fixing downlighter

[helly18]

sorry if this is not in the right forum please move if needed . we had halogen downlighters installed in the kitchen but unfortunatley 1 hole seems to be cut slightly out and the chrome downligher is now hanging loose. can anyone tell me how i can secure this, i thoughto silicone but didnt know if it would be suitable with the heat generated by the halogen fitting?

 

[riveralt]

sorry if this is not in the right forum please move if needed . we had halogen downlighters installed in the kitchen but unfortunatley 1 hole seems to be cut slightly out and the chrome downligher is now hanging loose. can anyone tell me how i can secure this, i thoughto silicone but didnt know if it would be suitable with the heat generated by the halogen fitting?

Your best bet is to get the people back who fitted it in the first place and tell to fix it properly.

Failing that:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Manufacturers/Knightsbridge/Downlight_Converter_Kit/index.html

 

[sparkwright]

Assuming the clips on the fitting are present and ok, and the hole is definitely too big, it's not that easy.

If the hole is not a perfect circle you may be turn the fitting round so the clips have a decent bit of ceiling to clamp to.

You could try filling round the hole, but it isn't successful. It usually all cracks away when you put the fitting back.

You could cut a large section of ceiling out and put plasterboard in, then re-drill the hole with appropriate hole saw.

The easiest way has to be change all the fittings for larger ones.

Though why should you?

Is the hole a perfect circle, or is it oval shaped as if damage has been caused pulling the fitting out?

Is the ceiling plasterboard, or lath and plaster?

 

[PrinceofDarkness]

helly: these things are a blessed nuicance, but the answer isn't the use of silicone adhesive because it just makes it so much more difficult for the next poor devil who might have to remove the fitting.

If the overall flange is still larger than the ceiling cut-out, then it might be possible to re-tension the two spring arms with a little patience and application - but check the ceiling void first to make sure that there's not an 'obstruction' to either of those wings........


Lucia.

 

[PrinceofDarkness]

I agree with you sparkwright. I didn't see your reply 'til after I'd replied.


Lucia.

 

[Moggy19]

Hi all, I have the same problem where the holes on a couple of downlighters in my kitchen which are bigger than the fittings, they 230 mains downlighters with therefore no transformers and one of then has a broken bit of plasterboard. Does anyone know where you can get bigger fittings for these or indeed bigger circumference full voltage lights to replace them. Any help appreciated.

 

[Moggy19]

Pardon me have just found the converter kits from tlc-direct, am assuming that I would have to buy converters for each light as they are currently 230 v downlighters.

 

[pjcomp]

If your downlighters are the fixed sort, you can replace them with the tilt sort which is usually wider. If the too-big hole is big enough the tilt downlights may go straight in, but more likely you'd have to expand the hole a bit to accommodate them - better to nibble a little at a time than go for it in one and find you've overdone it ....

PJ

 

[mfarrow]

Silicon will work, but make sure you're not obstructing the flow of air around the fitting, and take note of PoD's comments.

I repaired a pair of GHD straighteners with silicon (the ceramic pads fell off) and they're still going strong.

 

[helly18]

many thanks all , agree these things are a flipping nuisance (look lovely though!), i will have a fiddle to see if i can turn it to grab the plasterboard. When the plaster board has been cut its nibbled the plaster a bit on one side so not a perfect circle.

The builder who did our extension went bust before all the snagging was complete and its now 2 years after they were installed so spark probably wouldnt rectify at this point, in fact i dont even know if he got paid by the builder he owed money to quite a few.

 

[sparkwright]

Make sure the lamp is away from any wiring or transformers (if you have them) as the heat can cause serious damage.