# roughing in under cabinet lights



## JHFWIC

That's what I do, just make sure it's high enough that you don't leave a hole showing.


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## 99cents

Zparme said:


> How do you rough in the wiring for a new home that's going to have under cabinet lights? Do you just leave a tail at each light location and have the drywallers stub it out for you? Any tips would be helpful. Thanks


Yes.


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## Hmacanada

Yes, usually around 55" off the rough floor is close. What kind of under cab lighting ? Line voltage or low voltage ?
May have to place a transformer somewhere if low voltage


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## 3xdad

This works when you have detailed elevation plans for the kitchen alone and the owner and GC stick to it.

The last one i did however, the owner wasn't sure if he was going to have custom cabinets, store bought, layout, etc., so i just installed switched receptacles above the uppers. My contract did not include installing UC lights.:thumbsup:


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## nrp3

Really need to know what kind you are getting. I really hate anything with external transformers/drivers etc. Like to steer them towards stuff thats self contained. If I have a place under the sink, I like to run all the feeds back to a junction box so there is only a single 14-2 in each light. Much easier than two.


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## Dmansee12

I try and get the drywallers to stub out my cat five for under cabinet lighting and the never do.


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## FrunkSlammer

Dmansee12 said:


> I try and get the drywallers to stub out my cat five for under cabinet lighting and the never do.


cat5!!

You should be thinking about the future and wire your puck lights with cat6!


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## Magnettica

Zparme said:


> How do you rough in the wiring for a new home that's going to have under cabinet lights? Do you just leave a tail at each light location and have the drywallers stub it out for you? Any tips would be helpful. Thanks


I would normally leave (1) cable at approximately 55" above the floor and write UNDER CABINET LIGHTING in a sharpie on the cable. Maybe even drive a nail on a stud and wrap the wire around that so there's no excuse for not noticing it, especially for any jackass sheet rocker who'll have to take the nail out in order to their job. Never have more than (1) cable per UC light. Install a junction box somewhere if you have to.


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## Southeast Power

Magnettica said:


> I would normally leave (1) cable at approximately 55" above the floor and write UNDER CABINET LIGHTING in a sharpie on the cable. Maybe even drive a nail on a stud and wrap the wire around that so there's no excuse for not noticing it, especially for any jackass sheet rocker who'll have to take the nail out in order to their job. Never have more than (1) cable per UC light. Install a junction box somewhere if you have to.


Really cool idea about the nail.
No excuse then.


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## sparky402

Magnettica said:


> I would normally leave (1) cable at approximately 55" above the floor and write UNDER CABINET LIGHTING in a sharpie on the cable. Maybe even drive a nail on a stud and wrap the wire around that so there's no excuse for not noticing it, especially for any jackass sheet rocker who'll have to take the nail out in order to their job. Never have more than (1) cable per UC light. Install a junction box somewhere if you have to.


1 is right. One of my guys did in & out at every light now i have to try and get them to fit


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## drspec

I stub mine out about 1" - 2" above where the bottom of the upper cabinets are supposed to be set. That way when the cabinet installer is doing his thing he can notch the drywall and pull the wire through the lip of the cabinet and no drywall will need to be pointed up or patched

I also drive a nail in at an angle and fold the wire over it and tape it to the nail. No excuse for the drywaller not to bring it out of the wall.

Only 1 wire per light location. I set a jbox either behind the fridge or in the crawl.


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## J. Temple

drspec said:


> I stub mine out about 1" - 2" above where the bottom of the upper cabinets are supposed to be set. That way when the cabinet installer is doing his thing he can notch the drywall and pull the wire through the lip of the cabinet and no drywall will need to be pointed up or patched
> 
> I also drive a nail in at an angle and fold the wire over it and tape it to the nail. No excuse for the drywaller not to bring it out of the wall.
> 
> Only 1 wire per light location. I set a jbox either behind the fridge or in the crawl.


Yup! That's how we do it. We also leave a little bit of a loop of wire in the wall before the nail. Just in case our wire gets damaged, we will have some slack to pull out.


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## Zparme

Great tips. Thanks for the help!


