Installing downlighters

[Stephen]

Just put some in the bathrooms as I had access from above via the loft - great.

Would also like some in the kitchen but cannot get access above as the first floor is laid with ceramic tiles.

So I have a cunning plan;

Drill mounting holes for lights in kitchen celing.

From the existing central light point, create 12mm deep channels, about

15mm wide, to the mounting holes.

Then run narrow conduit to carry the connecting lighting cable along the channels, tack to the joists to hold in place, and re-plaster over.

That way I need not worry about getting the cables across the joists from above and, as I would only be cutting to the depth of the existing plasterboard ceiling, I wouldn't run foul of any other wiring / pipes etc.

Does this sound feasible or am I about to contravene wiring regs ? I presume the void between ceiling and floor above (the depth of the joist) would be adequate for ventilation ?

Any other suggestions welcome.

PS the joist run perpendicular to the direction of the proposed lighting cables, so "fishing" behind the ceiling is out.

[Kalico]

I'm not sure about the regs side of things, but are you sure you could get a neat enough finish when patching the channels you will have made? Or is the plan to re-skim the whole lot?

What *should* comply with regs is if you did the fishing you speak of and run the cable to the wall in the void, then you can channel into the wall, just below the ceiling, and then go back into the void to get to the places you want the downlighters. Not ideal by any means but might make a neater job in the end since you can probably get deeper into the wall if you need to and/or avoid the need for conduit.

Rob