te12co2w

We just finished the trim on a 4000sf house. The owner provided the light fixtures that were recommended by a lighting designer. Nothing high end but certainly not the cheapest picks from HD either. The recessed lights and 2 preformed tracks 4' long and the outside flood lights were all Progress. Kichler for the majority of the incandescent fixtures. Lithonia for the fluorescent. Haven't done the under cabinet ones yet as the cabinets are not installed. Even though most of this stuff was made in China it was all surprisingly easy to install. We didn't have problems with different size screws and parts that usually seem to plague the fixture hanging stage. I might even change my normal Halo cans to Progress and start recommending Kichler fixtures.

BryanMD

As you have learned, the phrase "you get what you pay for" actually works wrt light fixtures.

Even the best can have a learning curve but that curve is a LOT shorter.

__________________
November 2011: Relocated to Winston-Salem.
May have to change the username suffix.

MF Dagger

I've found that the expensive fixtures from the high end stores are the ones that are a supreme pain in the ass. Murray Feiss fixtures can drive me absolutely nuts some days.

gilbequick

In my experience the more funky the light the more of a PITA it is. Most big box store lights are worse than lighting company supplied lights, especially the under cabinet lights. I don't have too many problems with Murray Feiss lights.

JohnJ0906

I agree absolutely. I did some imported fixtures years back (Italy I think) and I would have liked to pull my hair out. Butt-ugly too....

__________________
John from Baltimore
"One day at a Time"
All responses based on the '08 NEC
It's not my fault, it's not my problem, I'm not your solution.

a-bulb

I hate installing european fixtures. You almost always have to modify them to fit on our boxes. A real pain in the .

SEMPER FI

I had to hang a $10,000.00 chandelier without all the parts one time. You talk about being paranoid.

OOHRAH
SEMPER FI

gcleary47

our lighting design houses are mainly dreamscapes. not sure of the cost but they can be a pain in the ass because you have to build them. another house we did used juno aculox cans. not a big fan of either. both had some problems with transformers coming loose. much rather bang up some 5" halo's

cdnelectrician

I think we can all agree on one thing...we all HATE installing fixtures!

goose134

I've always maintained (with a few exceptions) the more a fixture costs, the harder it will be to hang. This relationship is inverse for fans.

BryanMD

I'll stand by earlier post.
Brands like Kichler, Progress, and Lithonia (which the OP cited) are easier to work with than the cheaper off brand crap is.

That said, cndelectrician has it right too
"I think we can all agree on one thing...we all HATE installing fixtures!"

__________________
November 2011: Relocated to Winston-Salem.
May have to change the username suffix.

LeeB

Progress also has LED fixtures that look better than I've seen yet, although we have not installed them yet.