Rope lighting 'within' moulding? (1 Viewer)

[John G]

I was considering some rope lighting that would 'outline' the 'top rectangle' of my trey ceiling (the red line in the pic). Correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't there moulding that 'incorporates' a space for rope lighting that would allow me to get the desired effect? Or if not, how might i go about this?

 

[Steve Lucas]

Have you seen "Glow tape" I'm not sure if that's the right name, but it is applied flat like a tape, but when you turn it on it glows like neon.

Steve

 

[Tom.Smith]

There is no moulding with built in lighting. What you have to do is frame out a channel with moulding for the rope lighting to lay in. It would in sense be a gutter that it would sit in. Then you would need a switched outlet that could be hidden behind the moulding. As an electrical contractor i have done this many times.

hope this helps
Tom

 

[John G]

yeah guess i should clarify...im wondering about molding that is perhaps 'pre-cut' for rope lighting or something of the sort - i suppose like a gutter as you explained Tom..thanks.

Steve - looked around for the 'glow tape' that you mentioned with no avail...you say it's electrical? Perhaps something like a really flat rope light? That would be worth looking into if we could figure out what its called :p

This is the look that i'm going for more or less, which looking at it now, brings up another question..if this were to be done, wouldn't the 'gap' between moulding and ceiling look a bit funny when unlit?

 

[Ryan Witt]

wouldn't the 'gap' between moulding and ceiling look a bit funny when unlit?

No

 

[Steve Lucas]

The tape I'm thinking of is an electro-luminescent plastic. When an electrical current is applied, it glows just like neon. It comes in almost any color and is as flat as um...tape. I'll look around some today to see if I can find it.

 

[Steve Lucas]

Found it.

http://www.lighttape.com/index.html

 

[MikeWh]

wouldn't the 'gap' between moulding and ceiling look a bit funny when unlit?

John-- personally, I think it does look a little bit odd, but only because it's not the "normal" look for crown moulding that most of us are used to seeing. I have noticed over the last 10 or so years that this kind of crown moulding is becoming more and more popular in high-end homes in my area. It is most often used in rooms with 9- or 10-foot ceilings. That way, the lowered moulding doesn't look too low.

Although it is a little odd, I don't think it's ugly. Since it has become associated with more expensive homes, it's now being seen as a custom design feature for high-end builders... so I say go for it. I was originally planning on doing this in my HT, but due to the odd shape of my ceiling, I eventually decided against it.

 

[John G]

good find steve..cool stuff. Without looking into it to extensively, i wonder if that stuff can be dim-mable? Heck being as thin as it is, that would make the 'gap' less discernable for sure..ill look into it more for sure. Thanks!

Mike..as you mentioned, im sure the gap is less discernable with higher ceilings and 'bigger' mouldings..good point. I'd imagine another 'factor' would be ceiling/moulding color as well..darker colors might perhaps hide the shadow created a bit better than light colors.

Looking at my room, I only have 7.5" of height to place the moulding. If i were to use 4" moulding (which is on there now), and place the top of the moulding 1.5" from the ceiling to accomodate the 'gutter', im wondering if it might look funny as the moulding might seem 'centered' on the 7.5". I wouldn't have the 10ft of actual 'wall to moulding' space to hide it as much due to the trey ceiling. I dunno. Am i babbling yet?

another pic of my trey ceiling..please disregard that gawdy ceiling fan It'll be replaced by something else (still haven't decided what) soon enough :p

 

[Mark McGill]

I have the "space" as you mentioned and it doesn't look odd. Whats really nice about it, it that it becomes a great place to run wires, easy access etc. I do think that the "space" does sometimes look a little tacky in non theater applications, but to each thier own.

 

[MikeWh]

John-- I totally missed the fact that it was part of a trey ceiling. Your second picture shows everything much more clearly. I take back my previous "odd looking" statement... Your trey should be great for this effect.

Instead of centering it half-way down, you might consider bringing the lower edge of the moulding to the bottom edge of that 7-12" space or just slightly above the bottom edge. Why don't you remove the moulding (very carefully) and temporarily afix it at varying heights? Step back, and see what looks good.

 

[John G]

thanks again! I almost want to get to work right now, but again, still in the planning stages - that coupled with the fact that i'm headed to iraq tomorrow (im in the army) gives me plenty of time to think and plan

I'm sure i'll be resurrecting this thread sometime in Feb/March when i return for more advice and opinions

Thanks again, and Cheers all!

 

[Erik Farstad]

Well gang...to add more to the mix...I've done what is being discussed here...so here you go John...and thanks for serving our country!!!







E

 

[John G]

Thanks and very nice Eric! And I'm back from the desert..nice to be back into civilization once again! Let the planning commence!

Doing a little research today, I discovered Cove Lighting which is I guess the effect we're talking about.

Pegasus Associates version of cove lighting consists of a reflector:


And a Xenon Light Strip:


To achieve this:

 

[Wayne Ernst]

This is the look that i'm going for more or less, which looking at it now, brings up another question..if this were to be done, wouldn't the 'gap' between moulding and ceiling look a bit funny when unlit?

You could always paint the area between the top of the molding and the corner a little bit darker than the rest of the wall paint. When the lights are off, this would provide an additional amount of detail and look a bit better.

Then again, if it's in the theater, you might not care as much as if it were near your front door - where there's bound to be a whole lot of traffic.

 

[richard_v]

I've done this in my HT.

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ric...rown+Light.jpg

If your room is relatively dark (like mine) you will not notice the one / two inch "gap" in the molding. The effect is GREAT - everyone comments on it.

Rich

 

[Andre P]

I'm glad this topic was brought back up again. I'm thinking of installing the rope lights and crown moulding, but I'm not sure on the electrical outlet placement. Anyone willing to share what they did.

 

[John G]

i'll be working with the trey ceiling, which 'protrudes' up into the attic, so i'll just be placing a small hole somewhere behind the moulding, and feeding 110 to it through the attic.

 

[John G]

Another idea i ran across (scuse the poor paint skills!):



Attach a 'wedge' (in red) between the moulding (green) and the wall (black), then lay the rope lighting (yellow) upon the wedge. The wedge will provide an extra securing point for the moulding and a place to lay the rope lighting.

 

[Bryan Garcia]

John,

Below is a link to a thread on AVSForum regarding rope lighting that might also be helpful.

www(dot)avsforum(dot)com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=384460

Please replace (dot) with a .

Sorry for the inconvenience I haven't posted enough here to be able to post URLs.

Bryan