Downligts with limited floor void

[Davrobin]

Any suggestions.... I live in a cottage with exposed beams in the kitchen ceiling. We'd like some downlights over a new peninsular unit. I don't fancy ripping up the bedrom floor to get to the limited void between pairs of joists if I can help it.... What are the requirements for air-vent-space if I want to install halogen downlighters? I suspect I don't have a deep enough floor void to cope with 240V Gu10's.... but the kitchen fitters have wired up a transformer for low voltage lights in a glass fronted cupboard. The transformer looks like it will have 4 or 5 spare ways, & the cupboard downlight seems to be very slim (about 2cm deep). Could I use some of these? If so, what clearnce will they need above? Or could I be really tacky and fit them directly to the underside of a ceiling joist?

 

[Steve]

cupboard downlights are a different design to normal downlights. They are enclosed, whereas normal ceiling ones are ventilated, and not much deeper. The ceiling ones clip onto the back of the plasterboard with springs, no fixings required, and they just pull out for maintenance.

If this is an old cottage, the plaster may be applied to the floorboards direct. How were you going to run the cables for these lights, if you did have a void?

If I were you, I would run the cables in "mini" mini trunking on the surface and use the surface mounted cupboard downlighters. Then again, if i were you, I wouldn't be doing this full stop, I'd get a hanging light or a couple of surface spotlights!

And before adding things onto that tranny, check its rating, never mind how many spare ways it has got . . .

 

[Davrobin]

Thanks for the reply. The kitchen was built around 1985 so is really quite new (though the rest of the house is old). The kitchen ceiling has exposed joists as I said, but there is plasterboard, a small void of about 3-4 inches, and then the floorboards above. (in the kitchen there is about 3 inches of joist before you get to the plasterboard between the joists)

I don't fancy ripping up the bedroom floor to get to the void. Fortunately, the place we need the 3 lights fits in the gap between 1 pair of joists - so I should be able to thread the cable behind the plasterboard.

As part of the kitchen refit, we have 1 new glass-fronted cabinet so 1 in-cupboard light fed from a 6-way transformer (something of overkill, & so taking extra lamps shouldn't be a problem)

Suggestions for alternative lights would be apreciated.... e.g. what sort of surface spotlight do you have in mind? We'd like something extremely unobtrusive. Thinking about it, v. small spotlights might just fix on the side of 1 of the joists... I don't think the usual downlighter that goes through the plasterboard will work because of the limited void space & rockwook (or whatever) insulation in the void.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.

Dave R.

 

[Steve]

if you have rockwool up there, i wouldn't attempt to fit downlighters - there are all sorts of issues - derating cables, threading cables (which you suggest), and also of course, heat build up in the small void that you could create by pulling insulation out through the tiny hole. This will shorten the life span of the bulbs, and possibly create a fire risk. I would go for the surface spots, mounted to the side of the joist. Easier and safer.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_In..._and_Spots_Index/Single_Spots_GU10/index.html
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_In...ots_Index/Spotlights_Low_Voltage_1/index.html
couple of suggestions!