Solutions to Beam Blocking Can Location

11 years ago

My ceilings are currently torn apart and we're laying down the LED recessed cans in a kitchen. There are three cans in a row, along one dimension of the kitchen. Cans are shown as circles, the pendants as triangles. However, where the middle can is supposed to be, there is a beam. This one is flagged in red. Common problem, right?

Moving the outer two lights does nothing. Offsetting the center can only creates a lopsided look. Surface mount LED fixtures seem only to be available in 6" sizes.

Another possible solution is to move the can(s) in the top row closer to the wall. The bottom row is set at 30 inches or so. The top row is set to match. I could shift these over to 20-24 inches off the wall, but things begin to look assymetrical and lopsided. Or perhaps, I could do that only for the one row where the problem is. Will this look odd?

Comments (8)

brickeyee
11 years ago
Either throw out perfect symmetry or pay a LOT of framing charges.
David
11 years ago
You should be able to do without the red can
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brickeyee
11 years ago
That is a lot of lights.

I would never use cans for general illumination for just that reason.

It often takes a LOT of lights.
Gooster
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks all. I'm going to skip the red can. I'm hoping the undercabinet/hood/incabinet lights will be enough.

Brickeeyee: I agree it is a lot of lights. The alternatives in California with Title 24 energy efficiency regulations for kitchens are not very broad, if you don't want florescent fixtures. If you want the a compliant I could have reduced the number of lights by going to a bigger can, with a higher lumen output.
lucas_tx_gw
11 years ago
I think the Glimpse surface mount LED is available in both 4 and 6 sizes.

Here is a link that might be useful: LSG Glimpse fixture
brickeyee
11 years ago
"if you don't want florescent fixtures"

Why this horrible fear of fluorescent fixtures?

While large (2 feet x 4 feet in many cases) they are only a few inches deep (4-5 inches) and not a lot of people look up all that much.

Put some higher CRI tubes in them and install under cabinet lamps for task lighting
Gooster
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the suggestion, lucas_tx. I think I'm going to go with a gap. It really isn't that far apart. If anything, I have too many cans.

brickeyes: There is a bit of a regional bias against flourescents here, and the issues with dimming are known (although I understand you can find the appropriate fixtures that will dim properly). The size of the fixture is what gets to me.

davidtay did suggest another very interesting option, sort of an LED based thin-track surface mount solution by Selux, but my ceilings are relatively low. The recessed tracks were kind of interesting as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Selux LED fixtures

This post was edited by gooster on Sat, Mar 23, 13 at 14:04
chibimimi
11 years ago
There's a problem with fluorescents for migraine sufferers, too. They can trigger the migraines.

And for those of us with color impairment, they really mess up color perception.