Fitting Halogen downlights without removing floorboards.How?

The first question is, Why can`t you lift the floor boards above the bathroom.

 

A stitch in time saves nine!

 

The only other way of doing it will put holes in ceiling to thread cables over joists etc, when i do this customer realises ceiling needs patching up or skimming...if that aint an issue tis easy peasy and i do it a lot in kitchens...

 

Do you have to fill the hole in first before ''skimming'' Acca?

 

Of course !!! I use my hole cutter central to the joist,and screw the removed disc of plasterboard when finished or use foam to fill partially so filler dont disappear into hole..many ways of doing it tbh..

 

Thanks Acca..

 

He meant 'under' the joist in the Kitch ceiling.


Tiz called stitch cabling hence my previous post!

 

Tiz indeed wat i meant ....Had to do it today in fact and twas a nightmare as apart from avoiding joists for downlight positions i also had to avoid the block and beam, beams....so  a few more holes were patched up than expected today !

 

you gotta notch out the joist though so patch fits back flush mind...my multi master does this well...

 

That's ok until someone puts a drawing pin or a nail in the ceiling to hang their xmas decorations up!

 

i know what the customer wants the customer gets, but arent you leaving yourself open acca to problems as your running your cable outside permitted zones and not being mech. prot.? 

 

as long as you can retain 50mm from the bottom of the joist, ferk the making good, sounds like they want the job done the hardest way.

Me, I would have told them to jog on, trying to run in cables below without pulling ceilings down, not for me ta

 

Agreed sparky, the only safe way of doing it is by using a long auger bit and drill at an angle some way up the joist,it means cutting a few more holes but if they want it done they have to accept that. Doing things just to please customers isn't the way to go if it leaves us liable is it!

 

from a strength point off view notching out the bottom off the joists is really a last resort and is actually not permitted in the regs
drilling holes is far more acceptable and if properly done is within the regs
but I am sure if your careful and don't go mad no one will know

 

I never realised i had to explain every damn detail, i also fix small metal plates across the notch, u wanna know the length of screws i use for this????

 

I agree, any way that is a bodge job just to keep the customer happy is not for me, ive just done a job this week with the same proplem, downlights downstairs and unable to lift the laminate flooring above. I notified the customer that the ceiling would need skimming or no lights, once this was accepted then i locate the direction of the joists and cut one long strip out across the ceiling giving me access to drill through all the joist needed at the required depth then screw back in place the bits i cut out and get the ceiling skimmed job done! (and this was on lav and plaster ceiling with another skin on top worse job to do but still even possible