Hello Percy, I appreciate that you are trying to help folks and in the same spirit I feel it appropriate to mention that when you drill a hole / make a hole in the ceiling you/we are breaching a fire break. Down lights are supposed to have "fire hoods" placed over them for a number of reasons, one of them being that {as you say} in an older house we never know what has been used as insulation, it "may" have been fire resistant in its day {then again} but over the years it could have lost that ability. Yea, I know and I agree with you about low wattage and all that, but it's Code {in many countries} to put a fire hood over a down light to keep any old {or new} insulation from stopping the cooling circulation of air to help keep the fixture cool/ish. That's the obvious thing but, one that folks don't always realise is that when we have made holes in the ceiling {the fire break} we are asking for trouble, if there was a fire in the fitting or in the room below the down lights the fire wouldn't be contained and would potentially blaze furiously through the holes. That's not what you want, it's bad enough if it's just the loft up there, but it's much worse if there's people living above. I see that you have used LED's but as you say they are more expensive {but well worth it}} but some folks will no doubt use halogens, if they don't use fire hoods they really are in at the deep end. I hope that you take this into account Percy, and that you take my comments in the respectful manner of my intent {we can all learn from one another}.

Safety goggles are a must for any ceiling work! They should be worn even for just changing ceiling fixtures.

I am going to be putting recessed lights in my house and stumbled on this video. I don't know a lot about electricity but know enough that I wanted to see what others were going to say to you. I have been shocked pretty good in the past so I don't agree that the 110V is not enough to kill. Also, I believe you need J-boxes at those connections. You are not supposed to be shoving exposed connections with just wire nuts into the insulation like that. You should at least have used electrical tape to hold it all together. These wire nut connectors have been known to come loose and arc. That is how fires start. Thanks for the attempt but I am going to keep looking.

Thank you so much for all your help and your video skills. So many people keep holding their cameras in their hands, or film with barely any light, and it's got to stop. The issue with the 120V not being dangerous, I think, was just a slip of the tongue since most intelligent people will simply kill off the power for good measure.

NOTE TO ANYONE TRYING TO LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT INSTALLING LIGHTING FIXTURES HERE: LOOK ELSEWHERE! The fact remains that no matter how you try to spin it, you have 120 volt wiring in your ceiling, with splices not enclosed in junction boxes. This is against NEC and CEC. There is good reason for it. Even if you had NO bulbs in the enclosure, unless the wiring is low voltage, the splices need to be enclosed.

Percy! Bro , you are awesomeness in a Wrangler shirt! Clear, unassuming, unpretentious, and complete! best tutorial on the net for retrofitting mini can lighting.

Just a heads up to anyone who is doing retrofits to add pot lights or cut/drill into ceilings with popcorn stucco finishes - especially if they are older than 1977 - there is a good possibility these stucco materials contain asbestos and it's really not a good idea to be exposing yourself to the dust. There are methods to deals with this that you can look up on the internet - they involve appropriate respiratory filters, spray bottles and disposable drop cloths at a bare minimum. But doing home renos requires a deep skepticism about the materials. So please be careful and if in doubt, consult a professional.

Good day . Thanks for reading my post. Installing a led pot light can be done safely and up to code. The major safety issue in my opinion is the connection pushed back into the ceiling. The pot light used in this video is not designed to be used as a stand alone fixture. It does not contain a proper enclosure for wire connection. When purchasing led pot light make sure it state on the box that the pot light you wish to use does not require a pot light box. Such pot light are usually twice the price but a lot easier to installed .

I came here for the comments.

It's scary to see how many people congratulate you on a job well done and now they're going to HD to buy the supplies to do it themselves. I work in commercial building maintenance and perform a lot of wiring. I am NOT an electrician but I ensure that I research the codes for any work I am doing and hold a healthy respect for proper methods, circuit sizing and materials. 80% of the bulbs I install are LED and they are the ideal bulbs for many reasons. However, the type of bulb you are installing has absolutely nothing to do with basic safety measures, such as making your junctions in a box. The next homeowner or contractor after you has no idea that those cute can lights you installed in the hallway below you have exposed splices sticking into the insulation. These safeguards are there to ensure the safety of everyone coming after you. When I go to work on adding an outlet to a circuit, I assume that the worker before me grounded and terminated all connections appropriately, used the proper gauge wire for the circuit and used proper materials. Putting a video like this up on youtube is risky business, but you unfortunately seem unable to grasp why. Most electrical work is not difficult, but does require extreme attention to detail. Your house not having burned down does not prove that you did the job safely and correctly. And yes, there is a right way and a wrong way.

