Ultra Thin Recessed Lighting | Transform A Dark Living Space
Amico 6" LED Lights: amzn.to/3q4mDnP
At one of my renovation projects, there was a living room with a single outlet that was connected to a switch at the front door. This resulted in a very dark living space which was supposed to be one of the most used spaces in the home. We took care of that issue by installing 8 Ultra-Thin LED Recessed Lights and this project truly transformed the space. As this is one of the longer DIY videos on our channel I provided time-stamped chapters below to help you navigate the project.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:14 LED Layout Design
1:52 Marking the Hole Locations
3:30 Cutting Holes in the Ceiling
5:42 Electrical Overview and Reconfiguration
9:13 Junction Box and Switches Wiring
11:52 Wiring LED Recessed Lights
15:58 Finished Project!
Supplies and Tools
Amico 6" LED Lights: amzn.to/3q4mDnP
6 3/8" Hole Saw: amzn.to/2YXKEB8
3/8" Cable Clamps: amzn.to/3AlOh46
14/2 50 foot Romex: amzn.to/3aRDzro
14/3 50 foot Romex: amzn.to/36XcO3B
Metal Junction Box: amzn.to/3p8KhOS
Junction Box Lid: amzn.to/3tM7sBV
Tools Every Weekend Warrior Needs
Makita Corless Drill Combo Kit: amzn.to/2Jsw78j
Dewalt Drill Bit Set: amzn.to/2w0xAA4
Dewalt Screwdriver Bit Set: amzn.to/2UqTvK9
Craftsman Screwdriver Set: amzn.to/3bAsNEG
Eklind Allen Wrench Set: amzn.to/2wKDu8M
Pliers (4-Piece Set): amzn.to/2JlYUM7
Stanley Utility Knife: amzn.to/2Us2pqG
Stanley Tape Measure: amzn.to/2WPzr5K
Studbuddy Stud Finder: amzn.to/38MdzfV
Johnson Torpedo Level: amzn.to/3dzx5Ot
Stanley Hammer: amzn.to/39tudPL
Buck Bros Wood Chisel Set: amzn.to/2QTebYO
Klein Voltage Tester: amzn.to/2XMa1I2
Klein Outlet Tester: amzn.to/39GyO33
Wire Strippers: amzn.to/2NHHKuS
Little Giant Ladder: amzn.to/2UrFmfG
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.
Lights used in the video (Amico 6" LED Lights): amzn.to/3q4mDnP
What if my homes current wires are only black and white...I purchase the Halo 6 inch that came with white, black , and copper..how can I connect the copper if my current homes wires doesn't have it
I get them from my local hardware store, love them! I like the 4" better than 6" for large spaces. I use them to light up the walls, install no more than 2' from the wall and every 2.5'-3' very nice! Nice vid, thanks!
I like using a circular hole drill bit for cutting the hole, very precise and perfect fit so no air loss. love how you can install them right on the beam!
Just out of curiosity why did you use 14 awg wire
Video going too fast
You are one of the few people who make this easy to understand. Thanks for taking the time to make this video!
Great idea using the marking flags to find your holes to clear out the insulation.
This guy is great. He's so chill in demeanor and presentation for every topic.
Great instructional, easy to follow. You are calm and clear in your narration which helps, not rushing and leaving out details. Extremely helpful. Thank you.
This was one of the best how to vids I've found! Your directions are very comprehensive without overloading the video with the useless rambling that some presenters include. Keep up the great content and I hope your channel becomes very successful!
Appreciate it Bo, thanks for the kind words.
Buddy! Awesome video! I’ve been looking for a video like this for weeks. Insulated ceiling to attic with insulation. How to dived the lights. How to junction box and wire the 14/3 to 14/2. So much appreciated !!! Thank you.
Thanks for making this! Even though I have experience, it allows me to get everything I need together and have a solid game plan which makes everything easier. Much appreciated.
Great video! There is a model exactly like this that has a spot to slide the romex in and then you just pin it with the built in bar. You save money on the connectors and you also save time. Time is money!
This video was so helpful and accessible! I’m starting a project adding overhead lighting to multiple rooms, and I have more confidence about completing it now! 😃
You will love the change in the living space. Best of luck on the project and let me know if you have any questions.
Great video on a great, great product. Thanks. One negative thing is the difficulty I have understanding your words because of the room's echo.
One thing about your videos I like, is akin to watching a good movie, with a ‘happy end’!
Great video! I have the exact same electrical setup in my 1955 house. I've wanted to add ceiling lights for years to replace the lamp plugged into the switch controlled receptacle. All I need to figure out now it where the power is coming into the porch switch.
Great instructional video. I especially like that you showed the installation of the recessed lights from start to finish, incl. the 14-2 and 14-3 romex connections at the junction box. Prior to watching your video, I had huge reservation about installing these type of lights in my wine cellar, but I feel confident I can install them now. Thanks.
