Skim Ceiling First or Install Spot lights first?

[gidrae]

Hi, in the process of revamping our bathroom and just curious if we should install the spot lights into the ceiling first, or get the ceiling skimmed first (to get rid of the hideous artexing.

So skim and do lights or do lights then skim. My instinct tells me to get the ceiling skimmed first.

Advice from the experts here would be much appreciated

 

[HERTS P&D]

Skim ceiling first then add bathroom light, I wouldn't be cutting holes in the ceiling for spots as steam from the bath/shower will go into the loft.

Andy

 

[GuinnessSI]

I would skim the ceiling first; the hole cut by a hole cutter is neat and usually covered by the light to a decent degree.

I have seen them fitted within a bathroom environment before and they look very good. However, as Herts touches on making sure you get the right zone of light is going to be difficult and probably expensive. You will almost certainly be within the bath zone with one light (unless you have a special arrangement to find this) and therefore will probably end up with all your light lights as either zone 1 or zone 2 (best case) lights. You can get these in spot lights and as you can imagine they are more expansive than there typical counterparts, you should also fit caps to the back of the lights as a fire stop if your bathroom has a habitable floor above.

 

[scottyboyiow]

If his ceilings are taller then 2.25 meters, then his spot lights are more than lightly going to be outside of any zone surely?

 

[tingleshutters]

Hi, in the process of revamping our bathroom and just curious if we should install the spot lights into the ceiling first, or get the ceiling skimmed first (to get rid of the hideous artexing.

So skim and do lights or do lights then skim. My instinct tells me to get the ceiling skimmed first.

Advice from the experts here would be much appreciated

hey man either way works from my experience though yo can get some breakout of plaster even when using a hole cutter. I tend to cut holes first in plasterboard skim them fit much neater job

 

[GuinnessSI]

It would still have to be zone 2 I believe if its above the bath. Just not zone 1 if its more than 2.25.

 

[scottyboyiow]

Above 2.25m is outside of zones, no matter where is it!

 

[GuinnessSI]

That is incorrect according to BS 7671 I believe.

See the photo (not from BS7671 but contains the relevant info)

Therefore if you are 2.25m above floor level under the bath (debatable as the wording suggest this should be taken as water level and therefore around 600mm, for arguments sake however and to be comparable with the diagram we will use from floor) you are in zone 1, if you are within 3m of the floor you in zone 2. Anything above 3m and you are outside of the zoning.


Average residential ceilings are 2.4m floor to ceiling, thus my assumption and to air on the side of caution that he is likely going to be in zone 1 or 2.

I digress anyway, the topic was should you skim the ceiling first. I personally wouldn’t skim with the holes done on the off chance that a decent amount of plaster enters the hole and causes good viable plaster to break off when pushing the light fitting in.

Obviously a flat ceiling without holes is much easier to plaster but that’s by the by.

 

[scottyboyiow]

Not sure where that pic is from but from my understanding and the wiki: //www.diynot.com/wiki/_detail/..._17th.jpg?id=electrics:speclcn:bathroom_zones