Before the ceiling closes

A room works when four layers of light are in it, and most new homes only get one. Mani walks through the four layers, shows them in a real home at Wimbledon, and gives you three steps to get them on the plan before the plaster goes on.

In this episode

- The four layers: the layer you see, the layer that fills, the layer low down, and the layer that works
- Why a grid of downlights is one layer, and why that room feels flat
- Wimbledon: the pendants in the entry void, the artwork wall, the powder room that comes on by itself, and the strip at night
- Step one: count the four layers room by room on the plan
- Step two: add the three moves most plans miss, wayfinder wall lights, a light for the artwork, and a powder room on its own sensor
- Step three: get all of it on the electrical plan before plaster
- Wall lights in pairs: a nice feature where it suits, never a rule

The one question to ask your electrician

Which of the four layers does this room have on the plan?

Free lighting guide

Room by room, layer by layer. Grab it before your electrician comes out.

https://www.msndevelopments.com.au/light-guide?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=ceiling_s1

Mani · MSN Developments · floor plans and builds, Melbourne

Before the ceiling closes · Season 2 · Episode 5 · Mani, MSN Developments

New tiles, new stone, new tapware, and the ensuite still feels like a hospital. Mani from MSN Developments explains why it was never the tiles, and the three layers of light that make a bathroom feel like a five star hotel.

In this episode
- Why one downlight in the middle of the ceiling feels clinical, and why it is a layer problem, not a tile problem
- The Wimbledon ensuite: a light at eye level beside the vanity, and three layers you can choose between
- What Danish said on his first free Strategy Call about removing a downlight
- Step one. The working layer: a small downlight above the vanity and mirror, light on your face with no shadow under the eyes
- Step two. Eye level: a backlit mirror, a wall light, or a light in the shower niche
- Step three. A hidden strip under the vanity so it floats, the cheapest layer and the one that feels like a hotel
- Why the third layer needs a concealed power point and a shadow line in the joinery before plaster
- Motion sensor on the vanity strip: night only
- Wall lights in a pair as a feature, a pendant over a basin is fine

The one question to ask your electrician
Is there a concealed power point and a transformer provision under the vanity on the plan?

Free lighting guide
Grab it before your electrician comes out:
https://www.msndevelopments.com.au/light-guide?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=ceiling_s1

Mani · MSN Developments · floor plans and builds, Melbourne

Before the ceiling closes · Season 2 · Episode 4 · Mani, MSN Developments

Three pendants drawn over the island bench, and nobody asks what they are for. Mani explains why he leaves the island clear, where a pendant actually earns its place, and the three moves to make on the plan before rough in.

In this episode
- Why pendants over the island are not practical: they hide the stone and cut the room in half
- Wimbledon: no pendants over the Tundra Grey island, LED strip underneath, and drop down pendants in the entry void where they have a real job
- Step one: double cans over the island, about three hundred mil wide, not skinny ones. Recessed, three thousand K, warm
- Step two: LED strip under the bench to kill the shadow and wash the stone at night. Motion sensor set to night only
- Step three: task light where you actually work, then find every pendant on the plan and name its job. No job, it becomes a can
- Where a pendant is right: dining table, powder room basin, over a bed, in a void
- It is how Mani builds, and a designer may differ

The one question
Ask your electrician, or whoever drew the plan: which fitting is over the island right now, and what is it doing?

Free lighting guide
Grab it before your electrician comes out:
https://www.msndevelopments.com.au/light-guide?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=ceiling_s1

Mani · MSN Developments · floor plans and builds, Melbourne

Before the ceiling closes · Season 2 · Episode 2 · Mani, MSN Developments

A ceiling of evenly spaced downlights is not a lighting design, it is the absence of one. Mani walks through the five signs your plan is a grid, the ten minute test to run with your plan open, and the three steps to fix it before the electrician marks the ceiling.

In this episode
- Why most lighting layouts are spaced, not designed, and why it is too late once the plaster is up
- The quick test: point at any three lights and say what each one is for
- Five signs your plan is a grid: rows, lights aimed at the room not at anything in it, lighting decided after the build started, the brightest lights over the bedrooms, everything all on or all off
- Danish, on his first free Strategy Call: ten downlights in one space, down to four
- Step one: point at three lights and name the job
- Step two: take off every light with no job, then look at what is actually dark
- Step three: keep recessed cans only where they earn it, over a bench, in a shower, over a vanity, and decide it before the ceiling closes
- Recessed versus flush: why a flush downlight reads like a pancake

The one question to ask your electrician
Can you tell me what each of these lights is for? If the answer is a pause, it is a grid.

