Cabinet Lighting - 482 items found
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Installing under cabinet lighting?
Jul 03, 2007 by Nicholas P | Posted in Do It Yourself (DIY)
I want to add under-cabinet lighting to my kitchen. We want to use xenon/halogen strips under each of 4 cabinets and we wanna wire them such that no wires show and a light switch will turn them on/off.
Is this something that an amateur can do? If we hired an electricitian, how much would this cost (ballpark figure)?
picture of kitchen: http://img432.imageshack.us/img432/8820/kitchensizedae1.jpg
u can see the 4 cabinets there that we wanna put the lights under
to left of sink (behind paper towels) is a light switch to control garbage disposal and then an electrical outlet; i was thinking we could tap into that electrical outlet's power and install a light switch over there to power all of the lights.
we wanna go permanent as part of our kitchen upgrading; we painted the kitchen today and are crown moulding this weekend; then we are gonna tile the backsplash, so i'm thinking we should do the undercabinet wiring first, or at least plan for it before we tile the area...
all outlets in kitchen are GFCI
Absolutely get the wiring in the walls before you do ANYTHING else in the kitchen - at best, further work will interfere with the wiring - at worst, you could end up having to tear stuff out that you just put in, to get into the wall.
If you want puck lights (and by the way, pay the extra $4/bulb for Xenon - they burn much cooler than Halogens do), you'll have a remote transfomer to step the 120v down the the 12v the lights requires. HomeDepot/Lowes have puck light kits complete with the transformer. If the lead from the pucks to the transformer is long enough, the easiest thing would be to put the transformer up on top of the cabinets. The transformer plugs into a receptacle, so I'd just wire a receptacle at the top of each cabinet. I assume when you say crown, you're talking about on top of the upper cabinets? If so, everything will be hidden by the molding.
Looking at your picture, I'd put two pucks under each of the single cabinets, and 4 or 5 under the corner cabinet. The light kits come in 1, 3, and 5 light kits (you don't have to use all the lights). I'd put a receptacle near the corner to cover all the lights in that row of cabinets, and a second above the single cabinet to the right of the sink.
Since you're going to be putting a backsplash in, I'd open the drywall above the counters to run the wiring. Cut a hole above the cabinets for an "old work box", and fish down the wall to pull the romex up. For esthetics, I would put the switch for the undercabinet lights in the same junction box as the garbage disposal, making a 2-gang switch, rather than two singles near each other. In your case this is going to mean opening the wall and ripping out the existing single gang box. But you're going to cover it all with backsplash anyway, so no worries.
On the subject of the kitchen small-appliance circuit and undercabinet lights-- this is always a fun one in the electrician forums. Best to play it safe and power these receptacles off a general lighting and receptacles circuit. If you don't have easy access to a circuit on the other side of the wall, you can tap into the refrigerator outlet (the fridge is supposed to on 15A branch circuit seperate from the small appliance circuits).
Finally, to Myke_Cyndy -- Time for new glasses, Myke. The "GFCI protected device" stickers are clearly visible on all of the receptacles in the picture. As for "check(ing) the amp rating on the breaker to see if it can handle it". What's to check? It's a kitchen countertop small appliance circuit -- by code, it's 20A.
JeffeVerde | Jul 04, 2007
I like what you are planning to do.. Something to think about for now..
Costco sells these little stick on push and click lights.. three AA batteries run the Led's.. and although they are a bit spotlight ish.. you can get an idea of what it will be like.. and there is absolultly no need for drilling holes or making changes to install them.
** Led Light ** are white lights.. and not the yellowish color common to tungsten lighting..
We don't use our kitchen very often and when we are.. the sun lights it up so we haven't had a need to turn on the lights.. Batteries work really well for us..
Good luck!
Mindwalk8 | Jul 03, 2007
k before you start you will need to change the outlet to a GFCI by the sink code requires you to have one by where every there is water also you need to check the amp rating on the breaker to see if it can handel it and yes you can do just make a list of thing you r going to need and go to a home improvent store like lowes or home depot and show and then explain to them and they will help you
myke_cyndy | Jul 03, 2007
Yes, you can do this. Go to Home Depot and they sell Xenon under counter lighting there.
You have a beautiful kitchen...
imaquitter | Jul 03, 2007
I can tell you this is not something you want to do by yourself in you kitchen. Sometimes you just gotta know when to leave it to someone who knows. The N.E.C. states that lighting cannot be a part of the small appliance circuits. To be code compliant and safe you have to get this done right and a residential electrician is the right choice for the job. The first thing to do is find a journeyman residential electrician. Ask friends, builders or visit places where homes are being built and talk to them. Explain what you have in mind and offer them enough to make it worth their time to do it right. It could turn into a 6 hour job to do this and I would gladly pay $300 to have it done right. This may sound like a lot of money and it is for some, but a good residential electrician can avoid damage to the walls, tiles, countertops, and cabinets and save very expensive and time consuming repairs. It will also get done right so that when it's time to sell you don't have to fail a home inspection because of a code violation and the expenses of correcting the violations. This is probably not what you wanted to hear but it truely is the best advice. Good luck.
frank m | Jul 04, 2007
Best type of light to use for under cabinet lighting?
Jan 27, 2009 by avp | Posted in Decorating & Remodeling
Someone told me to use LEDs because halogen bulbs don't last and they create to much heat.
If you have decorative tile or something you want to accent the hotter halogen is the way to go. If your looking for the work lighting the rope/led low voltage lights are the way. I ve done many a tile back splash so I ve seen both in action. Its personal thing but I don t care for the florescent lights because most ( not all) you can see. GL
rob s | Jan 27, 2009
What is the best kind of in cabinet lighting?
Sep 16, 2008 by Andrea G | Posted in Do It Yourself (DIY)
to use inside glass doored kitchen cabinets?
I like the xenon "pucks". They can be semi-recessed if the top of the cabinet is accessible, and they throw off a nice glow. Hope this helps.
woodtick314 | Sep 16, 2008
Under kitchen cabinet lighting question?
Mar 24, 2009 by Unka Dano | Posted in Decorating & Remodeling
I have a new kitchen being built. The electrician long ago stubbed out wires for under the cabinets. They ended up about 4 inches below the cabinets.
My problem is the tile guys drilled holes in the tiles slipping the wires through them instead of moving the wires up to the bottom of the cabinets and tiling up against them.
My question is, where are the wires supposed to be? Through the cabinets or through the wall under the cabinets?
Help, I'm surrounded by first class idiots.
the wires are supposed to be through the wall and under the cabinets the tiles have suffered an unneccesary damage
Jesus | Mar 24, 2009
Under cabinet lighting in kitchen?
Feb 09, 2009 by pellco | Posted in Maintenance & Repairs
Transformers keep burning out on all cabinet lighting.
It's a 12v system with 12 volt 20 watt xenon bulbs installed in all them .There a total of 6 lighting units . Why are my transformers burning out .
The power is 120 coming off all 6 fixtures . No voltage drop . 1 switch controls all lights in kitchen it appears that nothing else is on that circuit .
What am I overlooking ?
Sounds like your total watts for bulbs is more than the watt rating of the transformer.
Switch to LED puck lights for lower hassle and less cost.
Good luck
charcoal rules | Feb 09, 2009
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