It’s no longer a garage. It’s a living space and the ceiling will only have recessed lights once I am finished. I didn’t want the distraction of a hatch in the ceiling.
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Cable fishing advice please
- Thread starter Jupiter01
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Fair enough, I had the idea that it was still a garage.
Are all the suggestions useless then?
There may be more help if you posted a few photos of how the room is put together, especially the area of where pitched ceiling meets floor/wall/eaves cupboards??
Can’t imagine how yours is done.
Can’t advise without that
There may be more help if you posted a few photos of how the room is put together, especially the area of where pitched ceiling meets floor/wall/eaves cupboards??
Can’t imagine how yours is done.
Can’t advise without that
The exterior of the house is similar to this arrangement.
Note that the garage has an apex roof.
This has been converted into a habitable room. Internally it has a flat plasterboard ceiling screwed to the joists of the roof trusses. The ceiling void has some rockwool (not rigid insulation) laid across the joists.
I now have an inspection hole in the ceiling and after some tips on how I can route cables across a series of holes that I need to punch out for spotlights.
Thanks again.
Note that the garage has an apex roof.
This has been converted into a habitable room. Internally it has a flat plasterboard ceiling screwed to the joists of the roof trusses. The ceiling void has some rockwool (not rigid insulation) laid across the joists.
I now have an inspection hole in the ceiling and after some tips on how I can route cables across a series of holes that I need to punch out for spotlights.
Thanks again.
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Maybe a bit 'left-field', but if it is similar to that, would there be any possibility of creating a small 'access door' (to the roof space, from 'outside') through the brick wall on the right?
That might be considered to be far too much work just for the immediate purpose but, as has been suggested, with the future in mind it's not all that desirable that one should have a roof space with no access at all (other than by removing tiles and cutting rafters!).
Are you sure that it is 'joists and rafters', rather than 'trusses'?
Kind Regards, John
They are trusses. Sorry for my interchangeable use of these terms.
Can I not do the following:
- mark out holes for all downlights. Will set out laser, check that each hole is clear by drilling a small pilot hole and using a steel wire.
- cut out all downlight holes
- Starting at first hole, insert fishing rod in the direction of the next hole. Have someone stick their hand in the second hole and wait to feel the fishing rod?
The difference would only be of importance to you if you were thinking of following any of the suggestions about making 'access hatches' (into roof space) in ceiling or roof. Whilst (if one installs appropriate 'trimmers') one can safely remove a bit of one or two ceiling joists or rafters, to create such a hatch, the structural integrity of a truss is dependent upon it remaining intact, so if you chopped a bit out of either the 'joist' or 'rafter' part of a truss, then I think there would be at least a theoretical possibility of the whole thing 'collapsing'
I'm not sure why you are asking us this. There are no 'rules' - one simply has to fiddle about in the sort of ways you've mentioned until one succeeds (and it can be quite tedious and time-consuming), but any method which eventually works is obviously 'adequate'.
People have (inevitably!) already mentioned the issue of interfering with thermal insulation (which I personally would not lose sleep over!). Another issue is that your cables could end up largely under the insulation - but even 1.0 mm² cable represents so much 'overkill' for a lighting circuit that that doesn't really matter (in terms of de-rating). However, what are you going to do about the fact that most downlighters cannot be safely installed "covered in insulation" (overheating)?
Kind Regards, John.
I was hoping to receive any practical advice on how I could loop these cables through the holes. Yes, I can muddle through but didn't know if there was a tried-and-tested approach for this. Perhaps it will cause me to use less expletives if nothing else!
Yes, I can understand that. However, I suppose what I was saying was that, in this situation, 'people' (certainly myself!) usually have to 'muddle through' (often tediously), using/trying any ideas that come into their head - and it's usually eventually possible to succeed!
Individuals may offer you specific advice/tips but, since no two situations are exactly the same, they may not be as useful to you as you would hope.
Good luck!
Kind Regards, John
UPDATE: after punching out all the holes, I used a rod from one hole towards the other. I then had my father-in-law shining a light in the other hole and one he saw the rod (usually after moving the fibre insulation), he used the hook section of the rod kit to pull the rod through the second hole.
The hook doesn’t slip off the rod as it catches on the chubby end of the rod (screw bit). This method worked very well in my situation.
Thanks for your help.
The hook doesn’t slip off the rod as it catches on the chubby end of the rod (screw bit). This method worked very well in my situation.
Thanks for your help.
Thank you for the feedback.
As usual, two heads and four hands are better than one and two thereof.
As usual, two heads and four hands are better than one and two thereof.
Glad you managed. What you describe is just one of the variants of the 'fiddling about' that I talked about - something usually works in the end! Well done!
Kind Regards, John
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