I am putting ceiling boards up tomorrow ready for skimming. We are having 4 downlighters in the room. Is it better to make the holes first before skimming, or measure exactly where the wire is on the joists from wall and cut the holes later after skimming, and fish for the wires? Many thanks for any advice. Neil
Er! I would have thought cutting the hole before plastering was the easiest route.
You will get the best finish if you cut the holes after the skim, and then fish for the wires. However sometimes this just isn't possible, and you need to pre-cut.
Plasterers should be able to cope, but...........
It's easier for the plasterer if you cut holes afterwards, and the skim will be of a more consistent thickness.
It's easier to make a major boob if you get the wire lost. Knock an hole through after offering the board up. You don't have to pull the wire through but you need to have it readily available.
How so?
Have you ever skimmed a ceiling? The plaster will be pushed into the hole and drip back. The pressure on the edge of the float will change as you go over the hole. Holes are a PITA.
I'd say the plaster will have no problem with the holes, however I certainly wouldn't like to go from wall to wall having to measure whereabouts I located my wiring for the spots.
Even if the wires protruded through the ceiling but no holes where cut I think the plaster would rather have a free run of the skim rather than have to work around hanging wires.
Fish for them absoluteley. I just did this with five of them and it was dead easy, just leave a lot of wire where you will put the hole and measure where it is carefully. I didn`t even need to fish they just fell down. IME if you pre drill then bits of plaster end up falling away from the edge of the edge of the hole and it looks s**te.
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Heh! but it won't matter what the hole looks like, the spots should adequatly cover it.
Will a small hole be an answer (small enough to not effect the skimming, large enough to remain visible)? If not then use a plumb bob to locate the spot and put a small spot on the floor immediately under the point. Re-run after skimming.
If you made a hole pencil-sized, say, then you'd get a little damp spot which would stand out on the skim for a while. However, you'd still need to cut the hole.... it's not hard to pull cable through (it helps to know that it's roughly in the right place).
Definetely cut the holes afterwards. It's not rocket science to measure the rough locations of the cables; after all, you only have to be accurate to the nearest 14" span between two joists; then you push your hand through the newly-cut hole and fish around for the cable.
So before you start boarding up, mark the position of the ends of the joists on the wall just below the ceiling and add another mark indicating the 'run' down which your cables go. Add another mark on the perpendicular wall showing where the cable will be (and where you want your holes)
david
Thanks to all for advice. I have decided to cut holes after skimming. I will measure very carefully the position of lights as suggested, and use the plumb line to floor as a double check, marking the position. Very grateful. Neil
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