Hanging a ceiling light off of a conservatory

[jtaunton]

I have purchased a ceiling light and fan to fit in our conservatory which, ever since we moved in, has had bare wires sticking out from the middle of the central ridge of the roof. This seems to be extruded aluminium with a clip-on plastic cover, which I cannot remove without disturbing lots of sealant. The wires pass through the middle of the extrusion and then come out of a hole in the plastic cover. I am not wholly sure whether they come out of a hole in the extrusion or from between a gap between two sections.

Two questions....

1) What is the best way to fix the light to this extrusion. I can drill through the extrusion but then what ? Do I use self-tapping screws ? Drill and tap ? I could even possibly use some of those spring toggle plasterboard fixings, but is there a best way of doing it ?

2) The instructions say that whatever you have to hang the light onto must be able to hold 35lb. Now I've done a quick test whereby I tug on it and it feels like it should be strong enough, but is there a better method ? Or should any decent conservatory be able to hang 35lb without breaking a sweat anyway.

All advice much appreciated....

 

[nstreet]

Self tappers should be ok. To test the weight, ask one of your fishing buddies for a lend of their scales. Attach the scale to the roof support and pull until it reads 35lb.

 

[masona]

Can you do a photo of your roof or show a picture from website similar to your roof.

Depend on length and the position of the glazing bar incase of bending etc.

 

[jtaunton]

I'm on my narrowband line at home now for the weekend, so won't try uploading images (got to find a host first), but the conservatory at http://www.thebbgroup.co.uk/globalconservatoryvillage/pshape4lrg.htm is pretty similar. The wires exit at the mid-point of the the ridge, which is also where it is joined by two supports sloping off to either side. Length of this piece is approximately 6 foot. I have checked a bit further and it does come out through a hole in the extrusion, rather than a gap between two.

Is this clear ? If not I can post pics on Monday....


Update - I've just weighed the kit and, boxed, it comes in at 14lb, so the manufacturer's recommendation comes with some safety margin (presumably for over-vigorous tugging on the switch-pulls), so I think I'm going to go for it. In addition to the self-tappers, I am going to build a sort of clamp - two straight mending plates, one inside the extrusion, one over the light's ceiling hanger plate, bolted together.

 

[HugoMidlothian]

Hi,

I have a very similar situation - bought a new ceiling fan/light to install in conservatory and it clearly says the ceiling must support no less than 35lbs (15.9kg)

Does this look like it can handle the weight? The fan unit is heavier than I'd expected when I lift it.

Many thanks for your help

 

[Old Salt]

As long as you get into the extrusion with a couple of decent screws it should be fine. Conservatory fitter did mine for me and used self drilling screws.