# recessed lighting in basement



## DIY4EVER (Apr 10, 2007)

I am planning on puttin grecessed lighting in my basement. I am going to drywall the ceiling (after getting great response to me other thread about the pros/cons of drop ceiling vs. drywall). There was insulation installed in between teh floor joists when my home was built. I was planning on keeping it up there. My question is, how do I know exactly what type of recessed lighting to get? 

I like the 6" size, and I know I need the Insulation Contact (IC) rated ones, but do I need new construction ones, remodel ones, regular depth (?) ones, or I saw they have "shallow" depth ones? I thought a recessed light was a recessed light.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!


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## HouseHelper (Mar 20, 2007)

If you are installing the lights before the drywall (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), you want new construction type; if you have 7.5in clearance (or greater) above the new ceiling (between the joists) use standard height cans. Definitely use IC rated, air tight is optional (I have found that most cans listed as air tight aren't really that air tight).


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## DIY4EVER (Apr 10, 2007)

thanks for the help!!


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## Brik (Jan 16, 2007)

Yea, new construction, IC. Shallow or standard depends only on the room you have, or don't have. You will pay more for IC/shallow that non IC standard. If you are on a budget consider moving the insulation out of the way. Oh - And one tip. make sure you can turn all lights off in the basement from the top of the stairs! Post back if you need help with 3wya and 4 way switch configurations.


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## DIY4EVER (Apr 10, 2007)

Thanks for the tips Brik! I was planing on making sure that all lights could be controlled from the switch that is at the top of the stairs. Currenlty there are 4 lights in the basement, one at the landing as you go down the stairs, and then 3 that are prett equally spaced throughout the basement. I have a plan that calls for 6 recessed lights, these would replace the 3 current lights in the main part of the basement. Would it be possible to tie into the circuit for these lights with the recessed lights, just adding extra wiring for the additional recessed lights I am adding. If you could pass along the wiring diagrams that would be great!

Thanks!


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## DIY4EVER (Apr 10, 2007)

Brik,

Did you run cable wire into your basement for TV? I need to figure out how to get it down there. There is a plastic bow mounted to the side of my house where all the cable wiring is. It comes out of the box, one cable for each of the cable outlets in the living areas of the house, and goes through a hole in the siding into the outside wall. I can't figure the best way to get another cable into the basement though. I don't want ot hack my walls up inside to try and tap into one of those lines. Any ideas/suggestions?


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## Brik (Jan 16, 2007)

What I did in my basement was to wire my 14 lights into 4 separate 'zones'. 6 lights in one area on one switch, light at top and bottom of stairs on another switch, 4 lights on 3rds switch and 2 lights on a 4th switch. Regardless if you have separate lighting areas or one the principles are the same. First, determine each location where you want to control the lights. Top of the stairs, bottom of the stairs and next to each outside entrance at a minimum. If you only have two locations (top and bottom of stairs) you will need a '3-way diagram' There are several options for 3-ways. If you have lights controlled at 3 locations you will need a 4-way diagram. for 4 or more locations you do the same as in a 4-way diagram but with more 4-way switches in the line. Here are some diagrams http://www.handymanwire.com/articles/3wayswitch.html As for cable wire. I have sat, cable and Fiber to consider. The old way houses were wired was to run one coax from the outside and then just split and daisy chain it to each location. Sat requires whats called home run wiring. I cant envision exactly your setup. Just go through your wall to the outside with one wire to your outside box. Inside run one wire to each location. All the wires should come together at one convenient location. To future proof your cable use RG6QS cable. buy it in a bulk roll and learn how to crimp on the ends, it will be much cheaper that way.


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