Installation with a finished closet under the stairs (Detailed)
The media could not be loaded. This is a great addition to our stairway that makes a 180 degree turn. We often slowly navigated the stairs at night without turning the lights on to avoid waking everyone or even after dark when carrying things like laundry and not able to switch the lights on with hands full. This solved that dangerous issue. It also adds a cool, modern touch - people love it. Now, there are many reviews you can read on this product, but I didn't see any that addressed a situation like ours where we had a finished closet under our stairway. Most every review stated that you need access to the unfinished underside of your stairs. This is largely true for most people - but I happen to have years of experience doing electrical work in finished homes and have learned to fish wires almost anywhere. What I did is obviously possible, but it's not for the average DIYer. The point is to show that it CAN be done if you really want it. I did this as part of a re-tread project where I removed carpet and installed new hardwood treads. Unlike many stairs, our staircase was a prefabricated pine staircase with all pieces routed and joined together, so the steps and risers could not be removed. Because I couldn't remove the treads, I had to cut the bullnose off each original tread and lay the new hardwood tread over it. I had to cut the bullnose off to keep the tread depths uniform and code compliant. I left a small space where the LEDs would be hidden behind the new stair nose (the LED strips are 5/16" wide). Our staircase is typical to a split-level home. It rises 7 steps to a landing where you turn 180 degrees and then take an additional 7 steps to the top. Under the stairs is a finished coat closet that serves the first floor. Knowing home construction, I first built a small door through the lower back of the closet, revealing a sizeable space we use as storage for Christmas and other seasonal decorations. This space provides access to the underside of the landing and the first 7 steps. The top 7 steps are over the sheetrocked closet of which there is no access without cutting holes in it, which we wanted to avoid. Typical installation is to drill the LED tails straight back through the stair riser and into the rear, unfinished side of the stairs. I used that technique for the first 7 steps I had underside access to. For the stairs over the closet, I used some knowledge and technique and drilled the LED lights through the side of the steps and into the stud bay between the flights of stairs. I carefully drilled the hole into the bays behind each stair nose so the hole was hidden. I inserted pull strings and then drilled holes for each light UP into the bays from underneath the landing. I then fished out each string and pulled the LED wires out. Drilling the bays required a specialized 3 ft long 3/8" drill bit, since the slope of the staircase required longer reaches into the bays (one of my photos show these holes after the wire was fished out. One hole was drilled for each LED to ensure they didn't get tangled when fishing them). Don't forget to run a wire for each motion sensor - one at the bottom step and the other at the top step. This is what activates the LEDs as you approach the stair from either top or bottom. The system has two motion sensor ports - activating the top sensor starts the lighting from the top, activating the lower sensor starts the lighting from the bottom. Make sure you take a few minutes to plan out which lengths of LED wires you use for each step. I purchased the 16 LED kit and it has (8) 5-meter lengths and (8) 8-meter lengths (16 ft & 24 ft). The lengths you use for each particular step depends on where you locate the controller. Carrying over from my past days in the field, it was important to me to neatly and professionally route all the wiring. I saw too many reviews and YT videos that had a jumble of wire laying on the floor or hastily coiled up like a rat's nest since no one can see it. That's fine for some people, but a no-go with me. I left a small "service loop" near each connector then bundled, strapped and routed each wire along the staircase and fished them into the wall of the coat closet where I decided to put the controller. I put the controller in the finished closet where it can be easily accessible. I had an old metal enclosure that was perfect to house the controller and power supply. While I was under the staircase, I tapped a receptacle serving the living room and installed a new receptacle under the controller. My personal installation notes: The LED strips can be cut to fit the width of your treads, but the cut MUST be made through any of the gold 12V terminal markings along the strip (see photo). Use a sharp set of snips to cut it, as you want the cut to be clean and sharp. Once cut, they cannot be extended. As for fastening the LED strips: I peeled the adhesive backing from the strips but also lightly dotted the strips every few inches with gorilla glue as I pulled it taught and pressed them into place. My reasoning for not gluing the entire length was first they didn't need that much glue and second in case I ever need to replace one, it would come off with some effort but not be a massive undertaking. My new treads have a square bullnose with an overhang and these strips lay behind it. I positioned it this way so the LEDs on the higher steps don't glare in your eyes when activated. The light just falls onto each step to light your way. When you're terminating each wire onto the controller, make sure you insert them in the order of each step (1st step, 2nd step, 3rd step, etc.) If you decide to "cascade" them (the most popular method), the LEDs will be activated in the order they were terminated. If they're out of order it will ruin the effect. If you're having them turn on simultaneously, it wouldn't matter - but no matter what, I would personally ensure they are in order - that's just how I am. Don't forget to also run a wire for the daylight sensor. This should be facing normal ambient room light and will prevent the LEDs from activating during the day. You can opt not to install this and the LEDs will simply light anytime you use the stairs, day or night. In summary, this is a cool and very functional system. My situation entailed a lot of planning and intricate wire running and may either be outside of most people's skill set or not be worth the time to others (most likely both). My wife wanted it and the safety factor made it a plus, so I did what I had to do. Installations where you have complete access to the underside of your steps are a no brainer and easy to do if you're even mildly handy. My application was definitely more challenging for most people. Since I happen to have the experience and skill set to do it, it was just a Saturday's worth of work for me. I saw some YT videos showcasing sloppy, rushed and unimpressive installations where you can see the LED strips in plain view, you can see the wiring holes drilled into the staircase, the lights from the upper treads glare in your eyes as you walk up and the wiring behind the stairs is an awful mess - definitely not something to be proud of, but everyone has different standards. If not done correctly, this project can come out terrible, so do it right or don't do it at all. My advice that I use in some of my other installation reviews echo's Dirty Harry's sentiment...."A man's got to know his limitations...." (Reminder: The metal enclosure seen in my photos is NOT included. I had this left over from an unrelated project. It's not required, but makes for a neat and clean installation). NOTE: I purchased this item on Amazon for full price and have no affiliation to the seller. I try to write helpful, unbiased and insightful reviews because I also read reviews prior to making my own buying decisions. I notice many reviews lack helpful information, are too brief and don't support their opinions with examples. Writing useful reviews helps pay it forward. Read more
