kitchen down lights

[jc19066kc]

i am fitting 6 low vaultage downlights in the kitchen but i can only get access from below the ceiling joists run across the narrow part of the kitchen about 1 foot apart, i want to fit the lights lengthways three at oneside and three at the other side the only way i can think of is to cut pieces of plaster board away and were the joists are chisel a slot to run the cables through, open to ideas. jc19066kc

 

[EFLImpudence]

i am fitting 6 low vaultage downlights in the kitchen but i can only get access from below the ceiling joists run across the narrow part of the kitchen about 1 foot apart, i want to fit the lights lengthways three at oneside and three at the other side the only way i can think of is to cut pieces of plaster board away and were the joists are chisel a slot to run the cables through, open to ideas. jc19066kc

Do not notch the joists on the bottom.

If you cannot drill a hole in the centre of the joist at the allowable positions then you cannot do what you intend.

 

[Sherbertlion]

Drill some 3mm or 4mm holes to find exactly where the joists are then carefully cut away a small section that clears the joist either side by about 30mm/40mm then go fishing with some trunking lid or coat hanger or something else suitable (you'll be expert at it after the first one!). If you're good and lucky at fishing then the width of the ceiling you cut away doesn't need to be much wider that the cable and a clip. Pull cables through, clip to bottom of joist, a bit of one time filler and your done!

 

[jc19066kc]

thanks for all your help much a appreciated

 

[sparkwright]

If you don't mind a bit of patching up, cut a long strip of plasterboard about 12 inches wide. Drill a row of holes through the joists, install the cables. Then screw back the strip of plasterboard and make good. This way you won't have to worry about the cables just behind the surface of the ceiling, which often come to light when reboarding the ceiling.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

i am fitting 6

Do you have 6 lights at the moment?

If you have fewer, does the fact that you'll need 6 downlights not tell you that downlights don't work very well, which is why you need lots of them?

low vaultage downlights

Please read this: //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:voltage-bands

in the kitchen

Which part of the UK do you live in?

but i can only get access from below

This could be very important - why can't you get access from above?