Problems with fit of downlighters.

[gus4778]

Hi there.

I have had a load of downlighters fitted in the ceiling of my kitchen and bedroom. They were fitted a while back (best part of 12 months!) but over time I've become not entirely happy with the fit of the units in the ceiling - it seems to me that the spring clips that hold them in are not strong enough and the weight of the lights means they don't fit snugly to the ceiling.

Is it possible to buy stronger clips to hold the units more closely to the ceiling? They are like THESE ones, but not by that manufacturer I think.

Any advice anyone has would be much appreciated.

 

[Chri5]

Some spring clips are set for both single and double board skins.

I'd imagine that you have a single board and the clips aren't super sprung due to only being a 9-11mm board.
If the fittings were poorly handled on installation the clips may have crumbled the edge of the board, which again gives less board for the clip to compress against.

Why not take the fitting out of the ceiling and add some blocks of plasterboard, glue it down and then when the fittings go back your have 18-22mm for the clips to have better compression against.

There's no need to put blocks all the way round the hole, just at 180 degrees to each other and make sure that's where the clips seat.

 

[TicklyT]

I remember the first downlighter I ever met. I fitted the spring clips the wrong way round. There was just enough spring in the clips for the thing to sort of hang loosely in it's hole in the ceiling - until I actually got round to reading the instructions!

 

[gus4778]

Well the edges of some of the holes are a bit crumbly so that probably isn't helping - I'll give the doubling up a go.

Probably the worst one is an 12v IP65 rated unit in the shower cubicle. I think the best way to deal with this one may be to replace it with a slightly bigger unit.

If all I do is replace the unit (with no additional wiring), I assume it doesn't need Part P certifying/notification. Is this correct?

Cheers for your help.

 

[Taylortwocities]

If all I do is replace the unit (with no additional wiring), I assume it doesn't need Part P certifying/notification. Is this correct?

.

If you are replacing, like for like - for maintenance then you do not need to notify.