Ooo - so useful, thanks! Can Jill and Chapel pass on links or better still photos of their lighting arrangements by any chance please? I was planning on subtle halogen downlighters between close beams and hadn't really considered the fire hazard. Will check out LEDs but have heard they are a bit on the dim side?
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Lime
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I think downlighters a retrograde step.
Generations in the future will scratch their heads in bemusement as to why it was thought to be such a good idea to make dozens of large holes in century old ceilings.
Rather like hardboarding doors and fireplaces in the 60s but worse.
Generations in the future will scratch their heads in bemusement as to why it was thought to be such a good idea to make dozens of large holes in century old ceilings.
Rather like hardboarding doors and fireplaces in the 60s but worse.
JoceAndChris
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I would agree with that, but all changes to the original structure for lighting feel a bit uncomfortable to me. Having said that you have to do something.
Nigel Watts
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Lime said:
Oh dear. Mea maxima culpa. Miserere me...
Neither of these ceilings is original - does that mitigate the crime?
If you're going to refill the gaps between the beams...
Template each one in cardboard before you cut the plasterboard. It seems like a waste of time, but it will be quicker and better in the end.
When boarding between two brick piers (supporting a hearth upstairs) we'd planned on scribing out the unevenness and jamming the board in. That works but if the surface is uneven on the way in you damage the board. My plasterer pointed out it was much, much easier to put a batten in the middle too, cut the board roughly to width, then split it down the middle and scribe out the sides one by one. Then when he taped and skimmed the join disappeared even where there was a small gap between the two sides.
To do that in your ceiling you'll need to add "noggins" between the battens on the side at sensible centres to give you something to fix to at regular intervals or it will all drop into a V shape.
Template each one in cardboard before you cut the plasterboard. It seems like a waste of time, but it will be quicker and better in the end.
When boarding between two brick piers (supporting a hearth upstairs) we'd planned on scribing out the unevenness and jamming the board in. That works but if the surface is uneven on the way in you damage the board. My plasterer pointed out it was much, much easier to put a batten in the middle too, cut the board roughly to width, then split it down the middle and scribe out the sides one by one. Then when he taped and skimmed the join disappeared even where there was a small gap between the two sides.
To do that in your ceiling you'll need to add "noggins" between the battens on the side at sensible centres to give you something to fix to at regular intervals or it will all drop into a V shape.
Jill
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Lou these are the Lille Lights from Wickes which are in what will eventually be my kitchen, (I am a big criminal and the ceilings and beams are new. But at least they are safe and I haven't got inches of concrete and rotten beams above my head)
JoceAndChris
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I think they match Jill's beams too, as both are new. But putting this kind of thing on old beams looks as wrong as downlighters between old beams to my eye.
Here's my '80s version of it, yuk:
The only option (for me - this has to be down to personal taste!) then is to do as UshyM suggests and just have wall or table lights. There weren't any overhead lights here at all when we moved in- it makes it all a bit dim and dingy!
Here's my '80s version of it, yuk:
The only option (for me - this has to be down to personal taste!) then is to do as UshyM suggests and just have wall or table lights. There weren't any overhead lights here at all when we moved in- it makes it all a bit dim and dingy!
Penners
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In my book, absolutely! I see nothing reprehensible about cutting holes in plasterboard.Nigel Watts said:
Jill
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This is what was up previously, and these beams weren't original either! I have re-used these lights in the loft.
I must admit choosing the lighting was rather difficult, with downlighters you have to also consider the depth of the fitting in relation to the space available in the ceiling between the beams.
I must admit choosing the lighting was rather difficult, with downlighters you have to also consider the depth of the fitting in relation to the space available in the ceiling between the beams.
masochists-r-us
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We had the same thing in our sitting room, but the infills were made of a kind of thick, fibrous cardboard and we could have a conversation with whoever was in the bedroom above.We replaced the batons and filled the cavity with Rockwool high density slab which is designed to reduce sound transmission. It is also semi solid and easier to handle than the stuff on a roll. We then covered with plasterboard which we treated with DG27, then lime plastered it and finally limewashed it. The result is a nice lumpy bumpy oldey looking ceiling that really complements the old oak beams with very good sound insulation. Would I then add downlighters or spot lights ? Not a chance. We added 3 x double wall lights in handmade wrought iron and some table lamps. You may think you need brash modern lighting now, but hopefully you'll realise over time that you don't.
Penners
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Oh dear - whence cometh this fallacy that the plasterers of old were all crap, and incapable of producing a smooth finish?masochists-r-us said:
Lime
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Penners said:
Absolutely spot on.Moo said:
Why do so many people think today's artisans, and particularly their workmanship, are better than those that lived before them?
Flyfisher
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Oh come on. We all know that artisans of old couldn't even build timber-framed houses straight and square. :wink:
masochists-r-us
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Lime said:
Give me a break you lot !
There's nothing jars more than a 400 year old house on the outside with a perfect, sleek modern interior. In any case, on the basis that we can't afford much in the way of trades, our honest, hand made approach to restoration will have to suffice.
Penners
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I didn't mention a "sleek modern interior". I'm talking about an appropriate restoration of the interior to a standard that our ancestors would have regarded as acceptable.