Interior lighting – Let there be light

Reading time 4 minutes

Aktualisiert – Dezember 30, 2022

Good light in the driver's cab and above the dining table is very necessary in various situations.

Since it is now difficult to pry open the ceiling, lay cables and retrofit ceiling lights, the only option is to install a false ceiling in the form of a 10 mm multiplex panel with attractive cladding in order to achieve appropriately positioned interior lighting, especially in the driver's cab.

In order to have bright work lighting not only in the driver's cab but also above the dining table, the multiplex panel must have cleanly cut recesses for the round wall cupboard ends.

For this purpose, a well-prepared cardboard template is used, which mirror-inverted also takes into account the opposite side of the cabinet. It is positioned appropriately on the multiplex board, the curve is transferred and slowly and carefully manufactured using a jigsaw with a saw blade for metal, due to the finer teeth and therefore cleaner cut.

The position of the LED recessed spotlights is determined and marked as required and the recesses are made in the multiplex panel with a 58 mm hole drill. Caution: after almost 8 mm depth, drill very slowly to avoid tearing out the wood fibers at the bottom. Better: drill the remaining millimeters from the underside.

The front, narrower long side of the multiplex panel can be beveled with a 45° cut to create a smooth transition to the existing ceiling paneling.

The multiplex panel is finally positioned as a test and reworked if necessary.

For the sake of practicality, at least the driver's cab and dining table areas should be designed to be switched separately. If you want to make it more energy-conscious, you can give each lamp its own separate cable so that you can switch it individually.

The cable channels are 2 mm deep and 10 mm wide grooves, which are made using a router in a straight, shortest connection between the lamp cutouts, bypassing the middle cutout. As soon as three cables are routed next to each other, 15 mm must be milled out, and if four cables are routed 20 mm wide.

The cables are cut with an overhang of 20 cm and routed flat next to each other in the milled channels in order to ultimately be led out to the side at a suitable location, here on the driver's side on the left above the window.

Duct tape is cut to the lengths between the lamp cutouts and placed full length, adhesive side up, on a smooth surface.

TESA film is unrolled to the same length and applied to the center of the adhesive surface of the duct tape.

Finally, the lengths of armored tape prepared in this way are positioned centrally over the milled cable ducts and glued to the multiplex board. This means that the cables can still be pushed back and forth in the channels after the lamp cables have been soldered to them and the soldering points have been insulated using shrink tubing.

However, the LED recessed spotlights are only installed after covering the wooden panel with carpet or leather. The covering is carefully pierced with a cutter knife at the positions of the lamp recesses, the cutout is carefully traced and cut out.

If the panel is to be glued to the ceiling with transparent silicone, this can be done with the support of so-called third hands, which, clamped between the floor and the multiplex panel, hold it in position until the silicone has set. Between the support and the carpet, a wooden plate measuring approximately 40 x 60 cm should distribute the pressure evenly and protect against unsightly marks in the carpet. The supports can be removed again after about an hour.

The asymmetrical arrangement of the LED recessed spotlights results from the position of the table. The left and right LED shine past the side of the respective seat so that no shadows are cast, as does the middle one, even when the cupboard flap is open.

If you want the plate to be removable, you can secure it with suitable screws. Either you use screws that have a hole in the head for a cover cap, or you arrange the screws in a geometrically favorable sequence and cover them with a glued-on decorative strip.

Finishing

The panel can be covered with carpet, similar to the existing ceiling covering, or leather, as shown here. Carpet offers the advantage of sound absorption, which is particularly useful in the front area, for example to be able to make phone calls via a hands-free system.

Pattex Classic has proven itself as a carpet adhesive. Since it is not transparent, you can see better where the material has not yet been coated and thus avoid later dents. When choosing carpet, make sure that the backing is resistant to solvent-based adhesives (such as Pattex). Highly absorbent carpet backings, such as the Vorwerk carpet used here, require around 600g of Pattex for this area.

Extremely precise positioning, ideally with at least two people, is essential: subsequent correction is no longer possible. If the mishap does happen, then boldly “tear off” the carpet covering, rework the adhesive defects, let it dry and position it correctly on the second attempt.

With leather, if the worst comes to the worst, you definitely have very bad cards: if it is torn off, it will stretch permanently and you will no longer be able to achieve a clean result.
Instead of Pattex you can also use spray adhesive. However, there are no options for correction here either (or only in a matter of minutes). The only advantage over Pattex application is that it is easier and quicker to apply by spraying. Particular attention should be paid to the edges, which must be completely covered with glue all around.

Spray adhesive can also be applied to the multiplex board before assembly. However, you must use impregnated paper, such as baking paper, when handling to avoid sticking to your fingers, etc. This procedure makes sense if you screw the panel to the ceiling but no longer want to see the screws later and therefore apply the covering after installing the panel.