Awesome video sir! Just about to add recessed all over the house and you just answered all 101 questions I had!

technically the ground does need a marette. i know your using led technology but you still have fixtures not rated to be installed in insulation. (even tho its an led it still gets hot!) and you also have open air connections! glad you did this to your house and not someone else's! You will always need an electrician.

Just a watched your video for info but I got some Suggestions to your Video - - Please take the pot lights out; get a Insulation Barrier; stick that behind your pot lights and then reinstall your potlights - -the reason for my suggestion : Under the Canadian building code, only recessed light fixtures designated "IC" (insulation contact) can be installed next to insulation. They have a rectangular metal box around the bulb that creates an air space between the fixture and any insulation. It's not a big deal when bulbs generate heat in a table or floor lamp since they are used in well-ventilated areas. But in a recessed light that's tucked into a floor or ceiling cavity, heat needs to escape or the fixture will overheat and a fire could start. So, you need an IC fixture in any insulated space - an upstairs ceiling below the attic, for instance, or a space between the main and second floors that you've insulated for sound. In Conclusion -- The Fixture has to be insulated to fit beside an insulation or have an insulation Barrier. Please do not mislead people into believing that 120VAC will not burn down your house; why don't you try to get some sparks flying next to your insulation and see what happens next.. Plus the GU10 bulb sockets burn out pretty fast when they are in shitty pot lights as such. JUST MY 2 CENTS ; TAKE it or LEAVE it.

As a fellow Canadian in ontario I can assure you that all connections must be made in a box for sure. You got it working and did a nice job but man I'd be worried about the splices up in the ceiling. Btw I've put in over 30 of these in my house they are awesome what a difference they make. I got rid of the halogen aswell and did gu10 leds.

Percy, thanks for the video. Very informative. I'm planning on doing my 1971 house here in the next month or so. Just started looking at different lights. Something I would strongly recommend is to shut the appropriate breaker off as someone out of habit could turn the light switch on not knowing you are working on it. I know you made a note of that in the video and I thank you for that. Safety first.

I was trying to figure out why this video has so many views. I'm no electrician but it appears this is not a safe or effective way to do this project. the pure fact that "percy" lashes out at everyone who comments is pure gold.

The reason why you should put a junction box in it is not because of the heat produced by halogen or incandescent bulbs but sparks that might occur due to arcing as a result of many unknowns such as storms, surging in power, rodents chewing away at the wires, etc etc etc. If any of that happens, a junction box will protect sparks from highly flammable materials such as insulation. If you don't have that, a fire might occur. And no, just because it hasnt happened yet it doesn't mean it might not occur in the future. But a junction box is an extra security added to it. Other than that, nice vid.

I have never commented about a you tube video before, but after watching this fellow Canadians doing a diy video I feel I must. Sir, I realize that you are trying to help the general public out and you have your opinion just like anyone. But to respond to your critics with such hatred and vulgarity because they are trying to make a point that regardless of your house not burning down you are giving poor advise. One because it's not to code and technically can be problematic in more ways than one. Please remove your vile responses as you should realize that not every one is going to agree with your ideas and your making fellow Canadians look bad..

TO ANY of the PROFESSIONALS who are criticising this video, can you LINK a video that is doing it correctly or make a DIY video that is showing us how to do it RIGHT? If not than this is the best DIY way of doing it, (minus the disturbingly rude attitude this guy has towards any criticising commenters) ..... we all know that you should consult a professional if you want it perfect, but we are DIYers. Thanks

I’m an industrial electrician. 4 people that I’ve known died from electrical shock. 3 were killed on 120v. In the US we run at 60 hertz. That is just the right speed to knock your heart into de fibrillationt .

Hi Zeeshan, you don't need a kit. In fact you need very little. There are two ways to handle your lighting situation. LED bulbs come in two versions. 12 volts or 120/240. If the power lines are already in place then either throw on a 20 amp 12 volt transformer and run speaker wire to all the outlets or run 120/240 cable and wire directly. The housings are readily available anywhere on earth.

