I have installed (with great results) recessed lighting in my kitchen (complete gut) and basement (retrofit). I now want to install them in my living room. The problem is that the ceiling is cathedral - in other words right above the sloped ceiling is the roof.
I would like to use the 4" cans (I do not care for the large ones) so clearance to the roof is not that much of an issue, but what I am concerned about is creating hot spots on the roof during snow / freeze conditions. There will probably be about 2" - 4" of clearance but I'm imagining that it will heat up / melt the snow or ice which would potentially cause a problem.
My other issues are as follows:
1) The house has ungrounded wiring (except for what I installed) so I figure I will take a load calculation of a nearby new (grounded) circuit and tap off of that . Sound right? Any easier approach by using the existing 2-wire wiring that goes to the switch?
2) This will be a retro fit - I do have access to the attic above, but in this room (as mentioned) there is no clearance so I worry about keeping the existing blown-in insulation away from the non-IC lights I plan on using. In the kitchen I put wood blocks around the lights and new batt insulation, but without tearing down the ceiling that would not work here.
you need to use a product called rockwool insulation. i did this in my kitchen. use a rated[fire] light fixture can and lay the insulation on top of the can, between the roof and the can. rockwool is a rated insulation be sure that you use the correct light can do not use a soffit can
This message has been edited. Last edited by: frodo,
Posts: 1522 | Location: i i live in southern mississippi | Registered: Jun 01, 2008
Thanks for the reply. So basically what you are saying is I have to insulate my roof from the heat of the recessed light?
Also, what is rockwool? Is it an insulation that can lay ontop of a recessed light? If so, how is this different than insulation that can have direct contact with a direct contact fixture?
I really want to keep the lights the same throughout the house which is why I want to use my non-IC 4" ones.
Call your local building code people, ask them what is required. Most places require the light to have "ICAT" certification. Insulated Ceiling Air Tight. The light can be in contact with insulation. Without that, you need to use sheet aluminum or something to surround the light and keep the insulation away from the light.
the rockwool insulation, can be used to lay directly on a combustable surface. that is what it is for. it has a fire ratting of 1 or 1 1/2 hr. it is not the same as the pink or yellow insulation. they do not have a fire ratting. rockwool is used in gas fire places as "embers" because it does not burn but will glow real pretty. north american insulating manufacture ass. mineral wool,rock and **** insulation
This message has been edited. Last edited by: frodo,
Posts: 1522 | Location: i i live in southern mississippi | Registered: Jun 01, 2008
Originally posted by geterdone: Call your local building code people, ask them what is required. Most places require the light to have "ICAT" certification. Insulated Ceiling Air Tight. The light can be in contact with insulation. Without that, you need to use sheet aluminum or something to surround the light and keep the insulation away from the light.
My local building code department won't talk to you unless you are a contractor. I almost got into a phone fight with the plumbing inspector because he refused to tell me if PEX was allowed in my town. So instead of home owners getting the right information for safety reasons they would rather keep it to themselves...idiots.
I did some more online research and it seemed that IC fixtures are air-tight by design (feel free to tell me if that is wrong).
Now I need to find a retro-fit 4" IC light. Good luck to me.
In addition they have the IC cans for sloped ceilings as well. I think it was them if not it was somewhere in my search. Let me know if it wasn't them and I will send you some others sites that I looked at.
They were shipped and recieved in 2 days.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: redoverfarm,
Thanks for the link. I saw a response on another forum stating the importance of air tight / IC cans as I will lose a lot of heat and cooling through them. The problem is that I have only 5" rafters running and none of the IC/air-tight cans I have seen will fit in that space.
The ceiling slopes from the bottom but levels off for the last 3' or so. In the attic I have access to that 3' and was planning on running the wires up to there and back down to the lights (firgure 4 rows or so). The big pain is going to be rewiring the switch as I will have to pull the box out of the wall, figure out what wire it is, then replace it with a new grounded one.
The correct way to do this is to rip down the sheet rock and redo it. It is on my todo list but I just don't have the time to do it for the forseeable future.
. Sound right? Any easier approach by using the existing 2-wire wiring that goes to the switch?
