2 bed town house - dining room light fitting...

matti

I live in 2 bed town house in Grove, and just wondering if anyone has moved the light fitting in the dining room? Before I moved in, I mentioned to the builders that the light fitting in the dining room was way off centre on the worng side, but they would not correct it. After over 4 years of bare bulb, I have finally found a fitting I like but need to move the whole fitting about 2 foot to be in line with perfectly centred kitchen light! Just wondering if anyone has done this, and if so was there a beam to screw into? I don't know of any way to find this out without making a whole in the ceiling which is near impossble to cover up! I think that covering up a moved light is pretty much impossible to do without leaving some evidence on the ceiling which would annoy me forever!! If I get the fitting moved, I'm thinking of filing the current whole with a smoke detector but if anyone else has done this already and has any better ideas I would be very grateful....

Charlie-Bravo

Hi Matti, prepare to open up a can of worms!...although it might not be as bad in the end.

Your main problem will be the length of cable available to you - you may have to get an extra peice of 'gunbarrel' lighting cable and join this with an appropriate connector block (it's best then to leave the connector block in an isolation box) Maybe Fishdog can better advise an alternative.

As for the light fitting itself, your other issue will be that the timbers will be nowhere near where you need it. It would be just pure luck if you find the timber in the right place but I would be certain that because the light fitting isn't centred already means the builder just went to the nearest joist available. So to do it right you have to add in a bridging timber. It's just too easy to just fix a light fitting to plasterboard but it won't last long there!

What is good is if you need to remove plasterboard for the bridging timber, cut the plasterboard with a pad saw - but be careful of wires and not to cut any! By using the pad saw it is easier to offer back to the ceiling and polyfill around the peice. You don't get the big divot when you try to fill a big hole. To hold the plasterboard in place you can use a small peice of timber or hard board behind with some twine holding it all together. No double sided sticky tape needed.

And this why I have not yet centred my light in the dining room!

dr ro

a smoke alarm in the kitchen is not a good idea. It'll drive you nuts everytime you cook. Just outside the kitchen is recommended.

matti

Hi Astrofluff, thanks for the info - I can see a lot of big words in there! Had someone look at it today, and they think that moving it 17 inches to the side means there is still enough wires and somewhere to screw it all into... It wont be in the perfect spot but it will be much much better. They took what was there already down, and had a good root around in the ceiling...

Dr ro, I know smoke detectors in the kitchen can be a pain - I grew up with one, so am well used to it! I have one just outside the kitchen here so if I didn't put batteries in it it would be OK (also I don't cook that much!). There will actually only be a little hole so might try to fill it all in and repaint the house while I'm at it.... To be decided later...

Anyway, thanks to you both for some good advice - if it is all successful, I'll let you know.

2011

You can install a "rate of rise heat detector" in the kitchen. This will sound if the temperature in the kitchen changes very quickly, such as in a fire situation. It will not go off due to smoke.

There are plasterboard fixings out now that can take 10kg of weight each. Using these would mean that you can fix the light anywhere.

it's best then to leave the connector block in an isolation box

Correct. It is an electrical regulation (ET101) that the connection is contained in an electrical connection box.

loyatemu

2011 wrote: »

There are plasterboard fixings out now that can take 10kg of weight each. Using these would mean that you can fix the light anywhere.

it doesn't matter if the fixings can take the weight, if the plasterboard itself can't, particularly hanging from a ceiling where all the weight is pulling vertically downwards. I'd be reluctant to hang anything that heavy from a ceiling without fixing it to a joist.

2011

it doesn't matter if the fixings can take the weight, if the plasterboard itself can't

True, but I have done this many many 100s of times and I can assure you that the plasterboard will take the weight of the light if these fixings are used properly.

I'd be reluctant to hang anything that heavy from a ceiling without fixing it to a joist.

So would I, but this is only a light fitting!

matti

astrofluff wrote: »

Hi Matti, prepare to open up a can of worms!...although it might not be as bad in the end.

No can of worms!! Light fitting moved 13 inches to the left, screwed into beam and wires stretched that far - original whole covered over (hardly noticeable!). Mission completed successfully.... Thanks for the advice...:)