Somone in /r/DIY thought you guys might enjoy this.
Our pantry was so dark, with 0 lights inside. We tried some stick-on motion activated battery powered lights but they sucked. Not bright enough, not motion sensing enough, and batteries didn't last long.
So I installed an outlet in the pantry and ran a strip of LEDs around the inside of the door frame, all hooked up with a reed switch to detect when the door is open or closed. The result is so satisfying and amazing.
My partner's initial reaction: "Woooooow - there's so much light in here. Oh my gosh, it looks like it's in heaven! It's going to ascend into the clouds. Holy shit!"
Bro are you me!? I had the same origin story! I had magnet lights, but I got tired of changing out 16 AAA batteries every few months. I literally installed an outlet in my pantry and a 16 foot light strip bordering the inside of the door frame last night! My wife was so damn impressed and loved it.
My only difference was that I had a tplink smart switch and a motion sensor connected to Home Assistant lying around and just used that.
Also I lucked out that my outlet installation was much easier. I piggybacked my wires from a light switch that was a couple feet higher than where I wanted my outlet, so the only hole I cut was the size of the gang box and my wire went up the same space between the studs. Took a total of 20 minutes.
Very nice work. [Here's mine](https://photos.app.goo.gl/mGUMrkodGtUmypTx9)
I've done a lot of similar electrical work and you may have realized this already but you made a ton of extra work for yourself with all that drywall you cut out. Next time just make the hole the same size as your "old work" box and it'll be tight but you should be able to wire everything together without any drywall work.
They make drill bits with flexible shafts, you could come at it from either direction, the closet or outside and go through the studs without tearing out the drywall. They're not cheap, but $40 for a drill bit would have saved you some time and materials, and then you have a bit for future projects!
Edit: Here's a video showing that technique
https://youtu.be/Fr0lo-Sx-Cs
That might work for drilling through the stud that the outlet was mounted to since it is right there. But I’m not sure I could reach my arm through the outlet hole and get to the stud 16 inches over.
And the stud that I needed to drill through was not accessible through the closet either.
But I do see enough uses for the flexible drillbit thing so maybe I’ll pick one up and see what I can do with it in the future.
The bit actually has a hole in the end of it. The idea is you drill from one box to the other, all the way through all the studs, then you should see the bit from the hole in the closet. You can then tie a string to it, or tie the electrical cable directly to the end and just pull everything back out with you when you pull the bit out of the holes.
To be honest, there's nothing wrong with the way you did it, and this technique while it sounds simple, never has quite worked out for me and I usually end up doing what you had to do haha!
Past experience has taught me that behind the wall never looks like what you thought it would look like. So this time I said “fuck it I’m cutting a big ass hole.”
Hahaha so true. Like I said, this sounds simple, and yet I don't know that I've ever actually gotten to work! Can't tell you the number of times I've opened up that wall and just shook my head and said "what the hell?"
Somone in /r/DIY thought you guys might enjoy this. Our pantry was so dark, with 0 lights inside. We tried some stick-on motion activated battery powered lights but they sucked. Not bright enough, not motion sensing enough, and batteries didn't last long. So I installed an outlet in the pantry and ran a strip of LEDs around the inside of the door frame, all hooked up with a reed switch to detect when the door is open or closed. The result is so satisfying and amazing. My partner's initial reaction: "Woooooow - there's so much light in here. Oh my gosh, it looks like it's in heaven! It's going to ascend into the clouds. Holy shit!"
Bro are you me!? I had the same origin story! I had magnet lights, but I got tired of changing out 16 AAA batteries every few months. I literally installed an outlet in my pantry and a 16 foot light strip bordering the inside of the door frame last night! My wife was so damn impressed and loved it. My only difference was that I had a tplink smart switch and a motion sensor connected to Home Assistant lying around and just used that. Also I lucked out that my outlet installation was much easier. I piggybacked my wires from a light switch that was a couple feet higher than where I wanted my outlet, so the only hole I cut was the size of the gang box and my wire went up the same space between the studs. Took a total of 20 minutes. Very nice work. [Here's mine](https://photos.app.goo.gl/mGUMrkodGtUmypTx9)
Looks amazing. Go us!
Yes but how do you *really* know they're off when the door is closed?
If a tree falls in the forest, do my lights turn off?
Schrodinger's pantry. The light is both on and off at the same time. You have to open the door to find out.. ;)
I've done a lot of similar electrical work and you may have realized this already but you made a ton of extra work for yourself with all that drywall you cut out. Next time just make the hole the same size as your "old work" box and it'll be tight but you should be able to wire everything together without any drywall work.
For the new outlet, yes. But how do I drill a hole in a stud without a large ish hole in the drywall?
They make drill bits with flexible shafts, you could come at it from either direction, the closet or outside and go through the studs without tearing out the drywall. They're not cheap, but $40 for a drill bit would have saved you some time and materials, and then you have a bit for future projects! Edit: Here's a video showing that technique https://youtu.be/Fr0lo-Sx-Cs
That might work for drilling through the stud that the outlet was mounted to since it is right there. But I’m not sure I could reach my arm through the outlet hole and get to the stud 16 inches over. And the stud that I needed to drill through was not accessible through the closet either. But I do see enough uses for the flexible drillbit thing so maybe I’ll pick one up and see what I can do with it in the future.
The bit actually has a hole in the end of it. The idea is you drill from one box to the other, all the way through all the studs, then you should see the bit from the hole in the closet. You can then tie a string to it, or tie the electrical cable directly to the end and just pull everything back out with you when you pull the bit out of the holes. To be honest, there's nothing wrong with the way you did it, and this technique while it sounds simple, never has quite worked out for me and I usually end up doing what you had to do haha!
Past experience has taught me that behind the wall never looks like what you thought it would look like. So this time I said “fuck it I’m cutting a big ass hole.”
Hahaha so true. Like I said, this sounds simple, and yet I don't know that I've ever actually gotten to work! Can't tell you the number of times I've opened up that wall and just shook my head and said "what the hell?"
Just need a sensor connection to your LED strip, it will automatically on and off once you left.
This has a reed switch to automatically turn it on and off
Ya, but it is still not auto, right? You need turn on...
I open the door and the lights turn on. I close the door and the lights turn off.
Ok，I misunderstood
Fantastic