LED lights are amazing. So compact and cheap to run.
Yes they are!
Great video! Really easy to listen to your style and pace. Very helpful.
Another clear, useful video. Thanks for posting.
Thank you Scott you've helped me out so much. I love your method of explaining everything for us DIY'rs. 👍
This is awesome! My exact at home predicament.
In a similar situation I've used a Sawzall to cut out the switch box and replaced it with a Carlon old-work box (eg. BH234R). This allows enough access to remove wire staples around the box, makes fishing wires much easier, gives a bigger box to work in and if I'm careful no extra wall repair/painting.
Nice! Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, on any other project I probably would have taken some additional time to avoid the patch but since, I literally had the drywall, tape, mud, and paint in another room it wasn’t as bug of a deal. Fun project!
I rewired my mobile home with these in a remodel and you can get a 12 pack for well under $100 for basic versions. I also put in dimmers in a few but they are so easy to install and wire up. You can have brighter lighting, more lighting and at much lower energy cost. I put them in my kitchen, hallway and second bedroom and make a massive difference for a cheap price. Easy install option if you do not have a hole saw. I took a nail and a pencil and connected them with a piece of ground wire with a loop on both ends at the diameter for the hole . Push the nail into the middle and you can now draw a perfect circle to cut out with your jig saw.
🙌
I like the tip of the pink marking flags! great idea.
Thx, helps out for sure.
Excellent. Thank-you!
I just helped a buddy with this. Exact same setup, not sure if it’s code but I just ran a new wire for the lights to the switch box, used pre existing holes. And wired the red switched wire to the hot black so both sides of outlets were hot. Thanks for the video helped a Bunch.
Great video! I appreciate how calmly and thoroughly you present all of the information, as well as how neatly you lay out your links, timestamps, etc. BTW, at about the 4 minute mark you reference a link to another video that goes into more detail about cutting the holes near the ceiling joists. It was supposed to be available in the upper corner, but for me it didn't appear. Thanks for a great instructional!
Here are the two videos he referenced (I'm about to do this project so searched for them!) kzhead.info/sun/pLeyfrhom6efd6M/bejne.html&ab_channel=EverydayHomeRepairs kzhead.info/sun/nJ2kebBugnRqhI0/bejne.html&ab_channel=EverydayHomeRepairs
great video , Especially for older homes with plaster and wire metal mesh behind plaster
Happy to help, I think this type of project is a GREST upgrade for the cost.
Such a good video! Good detail and helpful hints for diy-ers and well shot and mic’d. Really appreciate it!
Great video. I have the same set up and want to add recessed lighting. The only difference is that I have two three-way switches going to the receptacle, so it can be powered from the front door and from the entrance to the living room inside the house. Is there anything in particular I should look out for when doing this?
I just updated my living room with 12 3inch with dimmer switch I agree it was a significant improvement to the space
💯
Cool :)
Thanks for the video. I have 6 can lights in my living room but they are old school. All on the same 20a circuit with 3 each on their own switch/dimmer. I'll be looking into this upgrade and maybe doing other things with this circuit since it is overkill.
Excellent Video, Very useful instructions 👍👍
I enjoyed this video these are very convienent. I even showed my dad and he like to install them,
I have installed these lights in basement renovations. Easy to snake wire above drywall and the lights snap right in (watch out if the snaps come back out and snap on your fingers)
Good info. You should check out wireless switching. Saves a lot of time fishing wires through the walls and cutting holes in the drywall/patching.
Wireless is fine in a house you aren't going to sell or rent, but could cause frustration to the new owner or renter.
I see you often mark your work area with tape and measuring all the way... I know it might be overkill for the small room and stuff you show on average residential renos but one thing that has changed my life is one of those self leveling (Laser Level 3 X 360). I've used it for commercial space but honestly if I had a side hustle of doing quick electrical residential work I'd be buying one for sure. It's one of those tool that can save a lot of time!
Exactly what I was thinking
Super very nice video, thanks!!!
Thank you sir for this video!
Thanks so much for this! We brought our first home and it’s from 1977 and we believe the ceiling is plaster. All rooms have light switches with no ceiling lights lol. Only one room has a switch-to-outlet connection. Do you have a video showing how to connect these lights to rooms with a light plain switch? 😊
Wago connectors are the best 👌
excellent video. one question... are you going to have to get a larger gang box in order to replace single pole switch with a dimmer? that wall box looked a little shallow.
Are you working with the electrical while it's hot or have you flipped the breaker before doing this?
