Downlights Install in NR2

Downlights put twenty holes in a ceiling. Most of this job is about what that ceiling was doing before you cut it.

Where the ceiling is fire-resisting, the ceiling below a loft conversion, the floor between two flats, a ceiling over an integral garage or any compartment floor, cutting it open destroys that fire resistance unless fire-rated downlighters put it back. The intumescent seal inside the fitting closes the aperture in a fire. That comes from Part B of the Building Regulations rather than from the wiring regulations, and Electrical Safety First recommends fire-rated fittings in every ceiling regardless of what is above it.

Loft insulation is the next problem. Unless a fitting is rated for insulation contact, it needs clear air above it and the insulation has to be held back permanently, because pushing it aside lasts until the next person goes into the loft. Every fitting carries a manufacturer's stated clearance, and that is the figure we work to on your ceiling rather than a rule of thumb.

On a separating floor between dwellings the holes cost you sound insulation as well, which is a Part E matter.

We set positions out before cutting, so fittings clear joists, pipework and existing cables, and so drivers stay reachable if one fails.