Cut holes just big enough for cans or go bigger?
#1
11-18-11, 06:47 PM
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Indiana (formerly Massachusetts)
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Cut holes just big enough for cans or go bigger?
I am remodeling kitchen and I knocked down a wall to make kitchen bigger. There are recessed lights in kitchen but not in the new part. I would like to add to the recessed lights by extending the circuit
into the new room. I have located the hot wire and I intend to use it to put in the new lights. However, the ceiling in the new room is
finished.
Would it be better to cut 6" holes for new cans and try hard to get
the wire through the joists or just open up a 2' wide by 12 foot long area of the ceiling to put in new construction cans rather than
remodel and then the wiring would be easier?
Just so you know, the ceiling is a stomped starburst pattern that I will trying to replicate (I never done that before) so the less ceiling I
Remove, the better.
emo
into the new room. I have located the hot wire and I intend to use it to put in the new lights. However, the ceiling in the new room is
finished.
Would it be better to cut 6" holes for new cans and try hard to get
the wire through the joists or just open up a 2' wide by 12 foot long area of the ceiling to put in new construction cans rather than
remodel and then the wiring would be easier?
Just so you know, the ceiling is a stomped starburst pattern that I will trying to replicate (I never done that before) so the less ceiling I
Remove, the better.
emo
#2
11-19-11, 05:35 AM
Member
It all depends on how the wiring has to be routed. If all your lights are in the same joist bay rework cans are probably the quickest and easiest way to go. If you locate your cans next to a joist you can use an extended bit to drill through a joist if you have to but fishing the wire can be a pain.
Matching patterned sheetrock will probably be an even bigger pain.
Matching patterned sheetrock will probably be an even bigger pain.
#3
11-19-11, 09:13 AM
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Location: Indiana (formerly Massachusetts)
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They are not in the same joist bay. They would all be in different bays. With the bays being 14."5" wide, drilling holes through more than one bay is probably impossible.
#4
11-19-11, 09:24 AM
If you have a friendly electrician, it might be worth getting an estimate/opinion from him/her as I have often found what I determine may be difficult they think is a breeze. When you throw in the ceiling effort, $100 labor might be well spent.
Bud
Bud
#5
11-19-11, 11:08 AM
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#7
11-19-11, 01:08 PM
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If the budget allows it might be easier to tear down the ceiling, install new work cans, and put up the sheetrock yourself. Have a sheetrock guy come in and do the taping/mud job. When I reno'd my kitchen/dining room I contracted the drywall ceiling out. Since the ceiling was not being textured I wanted the taping perfect and it probably would have taken me a week. The guy charged me $800 (6 years ago)and he and a helper probably worked a total of 5-6 hours. It was worth it. He used 12' sheetrock (something I can't handle) and there are zero visible seams.
#8
11-20-11, 12:34 PM
Wayne makes a good point, especially if you have a good number of lights, or if they are spaced out across closed joisting. If you are crossing trusses, then it wouldn't be as bad. New ceiling without boogers, priceless.
