problems with recessed lighting

I would be very grateful for any advice board members could give me in relation to the following problem.

In 2003/2004 I had an extension built and various internal work done on my house.All of the new lighting put into the house - bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, hall etc., - was recessed. The holders all have 230V, 60W, R64 printed on them. I have 25 of these around the house

After a year the first bulb went and when I tried to unscrew the bulb it would not budge. My brother-in-law who is a DIY whizz was in my house on Christmas Day 2004 and another bulb blew. He told me that he had the same lights in his house and the only way to change the bulb was to take the holder out of the ceiling and unloosen the bulb that way. I could not believe it.

Then another problem appeared when some of the lamp holders started hanging out of the ceiling. I called an electrician who was working on my sisters house and he replaced one for E100.00 parts and labour. He said that
these type of downlighters has caused terrible problems in the past.

This problem has reoccured several times now and I have boken lampholders all over the house plus ceilings with bits of plaster fallen out of them from pulling out the holders to change the bulbs.

This week I contacted the electrician who did the original work on my house in 2004 and told him of the problem. He said to me "yeah that lighting has caused terrible problems, melting, bulbs blowing and all". I could not believe what I was hearing.

He is coming to the house next week and I want to have a negotiation with him. I would like to have all 25 holders in the house replaced with ones that will give less trouble and are more user friendly. I would be prepared to pay for the holders but not for the labour to install them as the wiring is there, the holes are in the ceiling etc.

Is this a reasonable position to take on my part? Has too much time elapsed for me to have any rights in this regard? Could anyone advice me please?


regards


Ed

A bit too late
you would have had 12 months warranty with the fittings and should have reported the problems wirhin this time.
not so easy now to replace the fittings now as most of the modern recessed fittings now require a smaller hole.

Its unreasonable to expect him to install new fittings for free. I don't know exactly what lights they are but its highly unlikely that you have to take them out of the ceiling to replace the lamps, theres probably a knack to removing the lamps (ie they need a bit of persuasion). Therefore you're more than likely responsible for any plaster damage. You say the lamp holders are hanging down and are broken, is that because you went at them trying to replace lamps?

I have exactly the same problem with my recessed lighting- bulbs blow regularly, difficult to get bulb out. Mine are over 10 years old now so i'm going to change the lot soon - i dont see any alternative really, they are just a very poor design.. Will make sure the next type are tried & trusted before i purchase

Copper

Thanks for your reply. I assure you I have had several people look at these lights and there is no knack in removing the lights. They are screw in screw out and the problem is getting a grip on the light to screw it out. Ocassionaly they come out easily but often times they are lodged in the fitting.

Yes I am repsonsible for the plaster damage when I remove the fitment but it is the only way to change the light.

The fittings are not hanging down due to my actions. As was explained to me by an electrician in a shop part of the fiiting melts when it gets hot and falls out of its holder. Then the whole fitting needs to be replaced at Euro 100 a time parts and labout. I know from talking with some other people that they have this problem also.

The whole thing is very frustrating and as the work was done in 2004 I have no comeback probably. However I am left with 25 recessed lights which have proved an expensive white elelphant for me. It is possible that the electrician installed a particular type of fitting that he was not familiar with. He was able to describe to me on the phone last week all the problems I was having without any prompting from me and was eager to quote me for new lighting.

All of the other work done on the extension has not caused me a single problem

screw types are crap,always jam,bc(bayonet) are best,ring this sparks on 0863544311,he did a lot of work for me and only charged me 25 euro an hour,fully insured,cheapest i could find,i'm well pleased with what he did.

edwardg

Just reread my post and it comes across as very accusatory, apologies, one of the limitations of internet conversations. What I was trying to find out was whether the lamp holders broke when you went to change the lamps, because I've never heard of lamp holders spontaneously breaking.

But from your description they sound like terrible cheap fittings (probably reflected in the quote you received for the extension). Any good tradesman will stand over the parts he uses, if I install faulty parts I replace them and take it up with my suppliers.

A reasonable quote for replacing the 25 downlighters with quality fittings (eg MR16 elv downlighters with quality transformers i.e robus) would be somewhere in the region of €700-€900.

Copper

No offence taken. I am just grateful to everyone for their advice. This will help me a lot when the electrician comes later on the week. If this is the worst problem I have this year then it will be a good year.



kind regards


Ed

Hi Edwardg,
I have recently added an extension to the house and have fitted recessed lighting. The type that I fitted are Megaman Fluorescent and there is hardly any heat out of them. They are also very energy efficient and come in 7, 9,& 11 watt, this is equivalent to 30, 40, & 50 watt standard fittings. I haggled on the price and got them for around €15 each - the bulb is the most expensive part. Don't quote me but I think that they are good for 50,000 "switch ons'" and the fitting I think are G12s' - worth looking at.
Regards,
Horse.