Covering lighting in Deck

HomeGrown

Member
Hi all,

The lighting designer wants to build strip-lights for uplighting into my show deck I've designed for an upcoming production. I've seen this done frequently, but I'm not sure what material to use to cover the floor pockets I'm having cut out of the deck to accommodate lighting. I'm assuming some kind of plexiglass, but I don't know what kind/ how thick and how wide it can be before you need to support it/ how you suggest supporting it.

Thank you!
 
Hi all,

The lighting designer wants to build strip-lights for uplighting into my show deck I've designed for an upcoming production. I've seen this done frequently, but I'm not sure what material to use to cover the floor pockets I'm having cut out of the deck to accommodate lighting. I'm assuming some kind of plexiglass, but I don't know what kind/ how thick and how wide it can be before you need to support it/ how you suggest supporting it.

Thank you!
@HomeGrown Lexan (trademark) is the material you want but be prepared for sticker shock. Lexan is close to bullet proof. I can't recall for sure but it may be a trademark of General Electric. I was with a company who built the large, pyro-belching, automated pin-ball machine for The Who's rock musical Tommy three times and Lexan was what kept the performer portraying Tommy from being burned when he was supposedly whipping the largest pin-ball machine into submission. Cut Lexan with saws. Drill holes for attachment with a modicum of clearance and you won't need to worry about hurting it. Add holes for ventilation if your lights will require ventilation. The Lexan won't care about heat from your lights but your lights may not be happy if they get overheated. Don't forget to worry about overheating and fire hazards.
EDIT: To further answer your queries. From memory Lexan was sold in 4' x 8' sheets and a variety of thicknesses. I'm an IBEW and IATSE electrician, Definitely NOT a structural engineer. Having said that, I suspect you could go with 1/4" thick and cut it into widths up to 12" supporting it continuously along its long edges WITHOUT any need for additional support. Allow clearance in the holes when securing it in place to minimize fracturing.
I'm assuming your cast are "normal performers" and you have neither elephants nor Humvees on your stage.
@Van Would you care to comment re: attachment and support?
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
 
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@HomeGrown Lexan (trademark) is the material you want but be prepared for sticker shock. Lexan is close to bullet proof. I can't recall for sure but it may be a trademark of General Electric. I was with a company who built the large, pyro-belching, automated pin-ball machine for The Who's rock musical Tommy three times and Lexan was what kept the performer portraying Tommy from being burned when he was supposedly whipping the largest pin-ball machine into submission. Cut Lexan with saws. Drill holes for attachment with a modicum of clearance and you won't need to worry about hurting it. Add holes for ventilation if your lights will require ventilation. The Lexan won't care about heat from your lights but your lights may not be happy if they get overheated. Don't forget to worry about overheating and fire hazards.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.

Thank you! How thick do I want it to be if actors are going to potentially step on it? How wide of a strip can we use without having to support it across the middle? We're probably going to use LEDs so I'm not super worried about heat.
 
Thank you! How thick do I want it to be if actors are going to potentially step on it? How wide of a strip can we use without having to support it across the middle? We're probably going to use LEDs so I'm not super worried about heat.
@HomeGrown We read each others' minds. See the EDIT I recently added to answer this. I also took the liberty of putting out the CB 'Bat Call' for @Van 's expertise.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
Oh I really want to throw my two cents in but I need to run right now. ... I can say that the "Twin wall" as they are calling it on that sight is NOT something you would want actors to step on, especially at the lower end of the thickness spectrum, that .236, that's less than a quarter inch thick and I;'d wager <without actually looking at the spec's> it has 20 times the deflection of a piece of solid Lexan. I made 'walkable' french doors in a platform once, for a production of "the Cherry Orchard" The window panes were 14"x14" and I used 3/16" Lexan. there was some flex but not too much. < yes it was a set of frenchdoors mounted to the floor, with a pond inside... and No, I can not ..."make the water slope at the same angle as the raked stage".....>
 
Thank you! After some googling, what are your thoughts on using other brand clear polycarbonate sheeting like this here, that is much more cost effective: https://www.interstateplastics.com/...SDlmuRBk1CAOcAG87Ex1yJjH1i11P7fhoCKN0QAvD_BwE
@HomeGrown Sorry! Not a clue. I'm an electrician not a plastics expert. All I know for certain is we bought Lexan for Tommy all three times and had zero regrets. I very much agree with the 'buy once, cry once' philosophy, it let me sleep nights without worrying about any of the performers being burned by pyro at close range. From memory, we were using two layers of 1/4" on the vertical faces of the largest pin-ball machines and none of the sheets of Lexan failed. The inner sheets in the direct path of the pyro took hellish beatings and often had to be slid out for cleaning but the outer layers remained totally unscathed as did the actors. I suspect if you want near bullet proof reliability you pay the price and sleep nights. Otherwise, you can cheap out and run the risks. Better you than me.
Toodleoo
Ron Hebbard.
 
Could you get away with bar grate? Less obvious and probably more transmission. Or something like it - "louvers" that you can step on.
 
Polycarbonate sheet is the generic for Lexan, but what you linked was twin-wall rather than solid material. Different animal. It could work with the right thickness - the whole point is to use corrugation to get stiffness with less material.

Acrylic (plexiglass) is actually stiffer than polycarbonate, but more brittle. It might be a better choice here. Unfortunately I don't know offhand what spans you can get per thickness. A plastic supplier may be able to help.
 
If you are buying Lexan trust me they will sell you whatever lengths you desire cause it’s worth it for them to sell it. If you are gonna have people standing on it don’t go with the cheaper stuff.
 

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