light-fixturelightingrecessed-lighting
Our recessed lights are way too harsh. I was thinking that some sort of a lens or a filter would be the cheapest way to fix that, but I have no clue about what kind of recessed lighting we have (or even the diameter). A picture is attached. The outer ring is roughly 5" in diameter, the inside ring is a bit more than 3 1/2", and the light itself is 1 1/2".
Is it possible to fit a filter to these lights? Is that our cheapest option to reduce the harsh glare?
There is a category of power tool called a multi-tool that is basically a very small saw usefull in cutting in tight spaces.
After you cut the initial hole, this tool could be used to trim away the area in the uper section on an angle to make room for your retaining arms.
The tools come in corded and cordless version, and at various price points. The are very handy and can do other things, such as spot sanding and grinding.
I was waiting for our resident sparkies to chime in, but they're either busy or are also short on good answers. So...
I think that this situation is really no different from any fish job... think it through and don't yank. There are always hazards to your cable when fishing blind. If you find yourself pulling against a lot of friction, back up and start over. It definitely helps prevent friction and binding to have an assistant feed cable while you pull.
I've pulled at least a few miles of cable, and the most damage I've seen from sheet metal gussets like those is a partial-thickness shave of the outer sheathing on the cable. I've had worse damage from pulling through wood stud bores around a corner. In the case of the gussets in that photo, all corners are over lumber, so it's unlikely that you'd get a full-grab puncture.
So, yeah. Work carefully, pay attention, and hope for the best.
Best Answer
Those are spotlight type fixtures, so that's a "feature" of the design. Not that you can't disagree with whatever designer put them in.
Replacing the bulb would probably be the most effective (and safe - those fixtures can get very hot, and putting a "filter" over them will probably increase the heat, possibly to an unsafe level.) I do see that there is a thing sold to fit over the bulb as a "soft focus lens", but I'd be wary of the heat.
If looking at entire replacement fixtures, you've probably got nominal "4 inch" (size of the hole in the ceiling) fixtures. Depending what you've got going on for LED subsidies in your area, you may be able to find a complete LED replacement fixture for not much more than a replacement bulb, and it might be "less harsh" (that's something of a personal taste call - go look at what's available to you.) If you use the lights much, you may also save a good deal on electricity by doing that.
The bulb in there now is one of the standard halogens - I think it's an "MR16" - you'd look for what you can find to fit in an LED replacement, but they are often made to "mimic" the halogen lights as much as possible (so they will probably be harsh.) Some, however, do claim (and appear) to be more diffuse.