[javadog]

One of my garages is close to yours in size. I used 9 surface mounted fixtures with 4 48' bulbs, spaced in three rows of three. The walls and ceiling are white. It's bright compared to most garages but I still have to augment the lighting with drop lights when working on a car.

In my warehouse, I have a mixture of 48" and 96" lights and the longer ones are a pain in the butt to change. Something I did there was to distribute the lighting unevenly, with the longer lights used for general illumination and an area designated for wrenching on a car set up with 6 fixtures with 3 48" bulbs, directly over the car. It's quite bright, but occasionally drop lights are used there as well. It's a better setup than the one in the garage, as I am usually working on one car at a time, so the light elsewhere doesn't have to be as bright. Additional lights are placed above the workbench.

You'll never have enough light. If you want to eliminate the need for drop lights, you should consider wall mounted lights on all four sides of where you plan to work on the cars. I'd distribute the lights unequally, with a lot more used where the most work will be done and fewer used where you will park the daily drivers and store things.

JR