Installing down lights - how much & how hard

gazref

gazref

gazref

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Kitch/dine wall coming down soon and plasterer due March. Dining room has smooth ceiling and kitchen has artex so plasterer will be doing the kitchen ceiling at the same time.

Both rooms currently have 1 sole rack light fixture. Seems like a good opportunity to add some additional lighting and modernise the space.

Would this be classed as a significant/expensive renovation?
How many days would a sparky charge given he can make mess without worrying about the finish?
Approx how many spots would you use for a 9mx3m space?
 
Are dropping all the ceilings or just skimming over?
How competent are you? its pretty simple to take a loop of spotlights off each ceiling rose.

I always prefer more lights than have a dull lit area, I'd aim for 12-15 spots.
 
Plasterer said boards were sound and would be a waste of money to replace. He's going to prep the artex then skim over.

At DIY I suck. Sounds like a sparky won't need longer than a day?
 
14 downlights a day of spark time plus fittings and cable. 14 fire rated downlights - £15 each - £210, cable £50. Spark's time £250 - £400 (depending on where you are) - Somewhere between £500 and £700
 
(non-pendant) embedded downlights for me with replaceable bulbs seem to dissipate heat poorly leading to frequent replacement of gu10 bulbs
not sure if they are interchangeable in size with sealed units that might be more reliable (but $$$),
I'll be considering pendants on future kitchens, which can provide better coverage onto hob where extraction system is above.
 
My logic brain is telling me, it's by cutting a big enough hole below to get a drill in. Which makes me think, wiring the down lights would be better done before the plasterer does the ceiling.
 
You cut an extra hole (with a hole saw) on the joist. This then allows you to drill a hole (on an angle) through the joist to pass the cable through. Once finished, Re-fit cut out plaster and make good with some skim-filler or similar.
 
Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. Ahh, that actually explains some of the - what I thought were - bizarre holes in my utility room beams.

So, a job best done before the ceiling is professionally re-plastered.
 
Doing the lights after the ceiling has been plastered is a big no-no. Decide how many lights you require and head down to your local Screwfix or similar. Pick up lights and a roll of 1.5mm twin and earth. Doing the lights prior means you can cut your channels to bypass joists and the plasterer will repair. Decide where lights will go, cut out holes in ceiling and then just hook up the twin and earth to your centre light connection and start running the cable around to each light in turn, no need for an electrician.
 
When I had the kitchen lights done I lifted the floor boards above the kitchen to get to the lamp wiring, then fitted the led light wiring in or rather the electrician fitted the wiring, he had a special hole cutter for the ceiling, all togeather took a couple of hours, cost was around a couple of hundred.
 
Get the sparky in to get his cables in then get the plastering done then sparky will come back to drill the holes and install lights for 2nd fix

Sparky will be 2 visits
 
Brutal biff said:
Get the sparky in to get his cables in then get the plastering done then sparky will come back to drill the holes and install lights for 2nd fix

Sparky will be 2 visits
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No need for an electrician, wiring in lights is as easy as wiring a plug. Hardest part will be wiring it to the ceiling rose connection with a connector block. Any damage the OP does to the ceiling will be rectified by the plasterer.
 
eddiemcgarrigle said:
No need for an electrician, wiring in lights is as easy as wiring a plug. Hardest part will be wiring it to the ceiling rose connection with a connector block. Any damage the OP does to the ceiling will be rectified by the plasterer.
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Ha ha ha ha - I visited a doctors surgery that had been recently refurbed, to run some network cables in, and when I looked in the space above the ceiling tiles the lights had all been connected using scotch-blocks and wrapped in masking tape!!!. No earth sleeving, no strain relief. no secondary insulation, no suitable enclosure (such as wago boxes). If your skills are not in electrics and you are not confident in your work, best hire a professional. No shame in that.
 
Brutal biff said:
As it's a kitchen it's classed as a special location it's notifiable job
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So the OP can either do the work himself and notify the LABC of the work OR he can get an electrician (who is Part P certified) to undertake the work and they can self certify.
 
eddiemcgarrigle said:
Oooft, it's only lighting, not sure why you would have to notify any trade bodies about it.
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It's an odd forum where folk follow black and white to the letter of the law in H&G, but in Motors you can freely break every speed limit known to man; and the Storage forum is where we spec multi-petabyte 'media servers' for 'backups'.
 
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