About 10 years ago I had six recessed halogen lights installed in a second story room with an attic above. This is the product they installed:
I would like to replace each of these these with an IC rated fixture housing an LED light, such as this from the Feit website LED Retrofit Kits. My reason for doing this is to have better heat insulation in the ceiling above the lights. So my questions are
- Can I remove the current HALO fixture from within the room without
going up into the attic? - What do I need to put in to replace it? Some kind of IC rated
fixture I suppose but what? - What else should I be aware of in attempting this project? I am
familiar with simple electrical work but don't want to get up into
the attic!
Thanks!
Best Answer
If the fixtures were installed prior to the drywall ceiling install, they are going to be 'new work' type. Which means they have an apparatus which is nailed onto the sides of the rafters above the ceiling. Without crawling around up there in the attic and removing them from there, it could be challenging to remove them from below without damaging the ceiling drywall..
Get you a piece of 2x4' piece of 3/4" thick plywood and lay it across the top of the joists so that you can snuggle over close to the lights, to work on them, without having to perform trapeze belly balancing.
If the cans are 'old work' cans, meaning they were added after the ceiling was already in place, then they would be a lot easier to remove and YES could be removed from below. Remove your trim rings and pull the light bulb shroud down. Do you see four black clips in the inside of the can, equidistance apart? If so, you have an 'old work' can and those clips can be tapped out of their locking positions, to allow the can to be removed from the hole.
If you don't see those black apparatuses and your'e looking a just a slick walled, aluminum cylinder...you have 'new work' cans and a trip to the attic is in store.