Lighting suggestions for unfinished basement ceiling

[CliveWarren]

Hey gang, I'm looking to do a modest refurb of my basement gym. I have no intentions of finishing the walls or ceiling with drywall. At any rate, I'm tearing down a partition the previous owner erected to make a larger space. He did add some extra florescent fixtures, however one is a 3' and tubes are pretty expensive, one of the regular 4' has a bad ballast plus I have some unswitched pull chain socket fixtures.

Everybody has ceiling height issues it seems. My basement is no different. I'd like to ditch regular socket bases and perhaps do something that's a bit more flush. Maybe I can mount between the floor joists? Does anybody have a recommendation on LED fixtures? How many square feet per fixture?

[Domicron]

how big is your space and do you have insulation? what about running track lighting between the joists then you have all sorts of freedom with spacing and directional lighting, etc...

[CliveWarren]

Dom, I don't have the dimensions off the top of my head. I'm thinking it's about 500 square feet for the gym. The whole room is larger than that, it's L-shaped and has the laundry and mechanical in the same space. I've been thing about track lighting, I could see that being practical.

I figured this could be a good winter project. There's no urgency, what I have is adequate. I'll enjoy not having to flip three switches and a pull chain when finished.

[Domicron]

Dom, I don't have the dimensions off the top of my head. I'm thinking it's about 500 square feet for the gym. The whole room is larger than that, it's L-shaped and has the laundry and mechanical in the same space. I've been thing about track lighting, I could see that being practical.

I figured this could be a good winter project. There's no urgency, what I have is adequate. I'll enjoy not having to flip three switches and a pull chain when finished.

tell me about it. i have 3 sets of light switches in my basement. we have a motion sensing switch in the hallway and if we used the basement for more than just my gym i'd consider getting a motion sensing light for part of it...

[Synthetickiller]

I'd look into wiring all lights into a single switch. It's not hard to do & simplify everything you have down there.
If you want to get fancy, buy a motion sensor which makes the lights come on when you enter the room. It's only $30:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-...SX12/203995562




I was thinking of doing a T5 ballast set up, myself. I had two T9s in my bedroom when I was a kid that lasted 15 years. I think the bulbs lasted 8 or 9+ years and were on a solid 8 or 9 hours a day.
There are LED T5s, but they cost a bloody fortune.

What's the space between your joists? 16"?
You can install a 2 bulb troffer if you don't mind sticking with t5 bulbs. They'll fit between the joists & have a filter so you're not entirely blinded.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-...GESB/100249370


Here's a non-dimmable LED troffer for $90. Puts out 3910 lumens @ 46w.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Eti-1-ft-...0141/205436043



I'm not sure if you're concerned with hitting the lights.
The tracking lighting would worry me, if that's the case.


I'll be watching this thread. I need ideas too.

[Seatard]

Regular old recessed cans with screw in LED bulbs?

I don't see much benefit in using track lighting, specialized LED fixtures or a low voltage set up. Put in more fixtures than usual and use dim-able bulbs to bring it down to a comfortable level.

[Synthetickiller]

Regular old recessed cans with screw in LED bulbs?

I don't see much benefit in using track lighting, specialized LED fixtures or a low voltage set up. Put in more fixtures than usual and use dim-able bulbs to bring it down to a comfortable level.

Eh, the light spread on them is poo. You'd need a lot of them.

[Seatard]

Eh, the light spread on them is poo. You'd need a lot of them.

I'd say that's a benefit though. Good even light, minimal shadows, and no single fixture that will blast you out if you happen to be working right under it. 10 or 12 would take care of 500 sq feet and bulbs are almost free.

[Domicron]

i have recessed can lighting in my basement right now but since you're not planning to drywall the ceiling i like the idea of track lighting more than recessed cans. if i were to redo it i'd tear down the ceiling, paint the joists and the ceiling black and put in track lighting. there are so many options you have available in terms of directional lighting, flood lighting, location, etc. especially if it's a big enough area where you might not only be doing gym stuff.

that being said, i'd MUCH rather go can lights than fluorescent. this is my basement:


there are 12 can lights in the main room, with 8 of them on the equipment side (2 rows of 4 spaced about 6 feet apart) and between the powerblock barbells (i hate them, FYI) and the bench that lightbulb actually needs to be replaced, so you can see there's plenty of light.

[Synthetickiller]

I'd say that's a benefit though. Good even light, minimal shadows, and no single fixture that will blast you out if you happen to be working right under it. 10 or 12 would take care of 500 sq feet and bulbs are almost free.