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## Magnettica

sparky402 said:


> 1 is right. One of my guys did in & out at every light now i have to try and get them to fit


FYI...

I've been using the Juno 12" and 18" UC LED lights and they're beautiful. They have the built-in Wago's and look beautiful. Very easy to wire and install. They also have the screws built right into the fixture so it saves time on labor. Great product IMO.


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## svh19044

J. Temple said:


> Yup! That's how we do it. We also leave a little bit of a loop of wire in the wall before the nail. Just in case our wire gets damaged, we will have some slack to pull out.


What kind of u/c lights do you use? That's 14, right?

Another pro-tip; run all of the wires, in 12g (for a bunch of individual runs, don't stub out two wires in one location) to a junction box so that there are more choices for u/c lighting and it's easier to work with.


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## Semi-Ret Electrician

Do the rockers ever cut or bury your wires:laughing:


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## FrunkSlammer

svh19044 said:


> Another pro-tip; run all of the wires, in 12g (for a bunch of individual runs, don't stub out two wires in one location) to a junction box so that there are more choices for u/c lighting and it's easier to work with.


12awg!??? I always run 18awg and never have any trouble. If it's a really long run (greater than 20ft?) at 12v and not LED, I'll bump it up to a 14.


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## sparky402

Magnettica said:


> FYI... I've been using the Juno 12" and 18" UC LED lights and they're beautiful. They have the built-in Wago's and look beautiful. Very easy to wire and install. They also have the screws built right into the fixture so it saves time on labor. Great product IMO.


I havent seen those. Are they pricey


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## J. Temple

svh19044 said:


> What kind of u/c lights do you use? That's 14, right?
> 
> Yes 14/2. This job we are using these:
> 
> 
> http://www.iuseelite.com/en/product.php?p=eu
> 
> Just standard T5 lamp undercab fluorescent. 120volt hard wire.
> 
> We also do a lot of jobs with LED strips and remote transformers. For those we usually run 18/2 wire.


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## tesco

jrannis said:


> Really cool idea about the nail.
> No excuse then.


Doesn't always work.
We always do this for our thermostat and doorbell wires.

Can't tell you how many times I've cut a hole where the buried wire is and found the nail bent sideways.


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## Magnettica

sparky402 said:


> I havent seen those. Are they pricey


The 12" models are like $55 and change and the 18" models are like $75 each. Something like that. I'm not sure if they're dimmable though. They do have their own on/ off switch.


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## Joefixit2

svh19044 said:


> What kind of u/c lights do you use? That's 14, right?
> 
> Another pro-tip; run all of the wires, in 12g (for a bunch of individual runs, don't stub out two wires in one location) to a junction box so that there are more choices for u/c lighting and it's easier to work with.


 
What kind of U/C lights need a 20 amp circuit? U/C heat lamps?


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## svh19044

Joefixit2 said:


> What kind of U/C lights need a 20 amp circuit? U/C heat lamps?


The best kind.

You don't need a 20 amp circuit, but for the seagull ambiance and Juno track 12 you need to run either 12g or 10g for longer runs coming off the transformer.


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## 99cents

We use these but it looks like Rab Canada and Rab USA are entirely different companies (??).

www.rabdesign.ca/files/products/760_272200.pdf


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## denny3992

FrunkSlammer said:


> 12awg!??? I always run 18awg and never have any trouble. If it's a really long run (greater than 20ft?) at 12v and not LED, I'll bump it up to a 14.


What kind of 18?


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## denny3992

How do you guys splice your low-voltage, lets say it's a hockey puck or Seagull ambience. I usually run 12/2 to the basement stub it out, put up Hubble wire mold and then use but splices to splice from romex to the ambience cable, in the wiremold... Thats why i use the hubbel( its 3/4x3/4" .how do you guys do it? 

Ive already run ent and pulled ambiance cable inside that. 

We used to just run ambiance cable in the wall but its not listed for in wall...and inspectors dont allow anymore.


