Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - sconce or under cabinet lighting help please

I've just about finished tiling my backsplash (3"x6" Traventine stone light coloured with white cabinets and dark brown wood flooring) in kitchen when I remembered that we wanted indirect lighting. Since I want to do low voltage lighting, can I run the wires in tile cracks before I grout? I know, we should have installed before backsplash put up but I forgot.:mad: All you pros are going to caution me against it but you are perhaps the same people that demand burying low voltage wiring no more than 3" and in conduit. Seriously, what harm can be done? While I await your kind indulgences on this question, I welcome ideas on what under cabinet lighting would be most effective. Thanks in advance for your questions and to whoever started doi.com!!

Not so much from an electrical standpoint, you won't have any grout to cover the wire and it will be weak, crack and fall out. Anyway to get the wiring into a cabinet? If so, you can lay it along the backs of the cabinets, drilling between, and hot glue it to the corner for a stay put.

thanks as always Chandler. good point. did you see my post re mirrors? (You were also involved there.)

Where will you put the Low voltage transfomer ?? it may make the diffrence.

IIRC.,, some of the top of line units i done before i useally mount the transfomer in remote location and bring in standard building wire up to the point where i can termated the low voltage wire up to the low voltage luminaire.

{ quick note here you can not run zip cord in the walls at all due the code is pretty picky on this one also do not run the Low voltage from Kitchen repectale circuit but you can get it from the lighting circuit. [ the NEC is very specific on this part ]}

Merci,Marc

Low voltage lighting needs to be treated with the same respect as regular 120 volt systems. Wires in groute lines is asking for trouble and simply won't work.

For example, if you are putting in 300 watts of 12 volt lighting (twelve 25-watt fistures) you are drawing 25 amps (300 watts/12 volts) and need to use #10 wire between the transformer and the lights. On the other hand, the run to the transformer would only draw 2.5 amps (300 watts/120volts). You need to figure out the wattage you want, transformer size you need for the wattage, and then determine what you need to do to install it all safely.

If I was in your situation and had an open basement (may be wishfull thinking), I would go through the lower cabinets to snake a wire up through a hole in the wall just below the upper cabinet and install a junction box with an electronic transformer and touch switch on the bottom of the upper cabinet. You could then mount your low wattage lights along the the underside of the upper cabinet.

Good luck,

David J