Well, I never said one. Where'd you get one from?

For an L-shape, 3 to 4 is all that's necessary. There's also dimmable versions on amazon that are pretty affordable, considering what you get packaged in one light.
Assuming you go with 10 recessed cans & buy the LED flood lights (trying to get better lighting instead of a black void underneath yourself), both will set you back 10 to 15 each, so you're looking at $20 to $30 a light, plus having to mount & wire all of them together. It's doable, but as a final solution, it's not something that's ideal.

The led edison socket bulbs also do not have the life span they claim. $10 a bulb might not be a lot to you, but I'd hate to drop $100 on bulbs that last no where near the touted 50k hour claim.
Going with a recessed can w/ LEDs built in will probably set you back $30+ each (depending on style), closer to $50 for better spread.



I'd love to see all of these top quality, free LED bulbs you're talking about those. Please link ASAP.

[rollerball]

the powerblock barbells (i hate them, FYI)

Lol look at them! Just awful.

[Domicron]

Lol look at them! Just awful.

better than fluorescent panels, and that's why i recommended track

[Seatard]

Well, I never said one. Where'd you get one from?

For an L-shape, 3 to 4 is all that's necessary. There's also dimmable versions on amazon that are pretty affordable, considering what you get packaged in one light.
Assuming you go with 10 recessed cans & buy the LED flood lights (trying to get better lighting instead of a black void underneath yourself), both will set you back 10 to 15 each, so you're looking at $20 to $30 a light, plus having to mount & wire all of them together. It's doable, but as a final solution, it's not something that's ideal.

The led edison socket bulbs also do not have the life span they claim. $10 a bulb might not be a lot to you, but I'd hate to drop $100 on bulbs that last no where near the touted 50k hour claim.
Going with a recessed can w/ LEDs built in will probably set you back $30+ each (depending on style), closer to $50 for better spread.



I'd love to see all of these top quality, free LED bulbs you're talking about those. Please link ASAP.

Huh? I didn't say one either. LOL

Costco in my area sells 3 packs of LED bulbs for $5. I certainly wouldn't make any claims of "top quality" about them but they have been a good value, no failures during the 2 or 3 years I've had a dozen or so going, and put out pleasant bright light IMO.

A pretty common design for general overhead lighting is to have more fixtures putting out less light each rather than fewer fixtures with a higher light output. This can be seen anywhere from big warehouses, most newer houses, airplanes, and even Dom's basement. It's not right or wrong, just that many prefer an even spread of overhead light rather than points. There are many ways to accomplish this.

[Seatard]

better than fluorescent panels, and that's why i recommended track

LOL, I think he meant your power shake weight blocks.

Track lighting is nice for accent lighting and what have you, and there are a ton of options. If installed up in the joist bays to gain headroom they will pretty much have to point down anyways, and will probably never be adjusted once initially set. Might as well just put regular fixtures where you want/need them.

[rollerball]

LOL, I think he meant your power shake weight blocks.

^ Lol.

[Domicron]

Lol.

oh, yeah the bars suck

[Seatard]

oh, yeah the bars suck

Might make nice pull up bars for someone.

[CliveWarren]

Dom, can't you use the Powerblock barbells for satellite speaker stands?

[CliveWarren]

I'm liking Synthetickiller's troffer idea. What might kill that, is the fixtures don't seem cheap (in Canada)and T5 tubes are close to $5 each too. Some of the LED fixtures start at $50, so I'll have to give this some consideration.

I hadn't considered dimming at all, but I might need to give this more thought. Sometimes, I'd like to set a romantic scene when spending time with a special vintage York. Nomsayin?

[1651Naismith]

FWIW, I dealt with your same problem about a year ago.

I ended up going with LED bulbs in recessed cans. I felt it was a cleaner look and the LED bulbs have evolved to a point where you can get good light (1500 lumen, 3000k) that mirror halogen bulbs. If I ever decide to finish the ceilings and convert the room to something else (gag!) the lighting will be in place.

I also put in a Lutron dimmer, mainly for when I bench press. I purposely placed the cans around the rack so I wouldn't have one directly overhead, but still prefer to dim them a bit when benching. 1-click gives bench press lighting, 2-clicks gives full lighting.

My ceilings are 9 ft and I used 8 cans to cover a 15'x26' area.

[Cleveland33]

I can't stand overhead lighting in my gym area - I took all the bulbs out and just use the ******t light from the other side of the room.

