise. Powder coating or rattle can paint on the door hardware can really help to dress up the door and the interior of your shop.

Daniel,

I already have the shop lights. They have the modern electronic ballasts you mention. I have not heard any noise outta them. I do plan to be there at all times during the door install. I like your idea about painting the door hardware. It may never be a "Garage Mahal", but it should be pretty nice.

Joe

[Glen C.]

Re: Over the lift

Glen,

I'm getting estimates for a roll up door right now. I'm planning to use an opener similar to the one you describe.

Joe

Joe, If you are getting a whole new door installed disregard the following. However, If you have an existing door and are just planning to have the horizontal tracks raised, and the door rebalanced, as I did. Here are a few things to consider.
I searched the internet for garage door lift kits & found many. Most consist of longer cables, larger two stage drums, & verticle track extensions, and a different spring or springs. Before ordering a kit, I unwound the spring (This can be DANGEROUS ) and weighed the door, in the down position, with a bathroom scale. With the weight, size, amount of lift etc. I was able to have all of the proper parts sent to me. I installed the kit which had two springs instead of one. Once I had the lift kit installed I installed the Liftmaster opener. If you are going in this direction you can PM me for more details. Glen

[Paul J.]

Re: Over the lift

Joe,

The pictures help. Where's your insulation? You need insulation, and a vapor barrier.

As for the lights, I would put 9 two bulb fixtures in. Put one down the middle of the garage, then another row on either side 4 to 5 feet away. Also put fixtures over your work bench/work areas. Use as many circuits as you need and switch them accordingly. For example, the fixtures over my shop bays alternate on two different circuits, so I can have a lot of light, or a whole lotta light. The hanging fixtures over my work areas are also on separate circuits.

Go get your favorite beverage, go out into the garage, and think about where your lights need to be. Take into account any future equipment and work areas that will change in the future, and plan for them. Take your time, and use as many beverages as it takes.

Paul

[Joe R.]

Re: Over the lift

Joe,

The pictures help. Where's your insulation? You need insulation, and a vapor barrier.

As for the lights, I would put 9 two bulb fixtures in. Put one down the middle of the garage, then another row on either side 4 to 5 feet away. Also put fixtures over your work bench/work areas. Use as many circuits as you need and switch them accordingly. For example, the fixtures over my shop bays alternate on two different circuits, so I can have a lot of light, or a whole lotta light. The hanging fixtures over my work areas are also on separate circuits.

Go get your favorite beverage, go out into the garage, and think about where your lights need to be. Take into account any future equipment and work areas that will change in the future, and plan for them. Take your time, and use as many beverages as it takes.

Paul

Paul,

Thanks for the inputs. Yes, I definitely need insulation, real bad. I plan to finish the electric first. Are you talking about wall lights or overhead? If I drink that much coffee, I won't be able to stay in the garage for very long, if you know what I mean.

Joe

[Donald O.]

Re: Over the lift

This might not be what you are asking, but I'll mention it anyway. You didn't say how much verticle height you have. I have 11' 4" but I still moved my garage door rails up an additional 2 feet had the door rebalanced, & eliminated the conventional opener out of the middle of the garage ceiling. I got a Chamberlin Liftmaster Jackshaft opener, about $300 on ebay. It is really slick mounts up on the wall next to the door. It has an electrical solenoid lock, remote light, plus other accessories.

Great opener! have one for the house as it also is a DC motor with a built in battery back-up system. You do want it to work if you lose power, don't you?

[Donald O.]

Re: Over the lift

I have an air hose and a light on separate reel centered at the rear of my 2nd garage. The air hose is 50' and the trouble light cord is also 50'. Both can reach anywhere in the shop.
For illumination I have seven 8' twin bulb flouresents and a 4 bulb 4' set dircetly over a bench, I also ave two 2x4' skylights. Its enough for me.

Oh I forgot, the size is only 30' across x 25' deep.

the other garage is for parking the grocery getters

[Terry M.]

Re: Over the lift

Great opener! have one for the house as it also is a DC motor with a built in battery back-up system. You do want it to work if you lose power, don't you?

Most electric garage openers can be manually disconnected from the motor mechanism and opened manually in the event of a power outage. Sump pumps need to work in a power outage, garage doors don't.

[Larry S.]