Thanks a lot for the tutorial. I used the hole saw as you suggested and it worked flawlessly!

My apologies. I now stand corrected. I should have recognized your brilliance earlier. I sincerely wish I could have apprenticed under your guidance as now I feel that I have been slighted in life by less than qualified teachers. Please post many more educational videos on the way the rest of the civilized world is all wrong with their approach to life in general. You sir should be exalted as one of the great minds of our time even if your rodeo career failed.

A lot of these comments eventually come back to the same thing, Percy want's a common sense reason why he should follow the code for putting his wiring in a junction box when his LED lights draw such a small amount of current and generate such a small amount of heat. So according to Percy's common sense, the risk of fire is so small it's not worth considering. I've got a couple of reasons, but I'll just give the most common sense one. So here we go. While it's true that these light fixtures left alone will most likely never cause a fire, there's a second important purpose for using a junction box to house your wire connections. It serves as an additional barrier that prevents animals (for example a mouse) from chewing through your wire insulation and shorting out the circuit. This may never happen to you, but if everyone wires their house without junction boxes it will eventually happen to somebody. Even with the box, you still aren't completely safe, as they could chew through the cable sheathing and wire insulation, but it's at least better than letting them get at the wire insulation directly. I've read some of your comments and I already know that you're going to respond with something to the effect of "A wire getting shorted still isn't a risk for fire because the light fixtures draw such a small amount of current". I've seen this comment from you in multiple responses. This is COMPLETELY untrue and VERY misleading. The LED bulbs draw such a small amount of current because they are very high resistance devices. When a wire is shorted out (for example by a mouse chewing through the insulation) the short-circuit bypasses your high resistance LED bulb and flows in the new path that has been created by the mouse. This new path is much lower resistance, and therefore will see a much higher current flowing through it. This high current will generate heat, fry the rodent, and most likely start a fire in your attic. **(See Common Sense proof below if you don't believe me) Some of us may be comfortable with taking this risk, but for the majority of us junction boxes are an inexpensive way to make our homes safer. So if you make a "How To" video and decide you are comfortable cutting corners, you should still explain to your viewers so they can make the decision for themselves. ** Proof that a short circuit draws more current than the original load. If you ever manage to solidly contact a live hot (black) wire to a neutral (white) wire, the result is a near zero resistance connection which will cause extremely high currents resulting in a breaker trip.

Never mind the negative comments percy lad. I think uve done a great job pal. Its like a bloody show house ! My wife says she'd let you re-wire our full house. No problem ! You should be workin for NASA ! Keep up the good work lad.

As for a parts list. The 3 inch recessed fixtures w/o the housing is all that is needed. Any newer LED bulb GU 10 will work. Frankly within the next few years you won't be able to buy anything other than an LED bulb anyway.

thank you for showing this, please just ignore all those people that make fun, if you reply them, its just the same silly act, no use.

I found your video informational. Learned more about recessed lighting then i knew.

I give thumbs up because Percy has shown he ain't no punk!!!

Good video...even greater comments. Well entertained. Subscribed.

You sir are a linguisticual artist

Looks good, I'm from the states... our National Electrical Code standards wont allow us to use ROMEX, and in the Electrical Code book says all splices and connections shall be made in an UL "approved" metal Junction box for protection against electrocution and fire in the event of a loose wirenut etc..... Just feed back. Good video and Awesome with the LED bulbs etc.

As a fellow Polish guy you're really living up to the stereotypes.

What happen to the junction box. I know it's l.e.d. but still the wires r expose to the attic. That is a real serious code violation.

I take that as a true compliment from a guy like you!

What the hell is with all the downvotes? This video was very helpful!

"garbage, crap just stupid." That's hilarious!

Nice video!! I will doing my hallway next week! Thanks again for the video!

Finally somebody loved me

All I can say is wow!

I get most of my work from DIY's. I love going behind and correcting their work. Good money there.

Connections are a point source of disconnection and ultimately heat that is caused by sparks who's intensity is directly related to the amount of power being consumed. As I said a 6 watt LED bulb does not draw enough power to cause enough of a "potential" spark to be a danger. If you were to inset yourself into that circuit you would scarcely feel a thing EVEN sipping wet. I suggest you reread electronics 101.

