Hi folks,

I have some downlights that I would like to put in to a lath and plaster
ceiling. They are of the variety that have a sprung clip which engages
whilst pushing the lights up through the hole in the ceiling. I have
fitted these lights to a plasterboard ceiling in the past but was
wondering if anyone has any experience in fitting similar lights to a
lath and plaster one. Are there any problems I should be aware of?

Any advice appreciated as always.

Cheers,
Richard.

"Richard Conway" ShoobiddyDoobiddyDoopDoopDoopWah@com wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

I have some downlights that I would like to put in to a lath and plaster
ceiling. They are of the variety that have a sprung clip which engages
whilst pushing the lights up through the hole in the ceiling. I have
fitted these lights to a plasterboard ceiling in the past but was
wondering if anyone has any experience in fitting similar lights to a lath
and plaster one. Are there any problems I should be aware of?

Any advice appreciated as always.

Cheers,
Richard.

I've done this and can't really think of any problems unless you have a
particularly thick ceiling. Bit more of a job to cut through, obviously.

Alistair

I have some downlights that I would like to put in to a lath and plaster
ceiling. They are of the variety that have a sprung clip which engages
whilst pushing the lights up through the hole in the ceiling. I have
fitted these lights to a plasterboard ceiling in the past but was
wondering if anyone has any experience in fitting similar lights to a
lath
and plaster one. Are there any problems I should be aware of?

Any advice appreciated as always.

Cheers,
Richard.

I've done this and can't really think of any problems unless you have a
particularly thick ceiling. Bit more of a job to cut through, obviously.

As Alistair says, bigger job cutting through but not a particular problem -
sometimes the laths will just bend / break before they actually cut -
sometimes easier to finish off from above if you can. If possible try to
clear as much crap from around where the hole will be (from above) before
drilling, to keep the mess down (try drilling 100mm holes in a ceiling with
3" of black loft soot above - not a pleasant experience).

Andy

In article ,
Richard Conway ShoobiddyDoobiddyDoopDoopDoopWah@com writes:
Hi folks,

I have some downlights that I would like to put in to a lath and plaster
ceiling. They are of the variety that have a sprung clip which engages
whilst pushing the lights up through the hole in the ceiling. I have
fitted these lights to a plasterboard ceiling in the past but was
wondering if anyone has any experience in fitting similar lights to a
lath and plaster one. Are there any problems I should be aware of?

Depends how well the plaster is keyed to the laths. If it's not
in too good a state, you'll end up with a lath-and-no-plaster
ceiling. What you could try (if you can get access from above)
is to pour some dilute PVA over the area to be drilled 24 hours
beforehand, which might help bind it togther during the drilling.
Not tried this myself, but the thought has occured to me a few
times in the past.

Note the lamps must be suitable for use in a combustable ceiling,
and make sure you clear away all the wood shavings afterwards.
Also, lath and plaster ceilings can be very thick in places,
often over an inch in order to get the surface horizontal when
the laths/joists aren't. The lamps will need to be able to handle
this thickness.

--
Andrew Gabriel

"Richard Conway" ShoobiddyDoobiddyDoopDoopDoopWah@com wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

I have some downlights that I would like to put in to a lath and plaster
ceiling. They are of the variety that have a sprung clip which engages
whilst pushing the lights up through the hole in the ceiling. I have
fitted these lights to a plasterboard ceiling in the past but was
wondering if anyone has any experience in fitting similar lights to a
lath and plaster one. Are there any problems I should be aware of?

Any advice appreciated as always.


I did a couple like this a few years back:

(1) Clean above the ceiling, including cleaning away the 'tails' of
plaster - leaves just the laths from above.

(2) Make up an MDF plate to fit above the ceiling (I think I put ends on to
fix to the joists at either side, as well).

(3) Bed the plate onto the top of the laths with runny plaster/plaster of
Paris, and fix to the joists.

(4) Once dry and cured, drill and fit as for a plasterboard ceiling.

This has the benefit of strengthening the ceiling for the drilling, and
taking the weight of the light fixing on the joists, not the ceiling.

HTH
Dave R

(1) Clean above the ceiling, including cleaning away the 'tails' of
plaster - leaves just the laths from above.

(2) Make up an MDF plate to fit above the ceiling (I think I put ends on
to
fix to the joists at either side, as well).

(3) Bed the plate onto the top of the laths with runny plaster/plaster of
Paris, and fix to the joists.

(4) Once dry and cured, drill and fit as for a plasterboard ceiling.

This has the benefit of strengthening the ceiling for the drilling, and
taking the weight of the light fixing on the joists, not the ceiling.

Were these particularly heavy downlights? ;-)

Andy

"Pecanfan" wrote in message
...

(1) Clean above the ceiling, including cleaning away the 'tails' of
plaster - leaves just the laths from above.

(2) Make up an MDF plate to fit above the ceiling (I think I put ends on
to
fix to the joists at either side, as well).

(3) Bed the plate onto the top of the laths with runny plaster/plaster
of
Paris, and fix to the joists.

(4) Once dry and cured, drill and fit as for a plasterboard ceiling.

This has the benefit of strengthening the ceiling for the drilling, and
taking the weight of the light fixing on the joists, not the ceiling.

Were these particularly heavy downlights? ;-)

Andy

Very little confidence in the original 1930s ceiling.

Not without reason; our dining room ceiling has come down in quite a
spectacular fashion, and our next door neighbour currently has a couple of
our Screwfix props holding his lounge ceiling up.

I had visions of pushing the light fitting into the (jagged) hole and the
whole shooting match coming down.

Lights over the bed should be firmly fixed - don't want waking up by bits of
ceiling falling.

So any weight on the ceiling is undesirable.

Also, there is a good chance the hole saw would just rip the laths out of
the plaster instead of cutting them.

With a ceiling of that age you need to stabilise everything before trying to
cut through it.

Cheers

Dave R