under counter lights (how much, countertops, color, installing)

[citydweller]

I would like to install some lights under my kitchen cabinets. I have a glass tile back splash as you can see in the pic. I was wondering is is possible to somehow run the cord behind the back splash to connect to the electrical outlets or must I deal with unsightly cords? TIA for any and all advice!

[wanderintonc]

Ohhh, I LOVE your backsplash! I actually want to put in a similar glass tile one in our house we're buying-in shades of earthtones-but dh is dead set against it. He just doesn't like the look. He's pretty flexibile about most stuff so I gave in on this one, lol. Yours is really nice looking!

I don't know how to hide the wires. The only thing I can think of is if you put a small hole in the drywall part and dropped the cords down below. That might be equally unsightly though. I've seed LED, battery powered light bars that can go under cabinets. Of course, you'd have to change the batteries every so often, but at least you'd not have cords.

[mawipafl]

The only thing I can think of quickly is to drill up through the bottom of the cabinets and then drill through the back of the cabinets and snake the wire through these holes; then fish the wires behind the backsplash wall and somehow tie them in to the outlets. Not sure how that would work or if it would work. We did something similar, but ours was done before the backsplash was completed, so we had easier access to the electrical wiring.

[Briolat21]

What you want to do is "hardwire" the lights. That means that you're not actually using the "outlets" - but you are using the electrical feed for the outlets.

Much like the people above described - there will need to be a small hole in the wall, (either very high on the backsplash right under the cabinet where it won't be seen -- or through the bottom of the cabinet and then through the cabinet back wall) - then the wires from the wall can be fished through and connected to the lights.

Kind of a pain for a homeowner to do if they're not experienced. Unfortunately because you already have the pretty backsplash up, there's not as much room for error as if you just had drywall (which can easily be patched). An electrician's probably going to charge a few hundred (at least) to do it ....

but it totally can be done. just will require careful planning/work on your part, or paying an electrician ...

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by Briolat21

What you want to do is "hardwire" the lights. That means that you're not actually using the "outlets" - but you are using the electrical feed for the outlets.

Much like the people above described - there will need to be a small hole in the wall, (either very high on the backsplash right under the cabinet where it won't be seen -- or through the bottom of the cabinet and then through the cabinet back wall) - then the wires from the wall can be fished through and connected to the lights.

Kind of a pain for a homeowner to do if they're not experienced. Unfortunately because you already have the pretty backsplash up, there's not as much room for error as if you just had drywall (which can easily be patched). An electrician's probably going to charge a few hundred (at least) to do it ....

but it totally can be done. just will require careful planning/work on your part, or paying an electrician ...

Exactly what I was going to say. Since your kitchen is finished this will be much more difficult, but if you have some wiring know-how and are not afraid of a power drill with a 3/4" spade bit there is no reason you can't DIY. If I were doing this work I would proceed more or less exactly as laid out above by Briolat.

If you have never done this sort of thing before, there is definitely a learning curve and you will probably make at least one bone-head that will require some remedial work to make inconspicuous. It may be in your interest to hire an electrician or handyman and watch what he does very closely. It's not rocket-science, just a matter of knowing what to do.

You may get quoted for $1000 or more. That's a big rip-off. When I was a brand-new homeowner a guy quoted me slightly less than $3000 to install 10 can-lights. I told him where he could go and started learning about wiring. Just to give you some idea, this job should take an hour or less and will require less than $50 in materials (excluding the lights themselves). Assuming 1-2 hours at $85/hour labor, $50 in materials and a $50 premium on "quick & easy job" and $15-$65 for stuff happens, I think that $200-$300 would be a fair price for the work. Whether or not you can find a fair price is another matter, but that would be my expectation.

[desertsun41]

I like your backsplash too. It is really coming into style. I may have to do a display like yours in my showroom. Look how much better that looks then the standard ol 4" tall splash or even better then running the countertop all the way up to the bottom of the cabinets.

Anyhoo..

Ok here is what you need to do. Do not disturb that tile splash. You do need to hard wire an outlet at the very top of your cabinets. Your cabinets are 84" high. Your electician needs to put the outlet SIDEWAYS right at 85". This way you will not be able to see it from standing in your kitchen. Thats called hard wiring. Now you need to soft wire, meaning like lamp cord with plug from that outlet to the undercabinet lighting.

And here is how you do that. Those look like my brand of cabinets. Your faceframes extend a quarter inch past the sides. We call that the cabinet ear. So if you have 2 wall cabinets buddied up you will have a half inch space between cabinets. A quarter inch twice = a half inch. Run that lamp cord down between the cabinets to underneith.

In your picture you are only showing 2 upper boxes. Im assuming the left one has others buddied to it. My method will work here. The single box to the right, where it hits the wall you will have a quarter inch space between the cabinet side and the kitchen wall. Plenty of room to slide down a lamp cord.

You will need to hard wire an outlet above every section of uppers. All this will require access to above your kitchen ceilng for the electrician.