I really like this video. I'm wanting to do this and like your way of presenting this because its so straight forward and too the point. thank you Alli

Sometimes at old houses the original installer. Switched the existing lights with the neutral. So be careful guys for that, and buy a non-contact voltage tester for your safety.

Splices left exposed in the ceiling. Nice

You are right Percy, you are NOT a professional, much less a qualified DIY'r. How many mistakes/Code violations did you make? 1. Wire nut connections not in a box. It looks like you removed the junction boxes that came with the can. 2. Telling people 110 won't hurt you. It's 120Vac, and yes, it will hurt you. 3. Those are GU10 sockets. Nothing stops anyone from taking out your LED and putting in a Halogen bulb 4. Comparing Watts to HP is another indication you don't really understand electricity. A better comparison would be to BTU's. So your 6w = 20.4 BTU/hr. But what you are really missing is the fact that the wires sending the 120Vac to that 6w bulb are actually connected (or should be) to a 15 or 20A ckt. Hence, those wires are capable of delivering 1800 or more of energy. Considering how you wired up those cans, it's just a fire waiting to start. And then you resorting to name calling. Really? How professional is that? Oh, wait, your not a professional. Your just a hack who likes to see himself on the tube.

I am compelled to comment on a few things for the benefit of people watching this video. (1) You MUST put all electrical junctions inside a box. Boxes don't guarantee safety anymore than stuffing loose splices into an unknown ceiling space guarantees a fiery death, but properly sized junction boxes will contain arcs if the circuit surges or shorts out. (2) Proper eye and lung protection is a sensible and safe habit. Otherwise, stuff WILL get into your lungs and eyes (see video), whether or not it's large enough for you to notice. The odds might be very low that you'll drill into metal (a galvanized strap, for example) and get a tiny shard in your eye, but try explaining that to an MRI technician in a few years. (3) There is more than enough amperage in a typical residential circuit to kill you. The probability is low, but rest assured it is greater than zero. So treat every wire with respect and get a decent circuit tester before you do any wiring. (4) If you can't locate a joist with a stud finder, take a piece of stiff wire (e.g. coat hanger) and bend it into an "L" shape where the length of one end is the radius of your hole saw. Stick it into the pilot hole and rotate it to locate obstructions. (5) If you're putting retrofit fixtures into an insulated space, get fixtures that are rated "IC". A 5W LED bulb would barely warm up the pot, but a 50W halogen generates a LOT of heat. LED bulbs do fail, and who can predict if the next owner of a house won't stick his or her last halogen bulb in there? Remember that just because someone shouldn't do something, doesn't mean that they won't.

This is in fact my very first and only time posting on a youtube video. The reason I am taking the time is that I've never felt so strongly that a video should be taken down. I have installed hundreds of recessed lights here in Canada and can confirm that this is not to code, and even though I am not an electrician and an avid DIY I am well aware of this. I feel that this video is dangerously misleading. Marty is correct on all accounts.

Look, I'm not suggesting that 110 is not going to hurt you. Obviously, it's always best to turn off the power. My video clearly points out that there is NO risk from heat generated fires caused by limited ceiling access and confined spaces. Try that with 50 watt halogens and you're asking for a disaster. LED bulbs let you break very outdated electrical codes. Assuming one dan install safely then the finished product will provide plenty of luxurious light with no fire danger whatsoever for the life of the house!

You're right about one thing, you're not a professional. Don't even have the sense to wear any eye protection when you're drilling into the ceiling and looking up at it.

Don't listen to these trolls Percy, most them don't know what they're doing and that's why they're here. Either that or they have nothing real to take care of. Got some interesting Ideas out from this video thanks man. Hope Coco is doing well man.

Thanks for sharing this information! Great job!

Percy, Percy, Percy. Shame on you, brother. I think you know your video was a good tongue in cheek attempt to generate comments. I get it..... but I'm really worried about the thousands of You Tube viewers who will watch it and follow your lead in putting unenclosed splices in a ceiling. Enough's been said about how dangerous that is and, as a licensed Electrical Engineer, I can only second the motions! I implore any viewers to completely disregard this video and learn how to do a project like this the right way. Your family will thank you! Oh ... and PLEASE PLEASE stop saying that 120 volts can't kill you. You CAN be electrocuted by120 volts....and it can knock you off a ladder or other platform you're standing on.

