Fire rated downlights

Vin2300

On a similar subject, i am converting a house into two flats.

I had spot lights fitted in the ground floor bathroom. It was then pointed out to me that they had broken the fire protection between the two flats because of the several 3" holes in the double plasterboarded ceiling. After a bit of Googling i have worked out that i can sort this out by puchasing and fitting fire hoods on these spotlights.

However i am now confused as to whether the same applies to the standard pendant type lights that have been fitted in the ground floor living room and both bedrooms. There are holes in the plasterboard ceiling for each of these lights too, albeit much smaller but enough to get the wires through.

Does anyone know if i need to do something about these? If so, what is the solution? Would the same fire hoods work or could the gap simply be filled with some intumescent sealant?

Any advice much appreciated.

Answers_JCC_Lighting

We have a page on our website dedicated to the building regulations relating to fitting fire-rated lighting products in properties. Please visit our website jcc-lighting.co.uk for more information.

The England & Wales building regulations (separate regs for Scotland & Ireland) have been around for many years and are regularly revised both for safety and environmental / energy saving purposes. We have a summary of what they mean available on our web page. In relation to fire-rated ceilings/light fittings they only govern new builds and extensions to exisiting properties.

However, the use of a fire-rated downlight is recommended anywhere that a hole is being cut out of a ceiling, fire-rated or otherwise. (The fire-rating of a ceiling is determined by it's construction in relation to the joist spacing and type/thickness of the plasterboard used. The reason they are referred to as 30, 60 or 90 minute ceilings is simply the amount of time they should give the occupant to exit the property. 30 minutes is the most common ceiling type in modern domestic properties - 60 minutes is more common for blocks of flats / properties above shops etc.) The reason they are recommended is that the hole cut out for the downlight makes a fast passage for heat and flames to pass up to the next floor - it can suck the heat and flames through making the fire spread more quickly. So for reassurance, it can make sense to fit a fire-rated downlight instead of a standard version in order to have peace of mind.

There are a number of different products available on the market and it is best to check the specification of your preferred fitting to make sure it performs in the safest way possible. Some require a space around them to keep the insulation away and provide adequate ventilation, others like ours do not.

Waterlily24

We've got to put fire rated downlights in our kitchen, it's not new, it's in the old part of the building but we did completely gut the building when we put an extension on.

romeospadre

Can anyone recommend a place\website to buy fire rating down lights?

Need a few for a kitchen extension that is in progress so looking for a good deal.

Thanks

PS

Should I look for Mains Voltage or low voltage FR down lights?

kernewek

romeospadre wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a place\website to buy fire rating down lights?

Need a few for a kitchen extension that is in progress so looking for a good deal.

Thanks

PS

Should I look for Mains Voltage or low voltage FR down lights?

This is about as good a price as I can find:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260659398937&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Toptenor

whiskymincher wrote: »

Having new kitchen fitted and whilst this is being done we are having ceiling re-plastered and would like chrome downlighters fitted. Electrician has specced up GU10 mains fire rated downlighters due to supposed new regs. Is this correct or is he over egging the pudding?

I have renovated my kitchen and bathroom.
Both have high lathe and plaster ceilings. So I have lowered these by about a foot.
I have then fitted downlights which are not fire rated to the new plasterboard ceiling. There is another house above.
Does this comply with regs?

phill99

Toptenor wrote: »

I have renovated my kitchen and bathroom.
Both have high lathe and plaster ceilings. So I have lowered these by about a foot.
I have then fitted downlights which are not fire rated to the new plasterboard ceiling. There is another house above.
Does this comply with regs?

If you read all of the threads on this post you will get your answer.

Janice2

We have just bought our downlights for our kitchen, bathroom and hallway from Downlights Direct and I can highly recommend them, they are really friendly and helpful and also (most importantly!) were great value for LED downlights that we have bought (LED's are much more energy efficient than standard bulbs). Their website has lots of info about building regs etc

Hope this helps someone:

http://www.downlightsdirect.co.uk/

Sparky11

hi have a look at these shop on eBay they sell hoods at £5.55 and downlights from £1.60, im a electrician my self and i have used them for 2 years they are a electricl suppliers and are extremly helpfull and very cheap but none of its cheap chinese rubbish a lot of there stuff is knightsbridge which is a excellent make and there delivery is superb highly recommend lakes lighting and electrical;
stores.ebay.co.uk/lakeslightingandelectrical

Hope this helps =]
Lemmi know if it does
Sparky11

phill99

Sparky11 wrote: »

hi have a look at these shop on eBay they sell hoods at £5.55 and downlights from £1.60, im a electrician my self and i have used them for 2 years they are a electricl suppliers and are extremly helpfull and very cheap but none of its cheap chinese rubbish a lot of there stuff is knightsbridge which is a excellent make and there delivery is superb highly recommend lakes lighting and electrical;
stores.ebay.co.uk/lakeslightingandelectrical

Hope this helps =]
Lemmi know if it does
Sparky11

You have given the same info on 2 different posts, both referring to the same website. The cynical me wpould suggest you are spamming, especially as these are your first posts.