Re: Under cabinet lights

terrier3 · ‎03-10-2010

On 5/15/2014 janinna said:
I am wondering if those of you that have under cabinet lights, were they installed when your house was built or did you add them later? Did they have to go through your backsplash to install them? I would really like to have them but have no clue on how they are installed. Anyone care to give me a ballpark number for the cost? I want to pay for them out of my mad money and am just curious as to how much I need to save. Thanks.

I just looked under my cabinets. The cabinets have a "lip" that conceals the wires that run along the inside front. The wires go into the wall right above the electric outlets. I have two segments with dimmers at the outlets.

My kitchen had been remodeled in the 1980s and had under cabinet fluorescent lights...that must have been state of the art back then! The old cabinets didn't have that "lip" that hid the lights...they were just hanging down from under the cabinets.

I have a small kitchen and gutted everything.

I'm really glad I got the lights...I don't think they were very pricey.

My big expense was the large country sink...I LOVE it...it's practical and a focal point too!

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

I have them too - this year DH replaced the original ones with LED ones because the other ones were so hot when I had them on high, and then was working right there. We are taking the old ones to camp and he'll install them there for me. Ours are on a dimmer, 3 sections of cabinets - each on it's own switch. i leave one section on as a nightlight.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

On 5/15/2014 janinna said:
I am wondering if those of you that have under cabinet lights, were they installed when your house was built or did you add them later? Did they have to go through your backsplash to install them? I would really like to have them but have no clue on how they are installed. Anyone care to give me a ballpark number for the cost? I want to pay for them out of my mad money and am just curious as to how much I need to save. Thanks.

We installed ours - they have one wire that comes down and goes into a plug on the wall. Otherwise you don't see them. My DH bought wire the color of the backsplash to make it blend in - our backsplash is 1" tiles in shades of browns and he replaced the white wire that was on them with tan- so you don't notice it as much.Since the plug is in the middle of the backsplash wall there is only a few inches of cord anyway. look at Home depot or Lowes - there is no real difficult wiring to installing them and they are inexpensive. Ours has a little disc up under the cabinet and i just touch it to turn them on then the longer you keep your finger on the disc the brighter they get.

Ladyrain · ‎11-10-2011

We installed under-cabinet lighting when we remodeled our 39 year old kitchen several years ago. Love them! They're on a dimmer switch. What a difference it makes when preparing food (I can actually see what I'm doing) and in the evening they're on, turned down, to provide subtle lighting. You will not be sorry you've done this.

RetRN · ‎10-01-2013

You won't be sorry. They come in handy.

shopqvcless · ‎03-15-2010

We are gutting/remodeling our kitchen so that is why I'm putting some in. I guess seven different locations just seemed like too much but maybe not. They are coming tonight to do final measuring so I think I will have him show me all the places he is putting them in at and I may ask if he can divide up into at least two switches.

The cost we are paying is $145 per light......not sure if that is too expensive or not....haha I'm such a rookie when I read $145 on quote, I assumed that was price until yesterday and found out that was per light.

brii · ‎06-20-2010

$145 is a good price, IMO.

I assume he's putting a light under each cabinet??

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

On 5/15/2014 shopqvcless said:
We are gutting/remodeling our kitchen so that is why I'm putting some in. I guess seven different locations just seemed like too much but maybe not. They are coming tonight to do final measuring so I think I will have him show me all the places he is putting them in at and I may ask if he can divide up into at least two switches.

The cost we are paying is $145 per light......not sure if that is too expensive or not....haha I'm such a rookie when I read $145 on quote, I assumed that was price until yesterday and found out that was per light.

That seems like a lot - I just asked DH what he paid for the new LED lights and he said $10/light. Now there is some cost to the wiring - but your gutting the kitchen anyway so that should not be too difficult. It sounds like a lot to me - my DH had them totally installed in a couple hours. Now on yours the wire will be in the wall but how hard could that be to do in this situation? I really like them but not >$1000 worth. At the very least for that price he needs to install the dimmer for you.

mousiegirl · ‎03-09-2010

Unless you have a huge kitchen, seven is overkill. they always try to sell someone more. My current contractor said I needed seventeen cans in my rec room. I chose six. they are expensive. I am only going to have one overhead cabinet, a hutch actually, so will only have one light, but in my old kitchen, I had one over the stove top, and two others. I will miss not having two more, but will flameless candles, etc., the ambiance will be fine.

cater · ‎03-10-2010

you will never be sorry that you have that much lighting in your kitchen. When we remodeled our kitchen I only have one window even though it is a big on I made the statement that I was going to hate the kitchen because it was going to be so dark lucky for me the man who did my electrical work was my Dad, he said "don't worry your going to have plenty of light he installed spot lights all around the ceiling that shine down on my counters it works wonderful. That was quite a long time ago and I use them every day.