Installing recessed cans in plaster ceilings

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Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Does anyone have a good way of cuttuing in 6" cans in existing plaster ceilings without having the repair the plaster? This plaster is about 5/8" thick with wire mesh behind it with 3/4" decking behind that. Thanks

i've got a couple of the cookie cutters dennis put a picture up of... they work very good on drywall...
plaster, they sell a carbide cutter that chews out a 1/4" wide groove.... lotta material removed, keep
a shop vac handy.

stucco? they work like plaster till you get to the chicken wire, then it breaks the arm, which is thin
where the cutter fits into it.... makes a sound like this: tinkie, tinkie, BANG!

about a year ago, i had to cut a 8" hole perfectly round, +/- 1/8"... thru glued down carpet, 1' of light
weight concrete, and 3/4" plywood subfloor, without chewing up the carpet, in the middle of a board
room, for a spiffy mutimedia floor box that was an $800 work of art in and of itself.

for that, i got a festool jigsaw.

http://jigsaws.festoolusa.com/jigsaws/models/carvex/

the thing is pretty amazing. i've found it'll do stuff i'd a never considered a jigsaw capable of.

two weeks ago, i needed to cut a hole thru facebrick and 3/4 ply behind it, and studs....
used a carbide blade.. not a grit blade, festool makes a blade with carbide teeth on it....
effortless cut, almost complete dust extraction, 6" x 12" hole.... about 10 minutes.

it'll do plunge cuts without a pilot hole into 4" thick material, like oak, and with a chip
guard, will cut melamine and formica without chipping on the top side....

if you use the hollow ground blades they sell for it, you can cut wood without leaving
tool marks that amount to anything.

did i mention i like it?

it is not a cheap tool. but if i was gonna cut 6 3/8" holes in plaster ceiling, especially
lath and plaster, where you get runs, i don't know of a tool that would do it better
with a circle cutter attachement... use a vac with it, and dust will be minimal.

they have a 30 day money back guarantee on them. not happy, doesn't work like
i just said? here's your money back....

you won't return it. nobody ever returns festools.
 

renosteinke

Senior Member
Location
NE Arkansas
Forget the hole saw. You want a Fein "Multi-master," or one of the clones.

This tool moves the blade back and forth so fast that it does not pull at or shake the plaster. The blade will also cut the chicken wire mesh and wood lath without problems. No more new cracks racing across the ceiling. Dust made is quite coarse, and falls straight down; no more tarps covering everything within six miles. Neew to adjust the hole just a smidgen? No problem.
 

bullheimer

Senior Member
Location
WA
good luck. dont guarantee there wont be patching involved and that you dont do it.

ps what are you going to do when you find a floor joist in the middle of your hole?

i wouldn't touch that job with a ten foot pole. i charge $100 per lite with sheet rock and an open attic, these types, like the bottom floor of a two story, thanks anyway, i'll pass. and how bout your switch leg and can to can wiring? there aint enuf money in the world

what you need to have on this is Carte Blanche to destroy anything in your way w/o repercussions.
 

stickboy1375

Senior Member
Location
Litchfield, CT
good luck. dont guarantee there wont be patching involved and that you dont do it.

ps what are you going to do when you find a floor joist in the middle of your hole?

i wouldn't touch that job with a ten foot pole. i charge $100 per lite with sheet rock and an open attic, these types, like the bottom floor of a two story, thanks anyway, i'll pass. and how bout your switch leg and can to can wiring? there aint enuf money in the world

what you need to have on this is Carte Blanche to destroy anything in your way w/o repercussions.

I have mad skills, i would do that job any day of the week.
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
I have mad skills, i would do that job any day of the week.

i'll see your mad skills, and raise you a divirsibit.....

last time i did underfloor stuff, i did 8 cans in the kitchin, and 8 in the family room,
with one cookie to patch for the switch leg i had to cut...

took 9.5 hours gross was $1,600. net was something like $1,325

why don't we just split the ones he doesn't want to do?
... you go first, and send me a message when it's my turn.
 
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