Radiant light heated Floor

For years our old bathroom tile has been nice and warm right in front of the toilet. I'm remodeling and moving the toilet and had thought there was a hot water pipe that kept the floor warm... I was wrong. There is a recessed light canister in the cieling below. The top of the light can is very close if not touching the underside of the floor. It's a halo and is not insulated/ can't have insulation on/over it. My floor joists are only 2X6.. is this dangerous?
Thanks, Jim

You can only put insulation around those if they are rated for IC (insulation contact). It should say on it, but it may be hard to read or the label may have fallen off over the years. It should only become a problem if it got hot enough to melt the wax on the toilet flange. Otherwise, as long as it has free air movement around it (if not rated for IC), then you should be fine. Just don't exceed the max wattage for the fixture.

heat

I would say the 2x6 joists are more dangerous than the light, especially if the wood around it does not show any signs of charring that would indicate it has gotten too hot at sometime.

hj said:

I would say the 2x6 joists are more dangerous than the light, especially if the wood around it does not show any signs of charring that would indicate it has gotten too hot at sometime.

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I don't follow ... Should or shouldn't they char? I'd imagine chared would be bad. Would 2x8 be any less dangerous?

Jason

High enough heat to char is waiting for a fire to occur...if the fixture is not an IC rated device, if it will fit, it should be okay as long as you don't exceed the wattage specified. Adding insulation means that it will get hotter than design, and then problems occur (unless designed for it).

No charring

It's been there for 15 years and there is no charring. There are a few other of this lights as well. No insulation near them either. I'm was thinking of putting aluminum sheet metal on the underside of the subfloor to take advantage of the situation and heat more of the floor but I'm also concerned that too much heat will reflect back. Good or bad idea What do yoy think?
Thanks, Jim

Don't think it would matter...if spot areas aren't creating a problem, spreading it out shouldn't matter. Most of the things have an overheat thermocouple in them anyways (at least the newer ones). In some, I think, it is a fuseable link, in others it is a bimetalic strip. If it gets too hot, it interrupts the power. You could check on Halo's website.