hazymat

This thread is exactly why the world needs architects. Don't get me wrong, I want to kill architects as much as the next person, but the difference with me is that I also want to kill sparkies who can't be arsed to do a job in a slightly different way to normal, and I want to kill carpenters and plasterers who don't want to fit backboxes behind light fittings. (NB I don't really want to kill anyone, this is turn of phrase.) My point is that, without an architect specifying something like this, we'd all be at the whim of the sparky who says "nah mate, you don't want to fit those, they are bad quality" when what they really mean is "nah mate, I don't like working with those because if it breaks, then I'll get the blame, and it takes 3 times longer than a normal fitting to install". And of course the logical conclusion is that we'd all end up with typical products that we see in all British houses - nothing aspirational, just stuff that the sparky preferred to fit. This is a self-build forum, right? We do things that normal tradesmen wouldn't do, right? Like fitting things that take longer, because we want them in our own home. Plaster lights are gorgeous, this is not something to be sneered at. Yes, they are more expensive. They break more easily. They need more forward planning, etc. etc. Case in point yesterday I fitted some 2 inch PVC waste pipe by Aquaflow. Not particularly high quality, but my god it's solid as hell. An absolute nightmare to work with, setting out the pipework was ok but taking it apart to glue it needed strap wrenches, vices, hammers, bleeding fingers, the whole damn lot. No plumber in their right mind would want to work with this stuff. But I did, because I wanted ridiculously strong, oversized waste pipe. Many pro plumbers would say you don't need 50mm... Sorry - a bit off topic there!

Hi there I'm looking for ceiling and wall lights (recessed spots, surface mount spots that can be angled etc.,) which are dimmable and with a published CRI (colour rendering index). I met a lighting designer who was showing me recessed ceiling mount fittings for around £120 each. They were absolutely lovely: minimalist design in plaster with a choice of black or white baffle and a high CRI of 95 or something like that. Dimmable versions even more money. They were integrated units, i.e. the driver and heatsinks built in. Back in the real world, there's no way I can afford to fit the home out with those. The kitchen alone would cost 1.5k in ceiling lights. And we have quite a few rooms. I've found some fittings on Amazon for around £5 each that are dimmable, and I fitted these to an upstairs office (that I don't use myself)... my god the CRI must be pretty low because they give a pretty bad colour cast over everything. As a photographer, this kind of thing upsets me a lot - no way I can have it in the home! That said they seemed well designed apart from that, integrated units, dimming curve not bad, nice minimalistic design. (Not like the old style GU10 or GU5.3 with horrid bezels and metal clips that obscure the bulb etc.) So - I want to start sourcing some fittings myself. The danger with dealing direct with Chinese manufacturers is of course the issue with standards, dangerous designs, etc., but if it's possible to manage, then of course one can pick up things that would cost in the UK £120 retail for something like £20. Does anyone have experience with this - or can anyone recommend some cheap UK based suppliers of decent quality fittings?