With my deck refurb in the finishing painting stage I can now work on next outside project.  For whatever reason the rest of the house has vinyl siding and soffits, but he carport seems to have been left out.  For many years I have just painted it, but now I just want the vinyl soffit and be done with it.  Of course while I am at it a few upgrades are in order.

 

First up is a improvement to the lighting.  When it rains or I need to work after dark the carport offers the best place and plenty of work area.  But only two 4 ft fluorescent fixtures provide very poor light.  So I am thinking to add eight 4ft long LED fixtures.  That should cover the 22x16 ft area with plenty of light.  In theory.

 

So today I have removed the old fixtures.  Conducted chemical warfare against the wasps and hornets that had taken up residence inside the guts of the fixtures.

These lights have been up for 33 years according to the date stamped on one of them.  You can see in the picture at one time the ceiling was a golden / yellow color.

Not worried about painting this, I intend to cover the works with vinyl soffit.  I have enough in stock to do about 2/3 of it so this should be a $100 project.

 

 

 

Now I need 4 outlet boxes, 2 outlets each to give power to the lights.  For this project like my shop I want to be able to unplug them if I need to repair or replace.

Used this jig to cut the 45⁰  angles for the box shells we shall call them.

 

 

Cutting up all the pieces I assembled and used  glue and air nails to make 4 little boxes.  Drilled pocket holes in them to attached to ceiling from inside the box, leaving enough room to put the metal electrical box in place.  All sanded, edges rounded on the router table and ready for paint.  Which the 1st coat is now drying.

 

 

Could not get an answer from anyone if the outlets without a cover can be used UNDER a carport or not.  If the time comes to sell the house and someone insists they MUST have covers the boxes are wide enough to allow the use of the covered outlets like I used here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 20196 yr by Woodbutcherbynight

I will try to remember to ask the inspector for the town I work in, that question.

Today's work thus far on lights.

 

Wired everything up, 4 outlets for a total of 8 receptacles.  All I really had to do here was use existing wires, relocate to new location then add extra wire to extra outlet.  Bit warm in attic this evening but tolerable and I had easy access to where I needed to work, as well as lighting.  Years ago I installed lights in attic for just this reason.

 

 

 

So after an hour of work installing 4 of the 8 lights we have the carport with lights off.  Location is something I will play with this week.  May change as I see the light when it is darker outside.

 

 

Now we turn the lights ON. Take in mind this is half the fixtures installed.  Still have 4 more to install yet, so the wires have not been cut to length.

 

 

 

 

Not a bad days work considering I had to make the boxes from scratch and get them painted today.  

Those LED lights are very bright and draw very little current.  I have on on our back porch so I can use the washer and dryer at night.  It is 25 watts and brighter than the 4 foot fluorescent that was there.  I have another in the kitchen that is about 30 watts and is stronger than the 4  with 2 tubes of 80 watts of fluorescent that was there.  

 

On the outlets, I suspect that GCFI will be required as they will be exposed to moisture, such as fog or humidity from rain.  I can't think of anything other than using a hose to wash the ceiling.  Of course, you wouldn't do that, but common sense seems to be rarer these days.  

 

BTW, I love that truck you have parked in the drive way.  They are usually very durable.  

Those boxes are one great idea. Looks like you have enough light with 4, but looking back I can see one side is dark. What is the leumens on them and color temperature? I have been buying 2400lu with 5000 k temperature. The bad part here is that the color rendering is not good at 5000 , 4000 better for that . So match color somewhere else. Shop is 24 x 36 and I think I have 9 Led fixtures but concentrate on work areas and add to that a couple double light led floods for finishing area.

12 minutes ago, FlGatorwood said:

Those LED lights are very bright and draw very little current. 

I love these things.  Replaced every light in the shop with one.  I have been getting them 4 for $55 off Amazon.  Not a fixture you put inside but for shop use, perfect.  Lightweight, very little heat compared to florescent, and a lot less power being used.

 

16 minutes ago, FlGatorwood said:

On the outlets, I suspect that GCFI will be required as they will be exposed to moisture, such as fog or humidity from rain. 

I upgraded several years ago and have a GFI on each circuit used.  But I am unsure if you need one anytime you have a fixture outside.  Don't really see why, if you have one at the beginning of the circuit the entire circuit if overloaded would pop the breaker in the GFI.  People who don't see this or the overkill safety crowd might be the reason why newer codes require it.  Only issue with them is that they fail over time which requires you changing them out.  Rare to change an outlet in a house unless somebody got stupid, or you changed the color to match a new paint theme.

 

20 minutes ago, FlGatorwood said:

I can't think of anything other than using a hose to wash the ceiling.  Of course, you wouldn't do that, but common sense seems to be rarer these days.

I do Pressure Wash the house and the ceiling in the carport will have vinyl soffit installed once I am done.  Annual maintenance will have to get done but I do know to kill the GFI breaker for the 3 spots this is an issue with, BEFORE I hit it with the water.  Even then I am not spraying directly into it.  Other people, like neighbor down the street, well he is fully charged... 

