Fire Rated Housing for Recessed Lights

Hi Brownstoners, I’m hoping someone can offer some insight here. We are renovating a townhouse and my architect has just informed me I will have to cover every single recessed light in a 1hr rated firebox. This is a single family landmarked house. Each cover costing $50+ and having 115 recessed lights this is going to cost a lot of money we don’t have to spend. I’m having trouble even finding verbage on this requirement.

I very much appreciate anyones insight on this!
Thanks
LD

demetrioustefani

in General Discussion 4 years and 6 months ago

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demetrioustefani | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Thanks Pmody! According to our architect those don’t qualify because it’s still a penetration into a fire rated ceiling. I can’t seem to win! There is a type of light you can put inside a junction box but they don’t have a fully flush look so I didn’t love it. We’ve explored using intumescent paint which is a whole other approach but it will be more work for my contractor so we’ve shied away from it.

pmody | 4 years and 6 months ago

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While renovating in 2015 I bought the housings @ $80 each. With the light engines and trim, it cost me almost $200/point – ouch!
I researched it again recently and was pleased to find that the technology had advanced and now they have “wafer” LED recessed lights at a MUCH lower price point. High lumens, high CRI and they are IC-rated without the need for housings. I *think* this means they would pass NYC fire code but your architect would need to confirm it. Installation is super simple.

Since they are so thin, they don’t allow for baffles so you would need to be ok with the flush asthetic. I was concerned about this but after installing them in 1 room of my brownstone, with original plaster crown surrounding the ceiling, I have to say I prefer them to the traditional ones with baffles. To Cate’s point, recess lights can look funny in brownstones but I found these to be more discrete.
Worth checking out. There are a few brands available. Here are the ones I picked up. Good luck!

Lithonia Lighting WF4 27K30K35K 90CRI MW M6 LED Color Temperature Selectable Ultra Thin R ecessed Downlight, 2700K | 3000K | 3500K, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M68DL8F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_G7HWGK4HG07XHJGZMSRZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

cate | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Recessed lights look weird in old townhouses. You could skip them altogether and save a bundle.