Pot Lights?? Installed in floor joists.... Can u insulate around them??

garyroney

Hi. Im just wondering about my new pot lights i just installed in my basement. They are 5 inch contractor grade lights from home depot(apparently very common lights) The guy from home depot told me it would be fine the way I was doing it. I had a pro electrician wire them so thats all good.. . The insulation is touching the metal of the lights. But this insulation is not like that PINK...Pink will burn from farting too close to it.....Safe & Sound is fire proof and good for sound. Its my daughters room and i want to make sure there is no fire hazard. I was told by a pro u need the blue plastic covers for pot lights. But, all they are for is vapor barrier (Right????) basically its acts as a molded 6mm poly that u can tie ur 6mm poly into more easily...(Right?????). Kinda like the plastic electrical box covers you can buy now instead of wrapping 6mm poly around ur electrical boxes.

My question is whether you can install them with Safe and Sound Insulation arond them?
Also, how much breathing room/air gap do they need? If any?

Oh! Ya! The room is almost ready for paint... Basically DONE.

I am now questioning my instalation. Im worried there will too much heat build up. Which could cause a fire. Soo worried in fact I was up all night thinking about it, until I found this site..lol...I seen a reno show where the pro used a tin box that was instaled into the floor joists, then the pot light went inside of it, allowing the heat to disepate. but, if I used that I would meen no sound insulation..no room...

I hope i painted u all a good picture of my serious dilema, also sorry for blaburing on soo much. but please any comments are welcome.

Thanks A Bunch!

jbfan

If the cans have an IC rating, you are good to go.
If you do not have cans with an IC rating, you have created a problem.
What is the model # of the can lights?

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Michael Thomas

If the lights are non-IC, you must maintain the clearance as specified in the labeling to any type of insulation.

Safety issues aside, the lights contain an internal thermal safety cut-off switch, and if they are non-IC and you insulate them they may overheat and shut off.

J. V.

See if the light has a thermo protector (switch) mounted to the inside of the can near the top. If so, it is IC rated and can be in your application with no worries. You can use CFL lamps if you are overly concerned as they emit very little heat. Use lamps that are not larger (watts) than the fixture is labeled for.

Pink insulation is actually very hard to ignite. I threw a piece on a fire a few weeks ago and it took forever to burn. Its fiberglass and fiberglass is hard to ignite. I would be more concerned with blown in insulation, of which some are made from recycled newspaper. IMO.

gma2rjc

Contact the Roxul company. They may be able to answer your question. I sure wish we could buy Roxul in the U.S.


www.roxul.com

sheilalr

Hi everyone. I have a similar issue. When we moved into bungalow found potlights buried in pink insulation without the proper protection. What to do? Someone suggested putting an aluminum roasting pan over each one (27 or them!) I am not sleeping well. Can someone advise me? Thanks

NCpaint1

How do you know that its not proper? Are you guessing?

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operagost

Remove the bulb and look inside the can for any warnings.

MikeKy55

I ordered it at Lowes they had in in about a week. Did it twice really, I was mistaken on how much I needed.