Luminaire fixture - accessibility question

[spark67]

Let's say you have a warehouse owner who has hibay lighting fixtures in place - for example, at 25' above floor. In a planned renovation, the owner wants to have some enclosed finished spaces, with walls, doors and a hard lid gypboard ceiling below some of these high bay lights. Let's say the ceiling for these finished spaces are 10'-15', and they will have their own internal lighting. The walls don't go all the way up to structure, so outside the finished spaces, there is a void (space) between the ceiling and the lights. My question is, are the high bay lighting fixtures now a code violation, since you don't have access to the fixture junction boxes? (ceiling is below the lights) Or is access feasible? I guess you could get acess either 1)get on some flexible ladder (ie cherry picker) to get you into the void space and up to the high bays or 2)get up above the ceiling from outside the finished space and use a ladder from there to reach the high bay lights.

 

[GoldDigger]

Let's say you have a warehouse owner who has hibay lighting fixtures in place - for example, at 25' above floor. In a planned renovation, the owner wants to have some enclosed finished spaces, with walls, doors and a hard lid gypboard ceiling below some of these high bay lights. Let's say the ceiling for these finished spaces are 10'-15', and they will have their own internal lighting. The walls don't go all the way up to structure, so outside the finished spaces, there is a void (space) between the ceiling and the lights. My question is, are the high bay lighting fixtures now a code violation, since you don't have access to the fixture junction boxes? (ceiling is below the lights) Or is access feasible? I guess you could get acess either 1)get on some flexible ladder (ie cherry picker) to get you into the void space and up to the high bays or 2)get up above the ceiling from outside the finished space and use a ladder from there to reach the high bay lights.

Are you saying that some of the high bay fixtures will now just be illuminating the void space and so will no longer be used, but that the wiring to them will not be removed? Or that the wiring will still be used to reach lights which will continue in use in remaining open high bay area?

Sounds like a jbox access issue to me, but no more so than in an attic with access.

 

[spark67]

Are you saying that some of the high bay fixtures will now just be illuminating the void space and so will no longer be used, but that the wiring to them will not be removed? Or that the wiring will still be used to reach lights which will continue in use in remaining open high bay area?

Sounds like a jbox access issue to me, but no more so than in an attic with access.

Yes-owner wants to keep it as is-other high bays remaining light up rest of space. Less cost just to leave it alone with wiring as is. My concer is the jbox access issue. Would an inspector write up a violation? I'm thinking worst case scenario is to either remove the fixtures where access below is blocked by ceiling or remove wiring to those fixtures (abandon fixture in place so you don't need to have access to an empty jbox.)

 

[GoldDigger]

Yes-owner wants to keep it as is-other high bays remaining light up rest of space. Less cost just to leave it alone with wiring as is. My concer is the jbox access issue. Would an inspector write up a violation? I'm thinking worst case scenario is to either remove the fixtures where access below is blocked by ceiling or remove wiring to those fixtures (abandon fixture in place so you don't need to have access to an empty jbox.)

Disconnecting all ends of the wiring at accessible points may be as good as removing it.

 

[jap]

To me,this is no different than highbay lighting installed before machinery comes in. As long as you can get
to the jboxes and they're not covered up by the structure somehow, I would consider them accessible.