stopped by my bulb/lamp place and he has jam light switches sit’n on the counter… i as how much? they are like $7 each…. he writes up my bulb order and i’m look’n at the switches… and figure’n out total installed cost vs a switch… one less junction box… one less fitting (use’n MC) one less switch… a little less wire… no switch plate… maybe a bit more install time and a bit more planning… but you should save on electric and bulbs… and it should help sale /resale… people just seem to like em… kinda a little wow factor…
they are easy to justify… and not sure it’d cost any more on the install than a regular switch..
p
Replies
My aunt's house was built around 1950. Every closet had one of those switches. They all still work...all still original. I loved them then, and I love them now.
Davo
I put cabinet switchesint my wifes medicine cabinet/closet - it gets consistent "oooh"s when i show it to people.
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
They are cool, but they are a lot more labor to install than a simple wall switch box. If I was going to do a bunch of 'em, I'd make a custom router template to speed things up a bit. (They're also a bit of a PIA to wire -- not much room in those little buggers.)
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
I used them on a clients cedar closets - he was an old-school woodsy type, and had a lot of wool.
He'd get out all his wool at the beginning of the season, and put it away at the end.
In between times...? All you have to do is leave the light on for 6 months and you've just paid for one of those jamb switches.
Aitchkay
Yeah, but leaving the light on prevents mildew.
The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one. --Wilhelm Stekel
I've installed sveral of them in closets and pantries, but they are quite a bit of work to chisel out the jamb. Now I'm using motion sensors either in a regular switch position or the easiest way of all, built into the fixture. Only 1 wire to run and you're done.
If I may ask, what type of sensors are you using in the fixture and how do you install them. I would lobe to have motion sensors on all my closet lights. Kids and wife don't believe in OFF but the switches are $12 and up.
Home Depot had a closeout a couple years back of motion activated floodlights. I bought 10 at a dollar each, and have been using them since. I use them as is in a closet but in an area like over the stairs I robbed off the motion sensor and hooked it to a nicer looking fixture. You can replace most wall switches with a motion switch but they can get a little pricey, and if the switch isn't in a good spot to detect motion it might not work so well.
We installed line voltage models in every closet. PITA to wire is an understatement.
Should have bought the LV model and mounted the relay in the fixtures. Simple detail to do like an alarm switch. Oh well, hind sight is 20:20
The cool factor of course could not be measured.
Edited 1/8/2009 4:25 pm ET by RobWes
we use mc cable... and the back of these switches has a 1/2 threaded hole...
so maybe i'm make'n it seem too simple... my thought is to leave a void in the hinge side jack stud... bring your (in my case mc cable) through the back of that void and leave it a bit long with the fitting already on the end... push it back into the void.... route the hinge side of your jamb before you install it... set your jam as usual... after paint sparky comes back... pulls the wire out of the void... makes connections.. pushes switch into jamb secures with 2 screws...
LOL i know it sounds good.. and i know the chances of it be'n roughed in on the wrong side or wrong swing are large... or the jamb not getting routed and try'n to figure out where the wires might be...
but if this was the norm vs the exceptin for closets then i think it'd go pretty smooth..
i picked up a few... for the few places i can still get them in (my unit on the loft project... pantry, kids closets, and a few storage areas i thought of today...
in the past i found some bulbs that timed themself off after 30 min... they worked for years before they died and i've never looked for them again... i did install a timer switch for the bath fans that stays on for 30 min no matter what unless you switch it off & on 2x.. which no one knows to do...
p
jam switches - I love 'em
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"...craftsmanship is first & foremost an expression of the human spirit." - P. Korn
bakersfieldremodel.com
if a light goes off in a closet, and no one is there to see it, is it really off?
I hate to tell you this.But you have to switch.That is not Jam, it is Jelly.BTW, did you get that at the day old bread store.That is the only place that see it.The stuff that I normally see in the store is either the 5 gal for 79 cents that isn't even good for making PBJ's and taste like grape coolaide or the Boutique stuff that is $5 a grape..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
Talk to the carpenter who'll be hangin' the door.
Those things are a pain in the arse.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
They may be a pain, but they are sweet when done right.
And some places simply cannot use motion deflectors.
I use the jam switch in the small coat closet in the foyer. The closet is too small for a light inside, but outside of the closet, up in the 10 ft ceiling, I got's a directional can pointing directly into said closet, switched as described.
:) alot of things that equal fine home building are more trouble than the "norm" but sometimes minor things make a home special... I believe this to be one of those "cheap wow factor things" that you would never tire of... like has been posted... 20 years later people are still proud they have em...
I pay the guy that hangs my doors by the hour... so in theory he should love em? :)
P
I'll bet he will...LOL.
But try and get some more opinions before you make a final decision.
Such things often get an initial "wow", but often times folks realize they aint what they had thought in the long run.
While I didn't do the jamb switch thing....when I did the addition on my house, I put lights in all the closets. Thought it was a great idea.
Turns out, I'm the only one that uses them. Truth be told, with all of the #### in my closets, the lights do little.
And a jamb switch requires one closes the door to turn off the lights. Round this house, neither my kids nor my wife close ANY doors.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"And a jamb switch requires one closes the door to turn off the lights."
This is precisely why some people adore them. Neither my wife nor I like closet doors open. Closed gives the home a more cared for appearance rather than used. a small thing, but it makes a difference overall.
I agree. Unfortunately I'm alone on that.
I give her credit....when I'm around, she at least makes the attempt. Even still, doesn't always quite close it completely. To which I will holler "make the commitment!".
Sometimes, she'll turn and fully close it.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
time for spring loaded hinges or a door closer :)
p
Yep, big ole' honkin' commercial closer.
Screw in the setting to be a bi##h to even open.
Pulls out of your hand and slams.
Really sends home the message.
Worth the cost of another door to put it back to usable after the lesson is learned.
J - (passive/ aggressive)- more aggressive - ;)Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
Come to think of it, I believe I did put closers on those cedar closets. That was back around '92, and things get blurry...Aitchkay
i wish I could put some type of switch in the dead bolt that turn on a small night light in the bed room. That way I dont have to get up and see if I lock the back door.
heck thats easy... move your bed next to the door...
move my bed in front of the door
I don't know which ones you were looking at but I think the instalation would be much higher. I just did a couple. you have to mortise out room for the box behind the jam in the trimmer. And the jam has to be mortised out.
I did the jam mortise before I assembled the jam so the router work was easier.
I agree on the work involved... I "think" key word... if you did them day in day out as a standard vs an option... then it'd be little trouble for the return... thanks for the pic... yours are much more finished than mine... mine are more industrial looking pot metal 1 1/8" wide 3" tall and 1 3/4" deep
p
They are cool, but tough to wire (the box is small and not alot of room) and requires coordination between electrician and trim carpenter.
There is also a bit of work cutting in the box in the jamb