Re: Over the lift

Don't know how your set up will be, but I installed a 4" box w/ 2 duplex receptacles on the end bar of my 4 post lift with a #14 cord to plug into a nearby outlet (20 amp) to power up the box. Then I installed 4 ft. single tube shop lights on the front half of the inner surfaces of each ramp. (on the half of the ramp usually under the engine end of the car. Each lamp has a cord that can be plugged into the power box, leaving me 2 outlets for power tools. In the 6 years I have had this set up, I have never broken one of the fluorescent tubes. Power is always handy and the lamps can be turned off on either side if one is in my eyes. Best lighting I could imagine! Was planning to add a handy drop light for other use, but haven't needed it yet. A 25 ft. retractable air hose is on the wall nearby and reaches any part of the hoist with no problem,,Just my solution> Larry

[Terry M.]

Re: Over the lift

Don't know how your set up will be, but I installed a 4" box w/ 2 duplex receptacles on the end bar of my 4 post lift with a #14 cord to plug into a nearby outlet (20 amp) to power up the box. Then I installed 4 ft. single tube shop lights on the front half of the inner surfaces of each ramp. (on the half of the ramp usually under the engine end of the car. Each lamp has a cord that can be plugged into the power box, leaving me 2 outlets for power tools. In the 6 years I have had this set up, I have never broken one of the fluorescent tubes. Power is always handy and the lamps can be turned off on either side if one is in my eyes. Best lighting I could imagine! Was planning to add a handy drop light for other use, but haven't needed it yet. A 25 ft. retractable air hose is on the wall nearby and reaches any part of the hoist with no problem,,Just my solution> Larry

Larry, #14 wire in conduit is rated at 15 amps. It will be a little more in the air (as a drop cord for example), but I believe it will still be less than the 20 amps you have available at the outlet -- unless that outlet is fused at 15 amps. You might want to consider #12 wire if that outlet is fused at 20 amps.

[Dick W.]

Re: Over the lift

One thing to remember is, as the bulbs age they get dimmer. I thought that my eyes were getting bad until I had to replace a couple of bulbs and then realized that they all needed replacing. We are using the T-8 high output fixtures, and replacing the ballasts, as they go bad, with electronic units.

We have added two 400 watt, low ceiling, metal halide fixtures in the middle of the shop that we use for extra fine detail work. They seem to render the closest to sunlight as far as color goes. These were recent additions.

When we built our shop, We had the lighting engineered for 100 foot candles per square foot. ( I think that I stated that right). More than adequate when new. We also added fixtures along the wall to iluminate the vehicle underneath while it was on the lift.

We build another shop, 4,400 sq. ft. of working are and used only metal halide lighting. I believe that I like this better that the shop we are using now. I just cannot afford to replace all the fixtures in this building, especially now since we are only doing our own restorations.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Over the lift

Larry, #14 wire in conduit is rated at 15 amps. It will be a little more in the air (as a drop cord for example), but I believe it will still be less than the 20 amps you have available at the outlet -- unless that outlet is fused at 15 amps. You might want to consider #12 wire if that outlet is fused at 20 amps.

Yep...a 20 amp breaker will have 12 ga wire per National Electric Code.

If the garage circuit has a 20 amp breaker, it will only protect 12 ga circuit wiring and not the 14 ga corded receptacles. If you draw more than 15 amps on those corded receptacles, you will have a fire hazard. Modern NM (Romex) 12-2 w/ground will have yellow outer covering; NM 14-2 w/ground will have white outer covering. Old NM will likely all have white or off-white covering...you'll have to read the wire size stamped on the outer covering.

I once had a 3.5 hp Craftsman non-lubed compressor that drew nearly 15 amps alone. Changing to a 12-3 extension cord would be a simple fix to provide full circuit capacity to the corded receptacles.

[Tom L.]

Re: Over the lift

The lighting Paul describes is the lighting I have, not sure what lenght fixtures he's describing but mine are 8' long. One area that could use a bit more light is behind the cars. One 8' fixture behingd the cars would really complete the job. My neighbors comment that "At night the garage looks like a space ship landing". The light really makes it stand out. Good luck!!!

[Wayne P.]

Re: Over the lift

Here are a couple pics of my recessed lighting. I also made a pocket for the antenna.