In older kitchens, a lot of the gentle comes from a single overhead fixture, supplemented by daylight from a number of home windows. Nonetheless, the power of pure gentle is topic to the vagaries of time of day, solar publicity, season, and climate.

In consequence, lighting is commonly scant when and the place you really want it, significantly on counter tops. The way in which to unravel this drawback is to mount lighting to the underside of overhead cupboards.

Underneath-cabinet lighting is accessible in a few varieties: fluorescent or halogen strips and particular person “puck”-style halogen fixtures.

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Fluorescent fixtures are inexpensive than halogen, however halogen supplies a light-weight that extra intently approximates daylight. Each varieties of strips are extraordinarily simple to put in and might both plug right into a receptacle or be wired to a wall change.

The place some under-cabinet areas don’t want a whole strip of lights, small, particular person puck-shaped halogen lights are perfect. Puck lights can be found in packs of two or extra and might be mounted precisely the place you want them, then simply wired along with the snap-together fittings supplied within the equipment. The final puck within the string is linked to a low-voltage transformer, which is plugged into a close-by receptacle.

Right here’s the right way to set up a strip of under-cabinet lights:

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1 In case your higher cupboards are extensive or your base cupboards are slender, plug in and activate the sunshine strip, after which transfer it round underneath the cupboard to find out its greatest location.

Most under-cabinet gentle producers advocate putting in a strip as near the entrance of the cupboard as potential for optimum protection of the realm under. Needless to say the sunshine’s wire will should be connected to the underside of the cupboards and routed to {an electrical} outlet.

You might also have to make a valance if the sunshine could be very seen at eye stage.

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2 When you’ve recognized the perfect place for the strip, comply with the producer’s instructions for marking the holes for the mounting {hardware}. Some producers present a paper template for this; others merely direct you to carry the strip in place and mark by the mounting holes onto the underside of the cupboard.

3 After you’ve marked the places for the mounting screws (supplied with the sunshine strip), drill pilot holes, after which drive the screws into the underside of the cupboard. (Relying on the thickness of the cupboard backside, chances are you’ll want so as to add a washer or two to the mounting screws to stop them from poking up by the cupboard. Alternatively, you need to use shorter screws.) Set up the strip and plug it in. Fluorescent fixtures can plug proper right into a receptacle; halogen fixtures normally include a low-voltage transformer that plugs right into a receptacle.

4 Lastly, verify to see if the sunshine strip is seen at eye stage. Whether it is, make a valance from a 1/2-inch wooden strip 1 to 2 inches extensive and the size of the fixture. End it to match your cabinetry, after which glue and nail or screw the valance to the underside entrance fringe of the cupboard. Not solely will a valance disguise the fixture, however it’ll additionally stop glare.

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