Most people find that they want to add an under cabinet molding to hide those new under cabinet lights. A skilled cabinet craftsmen or a skilled trim man can do that for you. If you cant find a cabinet dealer who carrys your cabinet brand for the molding then any brand will do because you have a standard color being maple natural. The color of the new molding might be a little less yellow because your cabinets have aged but they will catch up in color.

Expect to pay about $85 per 8' stick of UCM (under cabinet molding) and probably less then $15 per under cabinet light. The Electrician might be $200 depending on how easy his access is.

Good luck....

[jimboburnsy]

I have the same cordless Levolor blinds, btw.

Desertsun,

Do you do custom countertops also? I want soapstone in my kitchen and I'm starting to think you're the guy since moving to my neck of the woods.

[Cosmic]

I got the same problem, want to install under cabinet lights but don't want to see the wires. My solution is along the lines of what Desertsun sezs.

I planned on doing it when the kitchen was being done so all my power wiring is already in place as is the switch to control them, so the tricky parts are done, least for the power feeds.

Also keep in mind most under cabinet lights are 12 V halogens, there is also a box in line with the light cords which is a step down transformer, you also have to have a way to deal with that. Not all under cabinet light wiring harnesses are the same. You sort of got to have it in hand before the planning stage. Some are totally hard wired, some each light plugs into the main cable. Some are designed with a power plug for a receptacle, some you put in with wire nuts. A lot of this is some modifications are required, you might not just be able to take it out of the box and slap it in. I didn't find any under cabinet lights that are direct powered via 115 VAC, most are probably low voltage designs. Another thing to think about.

I will solve mine by using the cabinet ears to hide a wooden wire raceway that will get installed under the front underside lip of the cabinets. That sticks down about an inch. The lights will directly butt up next to that raceway. If you look under there will see nothing but wood and the light puck. That wire raceway will be small, like 1" x 1" and be designed to match the color / finish of the cabinets themselves. I haven't done it yet, so don't have anything to show you. Maybe a project for this spring, after my winter vacation.

That stepdown transformer is normally designed to be screwed up under the cabinet too. It comes with lil ears that have screw holes. In my case I may also have to enclose that in a thin wood shell because I will also need a way to hide the bit of power wires and wire nuts in a back corner. I'm talking a very custom installation for me.

In your case, the power wiring might be more a problem than thought. Number one, if there is insulation in the walls behind and there probably is snaking might not be an option. You screw up the insulation, plus it can be a lot tougher to do. And you have to find a location for the light switch.

You can use Desertsun idea about coming down from the top but that has a flaw in getting a power source and running to that location. A better idea is to try to come from the bottom. You can remove all the drawers in the under counter cabinets. There is room behind the drawers to run power. Can do a surface mount wire with Romex on the back of the cabinet box. Might be able to get the feed off the dishwater. Then you have that tricky bit of being able to snake behind the backsplash into a hole you drill right in the back under the cabinets. Usually you can get away with something like that on a very short wire fish.

You do not want to do any type of jury rigging. Something like lamp cord always is a bit suspect, depending on how it is done.

Would have to think about how to get a control switch in the scheme and where it might be mounted. Might go in the back splash if very carefully done, also that hole could make the wire fish from the bottom easier.

Once you got the power wires up under the cabinets, can use my same idea of building a very small matching wood wire raceway. The way the lights are set up, you either have to be able to double up the wiring to suck up all the surplus or cut up the wiring harness and redesign it for only the exact length needed. I'm going to try to put all the wire doubled back and forth in the raceway. In my case, who cares about the number of hours involved. I am interested only in the final result, already played around with the wood to make the raceway, it will match the cabinets once I am done.

Beware of getting some clown for a job like that. Either it will come out less than satisfactory or they will charge a mint. Always best if you can do most it yourself. That back splash probably can be cut but you definitely have to come prepared. I would try to drill it first with small diamond bits, then diamond hole saws to get some working room to cut it with a diamond saw.

[akck]

When we redid our kitchen, I wired an outlet in a couple of cabinets to run some under cabinet lights. It was just a matter of drilling small holes through the cabinets to run the cords. You could still do this by mounting a no nail outlet box and running a line to an outlet below. Another alternative would be to tie in to your kitchen lights, however they would only be available when those lights are on.

[Espressoo]

I would get the individual Grundtal lights found at Ikea. The individual lights give off a more even light and allows for a more flexible installation. There will be more wires but it's worth the effort. Since your kitchen is on an exterior wall with insulation, it will be tricky to fish the wires as mentioned but still possible. I'd start by just installing an outlet in your lower cabinets controlled by a switch above. That might be the only thing you need to hire an electrician for. I would install the lights and run the wires to the corner of the wall. There, drill a small hole in the corner of the cabinets on the under side and fish the wires down to the outlet. The wires from the light is a bare wire without plugs. It gets attached to the transformer which can be hidden in the lower cabinets. Since the wires from the lights and transfers are pretty long, you can easily have the one switch/outlet control all of your cabinet lighting. I believe 6 individual lights can be controlled by one transformer if needed. To secure the wires under the cabinets, I just used "U" shaped tacks/nails to hold them in place. No one is going to look under your cabinets so you shouldn't need to worry about any extra piece of molding to hide the wiring.