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...a lighting tip....
So the basement is pretty....basic. Just a "cellar" with a concrete floor that is the foundation for the house.
Ceiling is actually the underside of the floor above it. Rafters and underlamen, some wiring. That's it.
Only lights down there were a couple of incandescent sockets that did little for lighting up the room, so dad decided to do something about that.
He grabbed a couple of shop lights and hung them in more advantageous areas in the basement and they did do a better job of lighting things up.
….but it was still a bit dark down there. The light didn't spread very much.
His solution......
...cut a sheet of plywood in half and them cut down the sides a little.
Paint them with gloss white latex and screw them into the rafters, above where the lights are mounted.
Works very well!
The light spreads out a surprising distance and two light, that are sort of "around the corner" from each other do a pretty fair job of lighting up that side of the basement (the other side is more for storage and not used much, so its lit a little differently.
I remembered this lesson and many years later, when it came time to replace one of the outside light fixtures for the back porch, I opted for a shop light that didn't have a "hood"....
...REALLY lights up that whole part of the property!
The stringer you see supporting all those ribs is a 2x8 and it does a nice job of shading the glare from that light from blinding us, as there are 3 picture windows just to the left of what you see here.
Anyway, there you go.
If you have a "lighting intensity" problem and am considering more lighting, think about brightening up the area above the light.
Can really do wonders.
Dean
So the basement is pretty....basic. Just a "cellar" with a concrete floor that is the foundation for the house.
Ceiling is actually the underside of the floor above it. Rafters and underlamen, some wiring. That's it.
Only lights down there were a couple of incandescent sockets that did little for lighting up the room, so dad decided to do something about that.
He grabbed a couple of shop lights and hung them in more advantageous areas in the basement and they did do a better job of lighting things up.
….but it was still a bit dark down there. The light didn't spread very much.
His solution......
...cut a sheet of plywood in half and them cut down the sides a little.
Paint them with gloss white latex and screw them into the rafters, above where the lights are mounted.
Works very well!
The light spreads out a surprising distance and two light, that are sort of "around the corner" from each other do a pretty fair job of lighting up that side of the basement (the other side is more for storage and not used much, so its lit a little differently.
I remembered this lesson and many years later, when it came time to replace one of the outside light fixtures for the back porch, I opted for a shop light that didn't have a "hood"....
...REALLY lights up that whole part of the property!
The stringer you see supporting all those ribs is a 2x8 and it does a nice job of shading the glare from that light from blinding us, as there are 3 picture windows just to the left of what you see here.
Anyway, there you go.
If you have a "lighting intensity" problem and am considering more lighting, think about brightening up the area above the light.
Can really do wonders.
Dean
Last Edited:
I'll be in camp holding down the fort.