Great video and tutorial on wiring. I am working on a house with similar recess lighting throughout the house. It's controlled by Hubspace on the clients phone. After I wired the two gang switch with smart switches. The lights never came back on. The left switch controlled the ceiling fan and the ceiling fan light worked, but the right switch for the LED smart lights did not. After hours and hours of troubleshooting. I've given up; however, I noticed you used a couple of pigtails. Do I need to grab both lines from each switch and then add a pigtail for each to go into one of the RL lines of the smart switch so they both function as they should? Thanks so much!
Thanks for sharing. I learned a lot
Awesome - thanks for sharing
I used a 3 laser level from amazon to get the LED lights lined up perfectly.
I have to get these. I wired in the cans. This is so much easier!
great video, wondering if you went back and stapled down the wire in the attic to avoid future trip hazards?
I just installed this today and was extremely happy they it turned out.
Honestly bang for the buck I think this is one of the best upgrades you can do for a home. Especially those who have no ceiling lights but switched outlets. 👍👍
did you shut off all the power? or no?
Just the power to the circuit used.
@@EverydayHomeRepairs same here.
Great explaination !!
Excellent Video!
Thanks Amir!
👍👍👍👍👍 Excellent video, very informative. Thanks
I'm remodeling my upstairs bathroom and adding these types of slim LEDs. Where do i mount the led transformer? Do i have to mount it to the joist? I have loose insulation like you but also a vapor barrier between the drywall and insulation. And since i live in Canada, it gets to -45C during the winter, do i need to insulate the transformer as well?
Would be nice if these lights could have one controller box and be daisy chained on low voltage. Good video as usual!!
Best Step-by-Step video on KZhead! The flag idea is awesome!! 👍👍 Only thing I saw that I think might need a slight update is grounding that metal J Box. Add a green wire to the box and twist in with your grounds - Don’t want that box to become energized.
Hi, outstanding videos can you put this in your outdoor Vinyl soffit and how do you exactly daisy chain them? Excuse my ignorance any help is much appreciated all your videos are awesome
I enjoy and benefit from your videos. Thanks. You mention you Daisy chained all but one light. Why? Is it just in case the circuit goes bad you’ll still have light?
How about when you have ceiling Electric ⚡️ Heater. What’s the Recomended precaution running power wire , so that the wire’s won’t touch while crossing each other ?
I bought these and I’m going to try and just try and replace some lights with them. I need to pull the box out of the ceiling first. So we shall see how I do! Lol 😂
Not sure if you did this, but also for the old pot lights you had caps you could buy. But these are shallow so use a piece of vapor barrier to cover over them. Use some acoustical sealant between the cover vapor barrier and the present ceiling vapor barrier. You can also add red tuck tape to the seams. Then cover with insulation. If you don't do that in a cold climate you will get condensation and mold.
All the capacitance in that 14-3 wire, there better be anti-ghosting resistors in the lamps or they're gonna want to glow. Recessed lighting is cheap and effective, but it can be a bit harsh. I'd love to see you do an install with some more indirect lighting. Posting this comment reminds me that I've been meaning to put some cove lighting in my condo.
If you need to change the color code after the lights are installed, do you have to take the light out to access the junction box? Is their a remote to change the color?
So I am new to this so sorry if my question seems silly. So if there is an existing light socket in the center of the room instead of adding a junction box in attic can we just feed off of that existing light socket and connect the recess lights to it with 14/2 wires? Hope I made since.
Great video and great job and great information !!! The next time, please no metallic 🪜 ladder. Use fiberglass ladder . Thanks for your beautiful job.
Best Video on youtube.
Thanks!
Great video I have a older home my living room is 280sq./ft. how many recess 6" LED lights would you recommend for a living room this size? Thank You
Nicely done video, good explanation
Thanks, best of luck on your project
I love your flag idea. I'm definitely going to use it!! But I'm planning on wiring up all of my boxes in the living room and then carry the whole harness into the attic and then plug my lights in from the bottom.
I have a similar room that I plan on doing except, I have to fight with 2nd floor joists. Of course, they are running opposite of the way I was hopping, so twice as much drilling. At least I bought lots of wire a few years ago, before the prices became insane.
New subscriber here. You’re the best!! Look forward to more projects with your help ! 👍👍
Thanks and welcome to the channel!
I bought the lights , the saw is ordered. Can you tell me what laser measuring tool you like the best?
How have the springs held up on the lights I’ve read that you have to buy particular ones because on some the springs aren’t strong enough to keep the light flush.
I'm here in Summit County Colorado & notice you in a UIUC t-shirt, sweet! And, may I suggest attic air sealing around the holes.
Air sealing to prevent moist warm air going into the attic space is important in cold climates. The moist air will condense and freeze on the lights fixtures after the lights are out and cooled off. When the lights are turned back on and melt the ice, you could literally get water dripping down from the lights. Also "cans" over the lights to prevent heat from warming up the attic space can save your roof. All over Montana, new homes and renovated homes that skip these steps have damaged roofs from ice damming. That warm air in the attic melts the snow which then refreezes under the shingles. The ice expands and lifts the shingles eventually causing leaks. Attics have to be a cold space and pot lights can compromise this.