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## Mshow1323

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004N1CGT0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I like to use 14 gauge, and depending on length I'll switch to 12. I run a separate wire to each bank of cabinets and back to the transformer or J Box.
One lead may be 10 feet another 26 feet. Voltage drop scares my to death, the last thing I want is one fixture to be bright and another dim. There is only two ways to combat this, upsize your wire gauge, or make sure every lead is the same length. In a pinch, ill wire the longest lead, and take that same length and coil it the wall for the shortest lead. Voltage drop is one thing, different voltage drops within the same bank of fixtures is another entirely.


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## 99cents

denny3992 said:


> How do you guys splice your low-voltage, lets say it's a hockey puck or Seagull ambience. I usually run 12/2 to the basement stub it out, put up Hubble wire mold and then use but splices to splice from romex to the ambience cable, in the wiremold... Thats why i use the hubbel( its 3/4x3/4" .how do you guys do it?
> 
> Ive already run ent and pulled ambiance cable inside that.
> 
> We used to just run ambiance cable in the wall but its not listed for in wall...and inspectors dont allow anymore.


Don't you have a lip on the bottom of the cabinet like this?


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## Mshow1323

denny3992 said:


> How do you guys splice your low-voltage, lets say it's a hockey puck or Seagull ambience. I usually run 12/2 to the basement stub it out, put up Hubble wire mold and then use but splices to splice from romex to the ambience cable, in the wiremold... Thats why i use the hubbel( its 3/4x3/4" .how do you guys do it?


That's exactly what I do, but with a different product 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_298084-3568...er&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=cord+cover&facetInfo=


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## FrunkSlammer

denny3992 said:


> What kind of 18?


This stuff:

http://www.decacables.com/assets/private/pdfs/Spec%20Sheet%20-%20Thermostat.pdf


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## svh19044

denny3992 said:


> How do you guys splice your low-voltage, lets say it's a hockey puck or Seagull ambience. I usually run 12/2 to the basement stub it out, put up Hubble wire mold and then use but splices to splice from romex to the ambience cable, in the wiremold... Thats why i use the hubbel( its 3/4x3/4" .how do you guys do it?
> 
> Ive already run ent and pulled ambiance cable inside that.
> 
> We used to just run ambiance cable in the wall but its not listed for in wall...and inspectors dont allow anymore.


12/2 gets connected to this, and from there it is the seagull wire in the track. It's 9459- (12 black 15 white)


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## svh19044

This is the typical Ambiance setup, but the festoon bulbs are actually the LED bulbs for this particular kitchen.


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## Going_Commando

svh19044 said:


> This is the typical Ambiance setup, but the festoon bulbs are actually the LED bulbs for this particular kitchen.


That looks bitchin' man. Very nice!

I run #14 for UC lighting. Where it stubs out, I leave 10" or so sticking out from the wall, folded over (so 20" sticking out from the wall), and staple it to where the kink is made in the romex for the stub. Think about a U, with a staple across the ends. I don't staple very hard, so it is easy to pull the romex free. I wish I had a picture, since it is a little hard to explain.


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## 99cents

I am completely missing something here. Wiremold? ENT? Basement stubs? This is undercabinet lighting. We're not building a refinery here.

I rough in a switch in a convenient location. From there, I run 14/2 to my points and staple them at 56", sticking out so even the stupidest drywaller can't ignore them. At finishing, I hang my low profile Rabs 2/3 of the way back. NMD goes into the transformer, lo vo comes out. Factory jumpers and joiners to the fixtures, etc. and if the jumpers are too short, splice in a piece of thermostat wire. Use small wire nuts and support cable with tie wraps on sticky backs. 

Done. Next.


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## denny3992

svh19044 said:


> 12/2 gets connected to this, and from there it is the seagull wire in the track. It's 9459- (12 black 15 white)


Never seen them before, will use from now on!


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## denny3992

Part number? On ambiance connector?


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## svh19044

denny3992 said:


> Part number? On ambiance connector?


The Seagull part number is 9459-12 or 9459-15 (12 black 15 white)


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## denny3992

svh19044 said:


> The Seagull part number is 9459-12 or 9459-15 (12 black 15 white)


Thnx


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