 

22 minutes ago, FlGatorwood said:

BTW, I love that truck you have parked in the drive way.  They are usually very durable.

 

Thanks, 2002 Tundra, got it new when I worked at Toyota.  145K miles, that's it.  It gets maybe 1000 miles a year since 2006.

13 minutes ago, Gerald said:

What is the leumens on them and color temperature?

These are what I have been using.   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XGBKDKZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Currently they are $49 for a 4 pack, so I ordered some more.

 

 

Says 3600lm at 5000K.  In my 16x20 shop I used 12.  It is quite bright.  For task lights I have 30 watt LED fog lights that run off a couple of 12 volt power supplies I have.

 

 

 

 

22 hours ago, Woodbutcherbynight said:

or you changed the color to match a new paint theme

You can't believe the number of folks who come into the Restore to "donate" their old covers, switches, and outlets because...

yeah, somebody just HAD to have something "different"

 

The only time i change stuff out is if the old contractor grade switches are popping and i just replace them with industrial.

3 hours ago, p_toad said:

You can't believe the number of folks who come into the Restore to "donate" their old covers, switches, and outlets

People will drop by and inquire if I have some of these items.  It always makes me laugh when I open a drawer and have them all laid out and sorted. 

 

Yeah I have a couple, in stock.  What you have to trade??

 

Got a delivery today of 4 more lights so I got busy and installed them.  Pretty pleased with the end result.  Plenty of light when needed.  Still working on what light works best for the motion light we have by the side door.  I did a temp install of a short LED bar light and a 20 watt LED floodlight.  Have to see over next few days what I like best.  Did discover that with the LED main lights on the motion sensor thinks it is daylight and does not work. 

 

 

This was 4 LED fixtures few day ago.

 

 

 

 

This is 8 LED fixtures this evening.

 

 

No wonder it is daylight. Looks good

Have you noticed a larger influx of bugs now? We’re fighting mosquitos with EEE up here right now.

 Nice job Gunny.

6 hours ago, Artie said:

Have you noticed a larger influx of bugs now?

Looks like an influx of cat to me.

For some reason, our LED deck lights don't attract bugs. But, the florescent on the back patio sure does. 

2 hours ago, DuckSoup said:

Looks like an influx of cat to me.

Those are my supervisors.  They report directly to my wife on what I am doing.  They are many, just like at any government job.  And they work hard just like government supervisors.

 

   

 

 

 

 

My Missus has informed me that the correct term is Not supervisors, but snoopervisors.

7 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

For some reason, our LED deck lights don't attract bugs. But, the florescent on the back patio sure does. 

 

Bugs don't see most LED lights.  Some of them do see my LED flood lights.  Read this link for complete story.

 

Yes all of it.  It is not that long.

 

https://blog.1000bulbs.com/home/do-led-lights-attract-bugs

 

B

1 hour ago, HandyDan said:

Read this link for complete story.

 

Interesting read, and very informative about the how and why of the matter.  If I have understood correctly these lights I used produce less heat, which helps with the bugs.  But, they still operate in the same wavelength that many bugs can see.  So on one hand you have less heat which helps but on the other you are still in the wavelength they do like. 

 

Now this article also got me to thinking about how much light I have as it mentions having bug lights where you would typically be. This is a carport so most of the time the only thing that happens here is my truck sits in it.  On a rare occasion I have need to work on a vehicle for someone, so better light is needed.  I am not a entertainer kinda person.  So we don't have parties and sit out under the carport and eat and such.  But I do work here after dark sometimes and when it rains so the overkill with lighting is what I desire.

 

For those considering lights, you could tone this down by having the lights on different switches, zone lighting if you will.  8 lights could be paired to 4 switches.  So if you had a cookout and people eating you could have full bright, then as dinner is done cut some down and go more for ambient lighting.  Various ways to wire this up to accomplish the same goal.  @Artie could better inform us of codes and requirements.  It really boils down to what you want out of your lighting scheme, and how much time, money and effort you wish to put into it.  I know it is just a carport, but I see it this way.  It's your house and it should be set up the way you want it to work.  Do what works bets for you.  

@Woodbutcherbynight I purchased 8 these after seeing your installation in your shop. Took out the incandescent bulbs from the porcelain bases in the basement and used a screw in plug. Using the pull string on the base I can turn on just 2 at a time. At first my wife thought it was too bright so I switched back to the incandescent and that's when she realized how dim a 75 watt bulb is, sold her on the fixtures. I've since replaced all the fluorescents in my shop with these. 

 The only heat that will really be generated from led's will come from the drivers, with these its on the plug end & its barely warm to the touch.

4 minutes ago, DuckSoup said:

At first my wife thought it was too bright so I switched back to the incandescent and that's when she realized how dim a 75 watt bulb is, sold her on the fixtures.

This has been true for many of my friends as well.  Once you see the difference in person you are really amazed at how much light  they put out.