In our somewhat new (to us) house the previous owners put in puck lighting in the 'drop down' portion of the kitchen ceiling (see pics below). It's the kind of job that 'looks good as long as you don't get real close' kind of job. They presumably used a hole saw to cut out all the holes in the drywall and the puck lights simply sit within each hole.

Have any of you seen a trim piece that's made for puck lighting or have any other ideas?

Lights used: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amerelle-Line-Voltage-Xenon-White-Pucks-5-pack-XLV50HCAM/203541753?N=5yc1vZc7phZ1z0u7inZ1z10h7qZ1z115eq








I found other products that are intended to be recessed that have their own trim ring, http://www.lightology.com/index.php?module=prod_detail&prod_id=17214 or http://www.lamps.com/wac-lighting-low-voltage-puck-light.html. I just wouldn't be real eager to spend $400ish ($27 x 15 lights).

Have you asked the manufacturer?

Not an electrician, but that looks to me like the previous owner cheaped out with lights that are supposed to be surface mounted under a cabinet instead of recessed into the cieling. If those generate a lot of heat, they shouldn't be in direct contact with the drywall. They may not look good because they were never meant to be seen in the first place. Before messing with trim pieces, I'd make sure the manufacturer approves them for use as recessed lights. Don't want to forget to turn them off one day and end up with a fire.

That being said, I've never seen recessed lights that didn't come with a trim piece or have it available. That again makes me think they were never meant to be recessed lights in the first place.

These are only $10 and designed to be recessed:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Electric-3-in-White-Recessed-Lighting-Retrofit-Kit-CER3GR313WHP/202600563

Not to mention the bulbs burn out pretty often and are a PITA to change.

Get rid of them and use the ones aagnerd suggest above, but use the led bulbs, they'll last longer and don't have a violent end of life (VEL), yes they can, that's why halogen have the little glass lens, 1, so you don't touch it and burn and 2, the VEL. They will have a VEL episode if you get oils from your fingers on the bulb.

I have those under my cabinets but I'm replacing them with the small led strips.

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looks to me like the previous owner cheaped out with lights that are supposed to be surface mounted under a cabinet instead of recessed into the cieling

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That is indeed the case. They are surface mount puck lights that were just dropped into the hole of the drywall.

Agnerd, thanks for posting, I'll have to check them out.

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That is indeed the case. They are surface mount puck lights that were just dropped into the hole of the drywall.

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And probably are against code. All connections are supposed to be accessible and within electrical boxes.


Judging from the link you posted, this is akin to running an extension cord in the attic.

To be honest, how they were installed and the wiring isn't a concern to me. May be hard to tell, but the drop down soffit isn't enclosed on the top so all connections/wiring is accessible from the topside.

These are low voltage (class 2) lighting fixtures and not designed for this purpose but their wiring is not required to be in boxes. The retrofit to the linked fixture will require an electrician and total rewiring. (class 1).

I agree if they are low voltage, but the link he posted shows that it taps into a 110v cord I do not see a low voltage transformer.

Also call out as "line voltage" not "low voltage"

One alternative is to install your own trim plate behind each puck light. You'd need to pull them down from the current recess first.

With a router and a circle cut tool you could easily cut circular "trim plates" that would essentially cover the existing holes. The trim plates would essentially have a donut shape. 3/8 MDF would not add much thickness, it routes very well, and could be painted to match the ceiling.

Focusing too much on the specs within the link as it's not my EXACT model (my bad).

My puck lights look like the ones I linked but the connections are different (and actually do utilize a low voltage transformer), I only included the link as a visual to what the lights looks like themselves not to get harped on about code this and code that. I appreciate everyone's safety concern though.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have thought about doing something similar. It would work, I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth it vs leaving it in it's current state.

Well....that's very different.

Never mind.