Down-lighters in Ceiling

[nokiauk]

I bought some of the downlights as per the picture below.

Problem is my ceiling is double thickness plaster board and the design of the bulb holder plus the metal spring clips means they don't fit.

Can anyone recommend a design that would fit, has to be mains voltage however.

Thanks

[LCR_Dave]

electrician here, im suprised they dont fit to be honest, have you tried yet or are you presuming?, as an alternative jcc do some mains voltage ones that you can move the clips up on,

[nokiauk]

the main problem is getting the angle cause of the extended bulb holder where the wires connect, the depth of the plasterboard is also deeper than the base of the lamp to where the spring rotates. they might fit with a good shove but don't want to risk cracking the plasterboard and may also want to remove them again for decorating etc.

[LCR_Dave]

cool, go for the jcc ons then mate, you wont have any problem at all and there also fire rated, i think there about 6 or 7 quid each,

[MarkP80]

Or chisel out a bit of the second layer of plasterboard. Shouldn't be difficult.

Cheers,
MarkP

[nokiauk]

thanks for the replies/advice guys after much cutting away at plasterboard, have got them to fit - finally!

[synthboy1]

hehe. if in doubt, give it a clout!

there is some good filler about these days... hehe

(electrician here too!)

[Sam18451]

Originally Posted by LCR_Dave

cool, go for the jcc ons then mate, you wont have any problem at all and there also fire rated, i think there about 6 or 7 quid each,

LCR_Dave raises an important point Double boarding is normally done to improved the fire rating of the ceiling.

Do you live a flat by any chance?

Cutting holes in the plasterboard allows fire to spread unabated. It also allows sound to pass into the floor above, not good if you are into your AV stuff and want to keep on good terms with the neighbours

Anyway builders are not prone to doing more work than they need to, so they must have doubled boarded for a reason (probably 1 or both of the reasons above). You may have a problem when you come to sell/rent your property.

[nokiauk]

it is a flat, no-one above me though so prob doesn't matter too much

[Sam18451]

Originally Posted by nokiauk

it is a flat, no-one above me though so prob doesn't matter too much

Does your flat have a flat roof? If so you may find the noise of the rain hitting the roof increases.

Also, you have reduced the thermal insulation, so more heat from your flat will disappear.

Still, none of that is a major problem, although I'd always go with the fire/acoustic rated light fittings given the cost/benefit.

[nokiauk]

it is a flat roof yes.

current ceiling seems to be lowered, when I look up, I can still see the original one.

I'm replacing downlighters that existed previously so can't comment on the increased noise or heat loss.