Recessed lighting in plaster ceilings

oldisnew2015

10 years ago

My husband and his dad (electrician) have put recessed lighting into plaster ceilings before and while it was obviously much more work than drywall, he said it's do-able with the right tools to get through the plaster/lath. We are purchasing a 1940s Colonial where 3 of the upstairs bedrooms would need updating w/ recessed can lights in plaster ceilings. I recently read on here that it wasn't possible to put in such lighting in a plaster ceiling. From our experience we know it's possible but is it generally avoided given the fact that there is more work involved from creating the holes to patching to match etc.?

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Comments (3)

PRO
Sombreuil
10 years ago
The spring clips are made for 5/8" drywall thickness, max. If you can pull some of the flooring above, you can fit new work cans. Or maybe a remodeling can is made for thicker ceilings, but I never ran across those.

Casey
sambah006
10 years ago
Can lights are really out of place in an older home.

Why not just put in 3 or 4 bulb semi flush mount fixtures? And then provide additional light with floor or table lamps? It's not like most people typically use overhead lights in a bedroom much anyways except when cleaning or looking for lost car keys.

The work to award ratio, and chance for damage are really not in favor of this project.
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jjvantol
10 years ago
If you really want the look of recessed cans, consider some of the new slim LED fixtures, such as Philips SlimSurface LEDs. They look almost identical to cans, but require only a regular J-box. As a consequence, they are much easier to air seal, and require a smaller hole in the ceiling.