Adding Recessed Lights To My Walk-In Closet (Plus, My Workaround For My Phobia)

Right here’s the one single mild on the ceiling fan that I’ve been working with till now…

Not solely is the lighting inadequate, nevertheless it’s additionally a yellow mild, so it makes the cupboard a wallpaper colours look dingy. I can’t stand yellow lighting for that very motive. I really like colour, and I don’t like my colours to look washed out, so I choose white lighting.

My workday began off easily. I had the entire holes reduce for the lights by lunchtime.

This was fairly straightforward to do with this Mikwaukee adjustable hole cutter (affiliate hyperlink). It adjusts to chop holes from 2″ to 7″, and it comes with this plastic protect that catches the mud as you narrow.

It positively made the method quicker and simpler, but when I’m being trustworthy, I’d charge it 4 out of 5 stars. Whereas the plastic protect caught about 95% of the mud, it positively didn’t catch all of it.

Additionally, these blades appeared to boring pretty shortly. I used to be capable of reduce the entire holes I wanted, however after about 4 holes, the cuts appeared to begin getting rougher and rougher with every extra gap. And the blades saved coming unfastened, so I’d have to make use of an Allen wrench to tighten the blades after I reduce every gap.

I believe the instrument may use some enchancment, nevertheless it did the job. And it did it a lot quicker and simpler than every other instrument or course of I’ve used previously to chop holes for lights.

I ended up chopping holes for 2 lights on either side by the cupboards, and one gap over every equipment.

I had somebody ask me why I didn’t plan on including three lights to every aspect within the cupboard space. The reason being due to this air conditioner vent on the left aspect which is correct the place I would want to place a light-weight if I had added three to every aspect. And I didn’t need to transfer a vent.

However I did add one extra mild centered on the doorway. So the closet cupboard space could have 5 extra lights plus the middle chandelier when all is claimed and finished. That will likely be loads of mild.

Issues have been going so easily at this level that I anticipated to interrupt for lunch, after which come again and take about quarter-hour to climb up into the attic and run the wiring from every gap to the subsequent. In principle, this step ought to have been extremely easy. What I hadn’t realized is that the entire space from the pink line to the window wall was in that space that juts out from the entrance of the home, and the roof over that space is extremely low.

I had three wires that I wanted so as to add in that part, however as soon as I acquired up into the attic, I spotted that it wasn’t going to be as straightforward as I believed. In reality, it took me some time to even discover these two holes over the washer and dryer. I couldn’t even see them till I used to be that space head on. After which I spotted that as a way to get to them, I’d should lie on my abdomen, shimmy into that space underneath the tremendous low roof about 10 ft, hoping that I may get all the way in which to the top whereas dragging three wires in my hand, after which shimmying again with out with the ability to flip round. And, in fact, I’d should do all of that with out placing a foot or knee by way of the drywall.

So I ended up reassessing the scenario to determine the way to get the wires from gap to gap, round and above the entire ceiling joists and different framing. I lastly ended up having to chop three extra holes that must be patched.

The excellent news is that patching these holes will likely be fairly easy as a result of I’ve all of those excellent little circles of drywall that I can use to fill them.

Anyway, these are the lights that I’m going to make use of. They’re not technically recessed lights. They sit flush to the ceiling.

And since they’re just one/2-inch thick, they usually’re LED in order that they don’t get sizzling, you may put them nearly anyplace, even immediately underneath a ceiling joist.

That is the model I exploit. They’ve 5 totally different temperature settings, and I at all times set mine to the 5000K (daylight) setting.

So by the point I acquired all of that finished, I used to be just about worn out each bodily and mentally. You may see the holes that have to be patched right here.

Additionally, by the point I acquired all of that finished, I virtually talked myself into leaving the middle mild proper the place it’s. The problem right here is that the wire that comes from the change is simply too quick to maneuver that junction field again six inches.

I attempted to make myself be okay with it, however about an hour later, after my nerves had calmed a bit, I made a decision that I’m simply not okay with it. You may see how off-center it’s with the middle sections on the aspect partitions.

So I went forward and eliminated the junction field. I believed that will be fairly easy, nevertheless it was a little bit of a problem getting it off because it had these aspect areas that jut out with the nails.

I mangled the drywall a bit getting these out of there.

Luckily, I’ll be capable of reduce a six-inch gap after which use one of many circles of drywall that I’ve to patch that space.

So ultimately, I’ll have 4 holes that I must patched.

However patching 4 holes in drywall is a small worth to pay for avoiding getting caught on my stomach in my attic in a full-blown panic because the low roof closes in on me and having to name 911 to rescue me. 😀

It’s not how I had hoped this undertaking would go, however not less than the wires are in place. And I ought to have the entire lighting put in by the top of the day. It’ll be good to see what this room appears to be like like with correct lighting.