[70chevellegsp]

I put 4 of these LED lights from Lowes in my gym. It's approx. 16x24 (384 sq ft). They are pretty nondescript, very bright and have good throw. Not bad price wise ($37) and you can put them on a dimmer.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_595690-43921...=50279787&pl=1

[jtaliani]

The exposed lighting in my gym drove me nuts and frequently gave me a migraine. I originally planned on having full led box fixtures wired in, but went with these instead:



They are from Lowes and were very reasonable. I think I did my whole basement for a little over $300. They're led plug in shoplight style fixtures and I just used outlet adapters to "wire" them into my existing infrastructure. It's not as polished as some options, but works extremely well, has a nice light spectrum and throw, and is plenty fine for an unfinished basement in my opinion.

[Domicron]

Might make nice pull up bars for someone.

Dom, can't you use the Powerblock barbells for satellite speaker stands?

now this is going somewhere i like...

[JCinPA]

The exposed lighting in my gym drove me nuts and frequently gave me a migraine. I originally planned on having full led box fixtures wired in, but went with these instead:



They are from Lowes and were very reasonable. I think I did my whole basement for a little over $300. They're led plug in shoplight style fixtures and I just used outlet adapters to "wire" them into my existing infrastructure. It's not as polished as some options, but works extremely well, has a nice light spectrum and throw, and is plenty fine for an unfinished basement in my opinion.

Thank you very much! My basement ceiling is just like that, and I've been lurking waiting for the perfect solution. I think that's it! Preesh!

[Wildtim]

The exposed lighting in my gym drove me nuts and frequently gave me a migraine. I originally planned on having full led box fixtures wired in, but went with these instead:



They are from Lowes and were very reasonable. I think I did my whole basement for a little over $300. They're led plug in shoplight style fixtures and I just used outlet adapters to "wire" them into my existing infrastructure. It's not as polished as some options, but works extremely well, has a nice light spectrum and throw, and is plenty fine for an unfinished basement in my opinion.

This is what I would do in an unfinished basement. If you ever decide to have it finished you'll probably be hiring an electrician to wire the walls and at that time a few more bucks to wire whatever lighting you and your wife agree on for the finished space.

[rollerball]

I wish there were some decent suggestions for lighting in a space with a finished ceiling and for a guy who is completely not savvy at wiring.

They are from Lowes and were very reasonable. I think I did my whole basement for a little over $300. They're led plug in shoplight style fixtures and I just used outlet adapters to "wire" them into my existing infrastructure. It's not as polished as some options, but works extremely well, has a nice light spectrum and throw, and is plenty fine for an unfinished basement in my opinion.

Edit: Actually this did give me an idea. Perhaps I'll try something like this: http://www.superiorlighting.com/48_W...=cse&kwid=kwid
It has a normal plug so I figure I can just suspend it on the ceiling and just run the power cord to the wall socket. Not the most attractive solution but whatever.

[Wildtim]

thats about what you can do unless you are savvy with renovation wiring as well as drywalling and painting.

[matchsprint]

There are some really nice and inexpensive surface-mount LED strips that are excellent for a workout area. They don't take away any ceiling height and they use very little power. Another advantage, if your area tends to be cool or cold, is that they emit constant light without the starting problems that fluorescents have in cold weather.

The costs are a lot less than doing cans with screw-in LEDs. If you want to get a general sense of what high-power strips can accomplish, just look at what they make for trucks -- huge power output at very little cost. And by the way, you can save enough money with them that you can then do downward spread lighting mounted on the underside of your bench so you can look like that East Angeleno low-rider. Flame orange or hot pink is your choice.

[CliveWarren]

The exposed lighting in my gym drove me nuts and frequently gave me a migraine. I originally planned on having full led box fixtures wired in, but went with these instead:



They are from Lowes and were very reasonable. I think I did my whole basement for a little over $300. They're led plug in shoplight style fixtures and I just used outlet adapters to "wire" them into my existing infrastructure. It's not as polished as some options, but works extremely well, has a nice light spectrum and throw, and is plenty fine for an unfinished basement in my opinion.

Well, I think I will do this where possible. Not all joist bays are vacant. I will have to do a bit of wiring, all my bases are unswitched. So I'll probably just wire ceiling receptacles such that I swap in fixtures. I have seen LED tubes as rollerball mentions for $40 - $50 each. If I cant fit a 4' in a particular bay, I can put a 2' or perhaps the fixture 70chevellegsp linked.