Note to all watchers... please make sure that you check to make sure that you're not going to destroy a live cable when you use the hole saw... you need to make damn sure that you don't have a live wire behind that saw... this often requires going into the attic to check, if you don't already know, or at least a stud finder that detects live wires.

Here's another exciting option fur those inclined. eBay will sell you a nice 200 watt 12 volt power supply for about $20. More than enough to light a house. Put that small box somewhere central. Now just groove in cheap, small speaker wire into the plaster of an older house. Then buy tiny surface LED light pucks and when finished simply fill in the groove with the wire and plaster over and voila you have light wherever you want and no need to change bulbs...ever!

Safety glasses and probably a good face mask are always great advice!

Percy, not all who comment understand power. You choice to call them IDIOTS is very poor indeed. If you post a video to be helpful and instructional you would be better suited to be a bit more gentle with people who comment and ask questions. Don't be hostile. Take a deep breath and calmly repeat you information, that is the quality of a good teacher. You are reaching into many homes and diverse levels of knowledge. Thanks for listening. You posted a good video, but it was disturbing to see your short sighted angry replies to peoples comments.

Hey you forgot the #1 most important step which is SAFETY. safety protection keeps you away from a doctor's visit :)

Good job at your install! I understand ur not an electrician so good work to you sir, pretty good for someone thats not in the trade!. But probably as some people pointed out, you should just connect the wires in a JB ( Perferibly a octogon box with a cover.) Its code to have it up in the ceiling aslong as its accessible threw the hole if you were to remove the fixture. Also use pliers next time twisting conductors because using sidecuttings you may run the risk of having a wire break on you while twisting the marrette on, plus using pliers is way easier. A open neutral can cause many problems haha. Also just for anyone that sees this I recommand using new LED potlights. Lotus potlights for example are a 1/2 deep so even if you drill over a stud, it still fits. (It has spring clips that suck it up to the ceiling. ) Its what I install in all my new renos. Anyways just thought Id drop my 2 cents. Good work they look awesome.

this shouldn't be allowed to be public, people learning from this guy will destroy their houses

I just finished installing some of these cheap home depot pot lights, the safety box on these lights that you tuck your wires in are made of cheap tin, the boxes break apart the moment you try to to remove the washer cover to feed the wires through. If these are supposed to prevent fires then someone should question how the government safety agencies allow their imports.

Brilliant video you offer some fantastic tips and this will help me a lot.

I guess my concern is how to recognize and locate "The existing circuits" at 15:05 to get the power for the light.... especially if you do not already have a access hole like you do. Other than that you made it look easy and thanks for halogen LED comparison.

Hi i liked your video. All things set aside all these union guys are just criticizing you for 1. Not hiring them. 2 ul listing is overrated. 3. So what if its not ic rated its not like they are outside getting wet and finally I applaud you for being the man of your castle. They are led's won't get hot and I myself could not explain how a wire nut will undo itself. I d say good job hope you enjoyed them.

8:43 Nothing like the good ol' asbestos in the eye there eh? Thanks for the vid.... I'll be doing this at my house soon.

...it's no wonder those cans were dirt cheap as they were missing a lot of features. All you needed were the remodel-insulated-contact rated type of cans (each comes with built-in junction box and is safe to be around insulation) and your video would've gotten more thumbs up.

Volts don't kill, Amperes do, son.

Great video Percy!!

Nice job. Thanks for the good tutorial.

excellent job

In the beginning of your video it looks like the fixtures had junction boxes attached. Why didn't you use them? Why did you go through the trouble of removing them? Wouldn't it just make sense to keep them and wire according to code?

The back and forth comments here are hilarious! Therefore the video gets a thumbs up!

Not type IC lights...... used no junction boxes...... insulation touching that halogen light :( .... broke vapour barrier in ceiling.... used diagonal plies to splice creating hot spots all over that splice point..... there is standards in place for a reason. Follow them and don't make videos teaching others how to void their home insurance. I'm 100 percent with you MrAllister9

i appreciated this video. thanks!

Excellent video. Thanks very much.

