My most recent job has been installing 36 Collingwood LED recessed spot lights throughout seven different rooms in a property in Cockerton.
Lighting Installation in an Older House
The house in Cockerton was built well over 200 years ago and with a house of this age along comes some problems with it.
The property had 4 bedrooms and the loft space was converted to a room so I had minimal access around the perimeter which made it tricky for running new wires for the spot light installation.
In some cases we can just wire everything from below making a few additional incisions in the ceiling to reduce disruption upstairs. This just wasn’t an option in this property as the wiring wouldn’t support that, only having a switch live at the fitting and not a permanent feed.
Not the end of the world by any means, it just meant moving some wardrobes and lifting the carpets. The underlay underneath the carpet was that old it had just turned to dust.
Things like this are just unforeseen on a job and communication with the customer is vitally important. I just explained that they would need new underlay at some point as it’s now perished with age.
Next step was to lift the flooring, I was faced with chipboard which is every electricians nightmare. Like normal, the heating pipes were as close to the board as possible so being very careful was a must so that I didn’t cut one.
Once that was up I was overjoyed to find out that this chipboard was additional flooring installation to the original, so chipboard then tongue and grove flooring under the pipework.
Installing Smart Switching Devices
Eventually got my cables in position, I designed the layout out for the spots and went for around 4 spots in each room. If these spaces were for a kitchen or bathroom I would be inclined to install more lighting.
With it being bedrooms and lounges I feel like the lighting needs to more subtle. The products I’ve chosen to install are called Ener j, it’s a smart Wi-Fi switching devices that can be controlled via a wireless wall switch or via for smartphone or tablet.
These are great if you don’t want to run wires down your wall to a switch. As long as you can get a power supply to a small (accessible) receiver then another cable to feed the lights you're good to go.
The light fittings I chose to use are Collingwood and are colour selectable. They have optional bezels and are fully dimmable.
Lighting Upgrade Electrician in Cockerton
If you're looking for a quote don’t hesitate to call me, your local domestic electrician for a free estimate.
