I think this comes down to personal preference or the preference of your customers.

I haven’t installed anything larger than 4” in a residence in over 10 years. But if you want 6” go for it.

Wafers don’t really do it for me, I prefer roughing in a can housing, giving me the flexibility to trim out the can with either LED integrated trims, or a lamp and trim assembly. If you do go the wafer route 100% get the rough in plates. Then you don’t have to cut the drywall based on your treasure map that you drew yourself. I’m sure others will disagree and be more in the wafer camp, but ultimately whatever makes the customer happy is what you should use.

Not to beat a dead horse, but go name brand no matter what: Nora, Elco, Juno, GM, WAC, Halo, etc. etc.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but go name brand no matter what: Nora, Elco, Juno, GM, WAC, Halo, etc. etc.

Amen!!!! Especially if you want drivers that will last more than six months.

 

i started refusing to do recessed cans about 10 years ago
i use an led "disc lite" fixture that looks like a 6" trim on a can
rough in with a pvc ceiling box, or a 1/2" pancake if it falls on a sheetrock strip

when i tell the customer how much time the layout will take (have to space them without hitting joists or the roof)
plus the install time, compared to the disc lite and show them how it looks, they agree with me
usually they didnt even know about the disc lite but wanted the look, so they said a can

 

Recessed cans are almost extinct here. In Canada, they were always problematic because of our requirements for insulated ceilings.

In my opinion, wafers are good for renos but overly complicated for new construction, particularly at finishing time. There are low profile fixtures made that fit an octagon box. I have used them and customers like them. I use a deep box to allow room for the driver.

 

mine dont have an external driver normal or even pancake box is fine

 

Oh yes there’s the “wafer” fixtures that mount to a jbox, that all the new houses here in Texas have.
But since this is a multi million custom home I’ll need to get the GC’s opinion on that.

I convinced him to try out the wafers with a mounting plate instead of cans.

Normally for renos I use Ensenior 6” wafers, as I found them to be good quality, inexpensive and wagos makes connections quicker. What do y’all think?

 

Which ever way you go build 10% in for spares so the HO can have spares.

 

Wafer's hands down. Or better stated , clip in lights hands down. Just pray the drywall ceiling never gets soggy.......

 

If the drywall gets soggy, you'll be replacing the lights anyways.

 

For me, the surface mounted wafer lights that wire to a 4" oct. box give off too much glare. The only place I use them is in closets or laundry. If you review the Photometric Data, you'll see that the cut off angle is very wide and not a down light. The same is true with most of the thin wafer lights.
I just ordered 24 deep wafer lights with a step baffle. The Data and angles look good but I haven't received them yet. They are Topaz Deep Regressed Step Baffles. the step baffle should cut down on glare, similar to a can recessed.

 

+1
I think the wafer lights just look cheap, and bad cutoff glare

 

Double check your fire code if you're putting wafers in a two story dwelling.

 

I found some good info on recessed lights and code.

Recessed light clearance distances & codes

inspectapedia.com

 

I like wafers, always dreaded laying out cans and always wondered why poorly planned framing turned into my problem

 

I haven't installed cans in 5 or 6 years.

 

I would use the wafer lights and the mounting brackets (since its new construction)
I like the idea of adding an additional 10% . This will cover you for ones coming right
out of the box not working plus extras to leave with the customer for future replacement.
One more thing , get the ones with multi color select switch choice.

 

This will cover you for ones coming right
out of the box not working

Is this common when you buy your lights on Amazon?

 

yes

 

+1
I think the wafer lights just look cheap, and bad cutoff glare

Have you tried regressed wafers?

 

These NDR units would fit the bill, but very expensive for wafers??
Thanks for the info!

 

I can usually get them for under $20/unit. I can get them from two suppliers in my area. They're constructed of metal and powder coated so they won't yellow like plastic. The temperature color selecter is on the wafer itself and not the box. Highly recommend.

 

These NDR units would fit the bill, but very expensive for wafers??
Thanks for the info!

NDR regressed cost me about $1.50 more than wafers. Ive never had a customer complain about glare when using these

 

They are a few dollars extra, I stick to buying Lotus wafers. Usually there are no failures.

 

I have not seen "Lotus" brands around here. I know i've tried Lithonia's , which
are more expensive , but still got the occasional failure, usually the driver.
It seems to be a crap shoot. On liune sites sell off brands with the same chances
of occasional failures.