I have an existing light switch that powers a outlet across the room. The room doesn’t have a ceiling light fixture so we’re wanting to install a light fixture. Where can I source the power? Or is it a lot more complicated for a diyer? Haha
What is the filter you are using in the attic? I do woodworking projects, and sometimes spray paint; the mask I recently bough is the 3M 6503. I want to make sure I can use a filter with what I mostly do.
Can you show or tell me how the wiring is done to connect each light to the prior one
Is it acceptable to have a concealed junction box?
Do I need a junction box? Is this preferred rather than daisy chain
The orange spring clips are extremely tight after installed. How do you deinstall without damaging the drywall?
Started with Halo 6” ultra thin lights. Did not like the glare off the light’s edge. Switched to Halo 6” baffle trim light. Lot less edge glare and looks classier. Easy switch between the two lights at the hand tight connector.
Great explanation! Can you use a microphone in future videos for better sound quality and less echo
Hey great video! I'm using the same lights but for some reason my dimmer function is not working. I have 8 of these lights (so 96W of consumption) and a 150W dimmer switch. When I initially installed them I tested when having 2 hooked up and worked fine. But after installing the other 6 the dimming function stopped working. Any thoughts?
In my case, i have a center fan/light in the living room (same in the kitchen) and i would like to install multiple LEDs. should i install a junction box and from there to fan and all LEDs?
I'm lost at the 14/3 side of the video .. was it connected to the the black of the 14/2 of main power or the outlet ?
Thanks for the great information. When you are daisy chaining, is it NEC code complaint. According to NEC Section 314.16 in order to fill 5 14-2 conductors you need 10 cu. These J-box have 8 cu space. Is there another section of the code?
Would love to know how to install low profile lights like these outside in back vinyl soffit of our home for effects along the exterior of our home. thank you
I was looking for a light I can get in a 3 1/2 inch space Above the ceiling.Do you know if these would work or not? Thanks
Do you have a video showing how to secure wiring in the attic or it’s ok to have them that way
I installed the 4in 800 lumen led. I feel they are too bright and want to swap to the same light but the 540 lumen version. Can I use the same junction box and just plug in the new light or do I have to switch boxes as well? Only difference I see is that the 800 box and light are 12W and the 540 uses 9w.
How about a double layer of drywall on the ceiling. Could these work with the extra thickness?
What keeps the blow in from falling back out should you need to replace defective LED bulb with a like kind or worst case the led and driver junction box(s)? Do they make a top-hat so to speak?
Very helpful and concise videography. Just curious: do those little P/S boxes driving the LED's need to be fastened down to something or is it ok w/ NEC to float them above, unattached to a joist/truss or whatever? Thanks and keep up the good work👍
Did you ever get an answer to your question? Other videos I've watched they just lay it up there on top of the tile.
Great video! Just one question.. when running the wires through the attic, are you running them on-top of the insulation or along the ceiling?
Hey Marc, on top of the insulation.
So much more convenient compared to installing the housing for downlights. Are metal junction boxes in the attic required to be bonded to the home grounding system?
Good call out Matt and yes that metal junction box which was added needs to be grounded through the addition of a grounding screw. Appreciate you bringing up that point as it was missed in the video.
@8:43: Were you just lying on the ceiling drywall (possibly with some plaster)? That's... daring.
What would have to be done if each one of the switches was on a different circuit?
Thank you Scott! Best video out there. Clear and concise. I have a question: did you place any cover over the lights in the attics? Or just left them alone, no insulation on top? Thank you!
Ideally if your attic isn’t conditioned, a cover is best and then air sealing the cover. You can buy ptemade covers or you can make your own with rigid foam insulation. Even if the lights are IC (insulation contact) rated, you’re not air tight so hot air is coming into the living space in the summer and cold air coming in in the winter if you don’t air seal. And you obviously don’t want to air seal the light itself like glued in or anything or you can’t pull it down to service it
The old pot lights had caps you can buy. But these are shallow so just use a piece of vapor barrier to cover over them. Use some acoustical sealant between the cover vapor barrier and the present ceiling vapor barrier. You can also add red tuck tape to the seams. Tgen cover with insulation. If you dont do that in a cold climate you will get condensation and mold.
How are the 3/8" Cable Clamps measured? the holes in the box are 7/8"?
If I want to add an additional ceiling light in the middle of the same room where all the recessed lights are on do I need to do this same process? Or can I connect the ceiling light with the recessed lights so when I turn on the switch all of them turn on together? Is that ok to do?
How would you install that into a deck roof or a concrete ceiling ???
Very helpful. What did you do with the insulation around the little recessed boxes?
I ended up mounting the boxes to the truss close to each hole