can lights

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xara

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minneapolis, mn
the room is 180 by 230 with a fireplace centered on the 180 wall and a picture window on the 230 wall. how would you suggest placement of 6 can lights?
room is set out like this :
back wall is 180 inch and has an 80 inch fireplace
 
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jumper said:
What does the customer want? Which areas will accented for specific purposes? Multiple controls? Dimmers?

Design issue, not NEC.
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Looks like a typo. I think you meant to say the customer's wife, right? :lol:
 
mgookin said:
Looks like a typo. I think you meant to say the customer's wife, right? :lol:
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A GC I know described a remodel he recently did that was full of change orders.
The customer calculated that it would have been less expensive to send his wife to Europe for the duration of the remodel.
 
What does the HO want? If s/he is leaving it up to you, the next question is what is the ceiling detail? Any cabinets, tray ceiling, faux/real wooden beams, crown molding, ceiling fans, is it vaulted, etc.? If the ceiling is the same as the floor, basically a 15' x 19' blank rectangle, lay out your 6 lights in a 2 x 3 pattern. Exact placement is up to you and the framing.
 
If it were my house I'd flank the fireplace with 2 lights on a dimmer and put the other 4 lights on another dimmer.
But it's not my house.
 
Divide the long wall by three then divide that in half. 230/3=762/3. Rounding down gives you an even number so just say 76. Half that is 38. For the short wall divide the length by two, then two again.(There's a reason I didn't say divide by six and four).
So you have

Long wall 76 and 38
Short wall is 90 and 45

Now measure 38 from the short wall and 45 from the long wall and put the first can there. The next can is 76from that can or 76+38 from the short wall and 45 from the long wall. With an odd number of lights, this is actually centered on the long wall. Then the last can can be measured either 76 from the previous can or 38 from the opposite wall and again 45 from the long wall.

Now repeat the process but measure from the same short wall, but the opposite long wall. You'll have 3 pairs of lights down the room with each one covering roughly the exact same floor space.

You can adjust the numbers based on where the joists are or like you'll have to do with this one with a fraction of an inch coming into play. You could do a smidge above 5/8" for it or just measure the end ones off the wall and put the center one dead center. I've found that you have an inch to play with without it being noticeable that they aren't exactly equidistant.

The key is dividing the room into a number of spaces equal to how many lights you have. Then you put your light in the center of each space.

I'll tell you though, that 45" off one wall is about as far away as I'd let it get before thinking about adding another row.
 
Excellent post, jay. A few notes;

~ Layout all lights first, lightly scribe the ceiling. Run a laser to make sure your lights are all lined up perfectly with each other, and the wall. Relying on a wall/trim and perfect measuring can work but only if the existing wall/trim is perfectly straight. Crooked recessed lights look horrible.

~ use a studfinder to ensure none of your lights are going to fall on a joist, or right next to a joist. Check all cans as joists may not be on 16/24 centers everywhere.

~ finally, once the above two are done, I like to drill a small hole in the center of where each light will go and stick a glow rod thru at a slight angle, and move it in an arc that covers the depth/profile of the can, to ensure there is no plumbing, ductwork, electrical, etc. directly in the way of where the can is to be mounted. If you have an in-wall camera, those work too if the ceiling isnt insulated. Much easier to patch a 1/2" hole than find out the last of your 6 (or 8, or 12) can lights is directly under a damned 2nd floor p-trap or fart fan ductwork.

Once those three checks pass, only then do I take the can light holesaw bit to the drywall/plaster ceiling. Have drop cloths or a shop vac at the ready for blown in insulation that rains down once that 5+" drywall circle is gone.

mgookin said:
If it were my house I'd flank the fireplace with 2 lights on a dimmer and put the other 4 lights on another dimmer.
But it's not my house.
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But if it were your house, that information is paramount.
 
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xara said:
what does flank mean?
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Google:

flank
flaNGk/
noun

noun: flank; plural noun: flanks

1.the side of a person's or animal's body between the ribs and the hip.
"leaning against his horse's flanks"
synonyms: side, haunch, quarter, thigh
"the horse's flanks"
a cut of meat from the flank of an animal.
"a thick flank of beef on a spit"
the side of something large, such as a mountain, building, or ship.
"the northern flank of the volcano"
2. the right or left side of a body of people such as an army, a naval force, or a soccer team.
"the left flank of the Russian Third Army"
synonyms: side, wing
"the southern flank of the army"
the right or left side of a game board such as a chessboard.

verb
verb: flank; 3rd person present: flanks; past tense: flanked; past participle: flanked; gerund or present participle: flanking

1. be situated on each side of or on one side of (someone or something).
"the fireplace is flanked by built-in bookshelves"
synonyms: edge, bound, line, border, fringe
"the garden is flanked by two rivers"
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distance from wall for cans

distance from wall for cans

in a living room, what is the ideal distance from the perimeter of the room for each can light? and what about kitchens?
 
For general lighting I usually go about 36" but that depends on size of the room... Also if you use it as a wall washer then 18-24" would be good.

Kitchen we generally come off the cabinet wall about 26"- 28" so the center of the can is over the edge of the counter
 
Dennis Alwon said:
For general lighting I usually go about 36" but that depends on size of the room... Also if you use it as a wall washer then 18-24" would be good.

Kitchen we generally come off the cabinet wall about 26"- 28" so the center of the can is over the edge of the counter
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Agree. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
xara said:
in a living room, what is the ideal distance from the perimeter of the room for each can light? and what about kitchens?
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I prefer between 30" and 40", but it all depends on the size of the room and how many lights you want. If the room is going to have storage furniture like cabinets, bookcases and such on every wall you might bump it towards the center a bit. If you're going to have seating along the wall where one might be reading or writing you might hug the wall a little closer.

One thing I've learned, yet I often fail to convince customers of this is that nobody notices how they are arranged on the ceiling a few weeks after they're installed. After that it really becomes a function over fashion thing where they prefer the right places to be lit up. In a bedroom you could put two over the bed, one over the dresser, one over the desk and one near the closet and although it would look funny when you looked at the ceiling it would work out very well. But no, they insist on having four evenly spaced recessed lights where one of them is shining on the foot of the bed where they'll probably never need light.

Dennis Alwon said:
For general lighting I usually go about 36" but that depends on size of the room... Also if you use it as a wall washer then 18-24" would be good.

Kitchen we generally come off the cabinet wall about 26"- 28" so the center of the can is over the edge of the counter
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Yeah, I do edge of the counter in kitchens unless it's a small kitchen or they don't want to pay for the correct number of recessed lights. I prefer to put one in front of each double door cabinet and fill in the others in a way that makes sense.
 
jaylectricity said:
One thing I've learned, yet I often fail to convince customers of this is that nobody notices how they are arranged on the ceiling a few weeks after they're installed. After that it really becomes a function over fashion thing where they prefer the right places to be lit up. In a bedroom you could put two over the bed, one over the dresser, one over the desk and one near the closet and although it would look funny when you looked at the ceiling it would work out very well. But no, they insist on having four evenly spaced recessed lights where one of them is shining on the foot of the bed where they'll probably never need light.....
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I agree. When I remodeled my house ditched the grid idea and placed the can where I wanted a light. It worked great. Not a single person has commented on the layout, nobody cares, and my rooms are nicely lit.
 
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