I just fitted three 40W halogen downlighters over the sink in the kitchen on a dimmer switch...
They work really well and look really nice (once I cleaned up the plaster dust!)
However... the lights are this sort: with the back of the bulb exposed inside the floor void..
I now have a slight concern that the bulbs will get hot and could cause the laths to catch fire.... Is this a real threat, or am I just being a bit
OTT?
None of the wood actually touches the bulb itself... but the holder gets pretty hot!
Have I been a muppet and fitted the wrong sort of lights?
[Edited on 22/6/09 by tegwin]
I didn't dare do it after someone said it was a bad idea.
I'd be interested to hear from someone who knows.
you could consider using a intumescent down lighter cover, they are available from people like envirograph. It would at least give you some comfort if they over heat.
Another fix, you could use LED downlighters, the only problem is that they are £10 quid a lamp.
HTH
Bob
fitting downlights in a plaster and lath ceiling is a bad idea for 2 reasons
1. the wooden laths can get very hot and burn
2. this type of downlight is not permitted to be fitted to a ceiling void where a room is above or a loft this is because where the plaster fire
barrier is broken by a downlight the fire can spread from room to room
you will need to use fire rate downlights with a built in fire hood
see link below
http://www.aurora.eu.com/ProductPages/ListCategory.aspx?b=50&c=88
hope this helps
quote:
Originally posted by s2gse
2. this type of downlight is not permitted to be fitted to a ceiling void where a room is above or a loft
quote:
Originally posted by s2gse2. this type of downlight is not permitted to be fitted to a ceiling void where a room is above or a loft this is because where the plaster fire barrier is broken by a downlight the fire can spread from room to room
quote:
P.S. I hope you've notified mr building control about this
I replaced one normal light bulb at the top of our stairsway which was suppose to be enough light for walking up the stairs and across the landing to
any one of 5 rooms. I put in 7 of these down lighters in the ceiling which then goes into the loft area. I also noticed that they did get very warm
and was advised to make sure that each lamp was covered at the back of the lamp for fire safety.
So far, I have left two bulbs in that have failed as it is like spot lights every where you walk.
At least you don't fall down the stairs because it was too dark.....
Regards
TimR