Residential Recessed LED Product Suggestions for Ceilings with No Attic

[BMacky]

I have been doing recessed lighting in post and beam style homes with flat roofs (no attic) for years and the current trend is that homeowners no longer want to see the box-like bumps in their flat roofs, either underneath a foam roofing material or completely flashed and hot-mopped by a tar and gravel type roof job. It's dirty work, an ugly finished product on the exterior, and the price is obviously a concern with the added roofing work.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has done any recessed, perhaps low-voltage, LED work where the fixture is low-profile and can recess into the roof planking only. The typical tongue-and-groove planking I am working with is 1 5/8" thick. I will still need to cut open the roof for running wiring, conduit, etc., so I am not worried about that. My interest is in eliminating the hump on the roof where I would typically have a can-type fixture housing enclosed within a wooden box.

I do see the "disk" lights that some manufacturers have come up with that have the electronics modules that fit into a standard 4" round box, but I am looking for something a bit more higher-end than these.

Again, I am not opposed to a low-voltage solution as well. I have places I can hide drivers if need be.

Thanks.

 

[Denis]

Flush mount

Flush mount

You could use prescolite LBSLEDA10L and a shallow round box

Is wiremold an option?

 

[Sierrasparky]

I have been doing recessed lighting in post and beam style homes with flat roofs (no attic) for years and the current trend is that homeowners no longer want to see the box-like bumps in their flat roofs, either underneath a foam roofing material or completely flashed and hot-mopped by a tar and gravel type roof job. It's dirty work, an ugly finished product on the exterior, and the price is obviously a concern with the added roofing work.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has done any recessed, perhaps low-voltage, LED work where the fixture is low-profile and can recess into the roof planking only. The typical tongue-and-groove planking I am working with is 1 5/8" thick. I will still need to cut open the roof for running wiring, conduit, etc., so I am not worried about that. My interest is in eliminating the hump on the roof where I would typically have a can-type fixture housing enclosed within a wooden box.

I do see the "disk" lights that some manufacturers have come up with that have the electronics modules that fit into a standard 4" round box, but I am looking for something a bit more higher-end than these.

Again, I am not opposed to a low-voltage solution as well. I have places I can hide drivers if need be.

Thanks.

Cut open the roof, flash in a can through the roof!
Wow you are a gutsy electrician. I would never do that, nor have I ever seen that done.
The only thing I have done or would to is have the ceiling dropped enough for a shallow 4 or 3" can.
Putting holes in the roof terrifies me and my insurance company.

 

[BMacky]

Cut open the roof, flash in a can through the roof!
Wow you are a gutsy electrician. I would never do that, nor have I ever seen that done.
The only thing I have done or would to is have the ceiling dropped enough for a shallow 4 or 3" can.
Putting holes in the roof terrifies me and my insurance company.

Ha! Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sierra!

Google "Eichler Homes" images and you will see why these places need recessed lighting. In their native state, lighting was an afterthought. Built in the 50's and 60's with floor to ceiling windows to allow plenty of light, they really didn't go overboard on lighting options. Fairly all of them I've worked on have little or no overhead lighting other than hallways and kitchens.

Foam roofs are the trend and a good roofer knows how to seal them up. I've never had one of my penetrations leak (not bragging nor knocking on wood) and I trust the GC is using a decent roofer that has the same insurance concerns that you speak of. Tar and gravel roofs are a bit more complex. Curbs and hot-mopping each box. We typically drop a can through the ceiling and build a box around it. The roofer does the rest. In winter months we do a little extra temp sealant around the edges to shed rain (fairly predictable here) but that's about it.

The bigger problem is maintaining a low profile on the roof. Shallow cans are best. Min clearance above.

 

[BMacky]

You could use prescolite LBSLEDA10L and a shallow round box

Is wiremold an option?

Arrgh! Wiremold. Ouch. I guess that's a no. But thanks for the Prescolite lead. I'm checking that out now.

 

[Sierrasparky]

I looked at those homes. I see a Carport enclosed with glass that you can also live in. :lol:

All fun aside. I have worked on homes like this. In fact we had an room addition similar to these as a kid. My father was always worried about the roof penetrations leaking. Having regular roof mantainence.
I cringe when I have to do electrical in these homes as I almost always have hokey wiring to deal with. You have to do weird things to get the wiring in. For instance:
installing a ceiling box properly. You can either cut in a round box completly through the roof decking or you can recess in a pancake box. What a pain to chisle in a pan box. or you can do what I have seen many a time and for go the box altogether and just stub down the conduit and mount the fixture strap to the ceiling directly.
Or. You can use a super size self feed bit and a hole hog, takes only a minute (saw a guy spin himself off a ladder once when the bit caught) OOPS!

I have seen roofers sink nails into the conduit run under the original roof.

Hey when you cut in a can through the roof, does this alter the integrity of the roof deck. I don' see how the opening gets blocked?

 

[Ponchik]

So you have the top end of the recessed can sticking up through the roof and the roofers apply the roofing material right on the can or you build a box first?