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I read a post some time ago about a fellow, (don’t remember his name) who builds a box out of drywall and uses it to cover the portion of a recessed can that is in the attic. The idea being to help protect against possible fire hazard and keeping the conditioned air in the house and out of the attic.
I installed a insulation contact, ( IC rated) can this weekend in my wife’s cedar closet, she loves it! With all the warnings about a fire hazard this thing scares the hell out of me. It is rated for insulation contact, wired correctly, with the recommended type of bulb, (Halogen) and trim ring. It is also covered in old rockwool insulation. Any help on how NOT to burn the house down? Could I be worried about nothing? All suggestions are welcome.
Bill
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Hi Bill,
Everything sounds okay, but now that it's on your mind, it's best for you to have your local authority inspect it for piece of mind. Your going to have this thing bother you and it's too easy to have it inspected and put to rest.
Gabe
*Bill:Rockwool insulation is used (and approved) as a fire stop in our area. It is used interchangably with fire rated calk to seal floor and ceiling penetrations. Draw your own conclusion about having rockwool near your IC rated recessed lights.
*There are, however, some very specific code rules (that I won't even pretend to understand) concerning placement of lights -- especially incandescent -- in closets. A recessed light is a good choice; I would go farther and put a CFL bulb in, which doesn't even get hot.
*Hey Mat, You were right on the money!! Just for fun I took some of the insulation outside and tried to burn it, it won't. Also called the building inspector, after a detailed dicussion on this subject he said "he could'nt be bothered to come out to my house for 1 can unless I thought it was absolutly necessary" based on the quality of my work on previous projects. Thanks, Bill