Ceiling plastering and lights advice please?

sillywilly

Hi - a couple of questions for a friend of mine.

They have a Victorian 1st floor semi converted flat. All of the ceilings are around 13 - 14' high apart from in the back where the roof lowers.

The kitchen is in this far back room and the height is estimating about 2.2 metres high.

At present it has that "sauna style" pine tongue and groove.

She wants to get the kitchen re done - it is a mess. The fitter says that he will be able to board over the T&G fixing into the joists and can then joint and skim the plasterboard.

I have no issue with this as the T&G does seem pretty solid. Is this normal practice?

However she is adamant on getting "spotlights" in the kitchen. And this is the area I need advice on. She means reccessed lights. My understanding is that these create a lot of heat and I am wondering how this would be achieved.

If put in through the PBoard and T&G is this not a fire hazard being so close to the old pine ceiling, and also any insulation that is in the loft space?

The ceiling can't really be lowered any more without turning it into some sort of Alice land!

Please help or suggest what can be done. I hope I have been clear with my description of the problem.

Thanks in advance.

Tucker

http://blog.sparksdirect.co.uk/fire-rated-lights-and-downlights-the-technology/

Some bits on here might help.

They have to comply with buidling regs.

paulpud

I wouldn't be too concerned about the risk of fire from the recessed spotlights. The lamps do run hot (as you will find out if ever you remove one shortly after turning them off!) but the temperature is well below that required to scorch the pine T&G and there is not usually a problem with fitting these kind of spots directly into a timber surface.

Any insulation at the back of the fitting would need to be displaced to allow a little airflow around the lamp, but the bracket or housing at the rear of the fitting should assist this.

If you still have concerns about the heat you can fit lamps with an improved reflective surface that send more heat forwards, or you could fit low-energy or LED alternatives which run at lower temperatures.

iamcornholio

No probelms with the spots near to timber

But the main issue with spotlights is that they break the fire protection of the cieling, and in a fire, they fall out and allow flame into the floor space or ceiling void and allow fire to spread.

So always fit an intumescent bag on the back of standard spots, or fit proper fire-rated spotlight housings

sillywilly

Thanks for all the help guys! A lot of info to get through Tucker - thanks for the link.
I am getting the impression that it IS possible to fit these lights as long as all the pitfalls are taken into consideration.

I guess the main heat will be coming down from the bulb and the there will be the PB as a barrier before the T&G so the main issue is the heat from the back needing the insulation in the loft to be moved.

Or if she gets some fire rated or low energy it should be OK.Is that right?

A question about the actual ceiling. If he puts plasterboard directly over the T&G and screwed to the joists and then tapes the joints and skims, is this likely to crack because of the T&G expanding and contracting during hot or cold weather?

Thanks again for the help so far. Whatever happens I am going to make sure she gets a sparky to fit the lights even though the kitchen fitter may be able to do it quite competently I am not sure he is meant to be.

paulpud

If it was just a case of replacing light fittings then there would be no requirement for an electrician to do this.

As you will most likely be wiring to additional lighting points within a kitchen area the work falls under Part P regulation and would need to be carried out by an electrician who can provide the appropriate certification and building control notification.

iamcornholio

sillywilly wrote: »

If he puts plasterboard directly over the T&G and screwed to the joists and then tapes the joints and skims, is this likely to crack because of the T&G expanding and contracting during hot or cold weather?

No, the timber will be concealed and so remain relatively stable. In any case the screws from the boarding will restain it

ormus

very unlikely to be a problem but why leave it up there anyways?
i would just rip it all down first.