There are awesome responds in the comment section i wish more videos had same drama.

Great video..i learned a lot...

If your going to do it your self please make sure they say ic rated it stands for insulated ceilings non ic which he's putting on get to much heat and in dilation can catch on fire ,always is a junction box on ceiling when splicing,plus does little lights look ugly buy the 6" and will bring value on your home and turn breaker off ,fire insurance might not cover you if your house catches on fire if you do it he's way,

i just would like to say i love the video and also the coments.

Did he say 120v wasn't enough to kill someone?

Awesome video I feel I can do it myself thank you

I clicked on this video for some insight on how to install recessed lighting, and found myself looking in the comments for extras tips. However, I find myself disappointed with the way you are talking to other commenters. Wow. I understand you might feel strongly about certain things but I feel you should try to control your unnecessary aggressiveness towards others. Thanks.

.....and now we are going to drill a pilot hole *brings out a 6ft drill bit lololololol

best fucking recessed lighting video on youtube thank you.

You really need some goggles man.... There's a reason why Michaelangelo was damn near blind after painting the sistine chapel.

Change that 41mv to 41mA. Only a minor mistake, the rest is fine. Some people on YT are just trying to help out others and that's great. I'm here a lot learning how to do things. Judge not..... so.. OK then. Just making some code comments on your work. If that was fed with 12V DC you'd be safer. 400mA @ 120V AC trips the average home GFCI receptacle and yes it does hurt when they fail. Do a piece on Arc-fault circuit breakers and receptacles.

Good video!

I noticed you took the extra step to wire nut the grounds but where do they go? It looks like they're not connected to anything where you're picking up the power from the old light. I'm confused...

Anyone doing this yourself, PLEASE splice your wires inside a junction box. If the bare wire short-circuits (bugs, mice, brittleness over time, jostling the lights/rig), it can spark. Back in the day this used to be a fairly major cause of fires -- don't be a needless victim. I've worked on poorly wired devices before where old, brittle twist-caps broke and live wire hit the neutral. If you're lucky, nothing happens and the breaker trips. Unlucky and you can lose your life. Also, the mains power is more than enough to stop your heart or severely burn you.

Great video. Thanks for this.

Great tutorial. I mean electricians know the codes, however, in my time, I have run into some really dumb electricians. As a EE major, I dont know electrical construction stuff, however, I know that I am smart enough to read a how to and follow codes. That being said, sure the best thing to do is to install in a junction box, but you could also use wire nuts and then wrap them in electrical tape. My one point to you Percy is that if the wire nut comes undone (for some unlikely reason) and the positive and negative cross the watts of the light bulb draw dont matter, its 15A /120V unfettered power at the cross point. Again at that point I would think the breaker at the panel would trip and then you have no power no problem lol. So the safeguards kick in and you fix it. Anyways good tutorial.

+ Andrew robins you are right there pal. Thanks for pointing it out!

Hi great video cant believe all the people complaining in these comments first video where someone actually explained how to put the holes in lights and wires instead of having ready cut holes....anyways how do you get the wires through the beams are you drilling through them if so what attachment do you use, or are you sneaking the wire underneath or something?

Awesome information, you've given me the confidence to tackle this in my dark living room. Just one question, what device would you recommend for the automatic lights on/off

From the way you work and explain things make you seem like a below average electrician.

Man thank you so much! Your info helped in my hallway project. I always had concerns on wiring myself, but you help me out. Thanks again.

Thank you for your help and tips

“120 volts.. not enough to kill ya” Lol wut?! 😂😂😂

I have a full time job but like many likes to work on handiwork at home or on my cars on the weekends. I'm not going to point out most of faulty stuff that you did here as somebody already did that. Just a question though. Had it occurred to you that one of the most basic safety precautions to do when working on a ceiling involving drilling or sawing is to wear PPE or to be more specific safety goggles?

Thanks for the video! Very informative. I have to comment on all of the negative comments that I saw from others and would love to have them instead of commenting on what you did wrong, how about they make a video of how to do it right instead. People always have stuff to say about everything when someone is trying to just show what he did in his own spare time. Yes there are codes for everything but what about back in the day when we didn't have codes or rules? How do we think we got light in the first place? Just my thoughts, leave the man alone and make your own videos.