Free lighting guide
Grab it before your electrician comes out:
https://www.msndevelopments.com.au/light-guide?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=ceiling_s1

Mani · MSN Developments · floor plans and builds, Melbourne

Before the ceiling closes · Season 2 · Episode 3 · Mani, MSN Developments

Mixed colour temperatures ruin more good lighting plans than any other mistake. Mani walks through the three numbers, why three thousand K is the one, and the three steps to lock it in before you order a single fitting.

In this episode
- The ladder: twenty seven hundred K reads yellow and dated, four thousand K feels like an office, three thousand K is natural white.
- Pick three thousand K for every room, every fitting, every strip, and pair it with natural white paint, never bright white.
- Why the mismatch happens in most new homes: downlights, strip and bathroom mirror all come from different places and nobody checks the number.
- Wimbledon, the St Kilda East duplex: natural white paint, warm moody lighting, and the stone and the island strip glowing at night.
- Danish on his first free Strategy Call: "More is not always the best, every light should have a purpose."
- Step one: write three thousand K next to every fitting on the schedule.
- Step two: ask the supplier to confirm it in writing.
- Step three: check the strip, the wall lights and the bathroom, the ones that slip through.
- Mani's caveat: this is his taste, three independent sources agree, a good designer may see your house differently.

The one question
What colour temperature is written next to every fitting on my schedule?

Free lighting guide
Grab it before your electrician comes out:
https://www.msndevelopments.com.au/light-guide?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=ceiling_s1

Mani · MSN Developments · floor plans and builds, Melbourne

Title: Light the objects, not the room

Short description:
Most new homes get a grid of downlights, and the stone, the artwork and the view all end up lit the same. Mani from MSN Developments explains why he lights objects, not rooms, how to pick one hero per space, and the one question to ask your electrician before the ceiling closes.

In this episode
- Why a grid of downlights makes a new home feel flat
- Light the objects, not the room: the room is lit as a consequence
- Wimbledon, St Kilda East: the eye goes to the landscaping, the drop down pendants in the entry void, and the Tundra Grey stone
- Why a light bar over the kitchen bench blocks the hero
- Step 1: pick one hero per space, the stone, the artwork wall, the pendant in the void, or the view to the garden
- Step 2: light the objects, wash the stone, light the artwork
- Step 3: keep everything else quieter, and put the points on the plan before the ceiling closes

The one question for your electrician:
What is the hero in this room, and which light on the plan is for it? If nobody can point to it, it is not on the plan.

Free lighting guide:
Every room in the house.
https://www.msndevelopments.com.au/light-guide?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=ceiling_s1

Mani · MSN Developments · floor plans and builds, Melbourne

Title: The 2am walk to the fridge

Short description:
You walk into the kitchen at 2am and the last thing you want is every downlight in your face. Mani from MSN Developments shares the three step lighting fix he builds into his homes, and the one question to ask your electrician before the ceiling closes.

In this episode
- Why lighting is the most underrated decision in a new build
- Step 1: an LED strip under the island bench, to cut the shadow and make your stone stand out at night
- Step 2: a motion sensor set to night only, so you never hunt for a switch and it never fires in the daytime
- Step 3: put both on the electrical plan, with a power point and a shadow line in the joinery, before the ceiling closes
- What we did at Wimbledon, St Kilda East
- Layered lighting: a bright layer for cooking, a soft layer for walking through at night

The one question for your electrician:
Is the strip on the plan, with a power point and a night only sensor? If the answer is a pause, it is not.

Free lighting guide:
Every room in the house, kitchen, bathroom and hallway.
https://www.msndevelopments.com.au/light-guide?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=audio&utm_campaign=ceiling_s1

Mani · MSN Developments · floor plans and builds, Melbourne

With inflation soaring and the central bank raising interest rates, many are wondering about the relationship between unemployment and inflation. I explain the original Phillips curve and how it was debunked in the 70's. Finally, I explain what the new Phillips curve says. 

Full video: https://youtu.be/RNPyrIsgCdg

#phillipscurve #unemploymentandinflation

More videos: 

 When was US inflation LAST this HIGH? - https://youtu.be/kxFes-Hil7c

 The Inflation Reduction Act  - https://youtu.be/_y9VVm8Ee3s

Social: 

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manraj.nijjar11/

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manraj.nijjar

 Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manraj.nijjar1

 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-manraj-nijjar-show

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManrajNijjar1

 Podcast: https://manrajnijjarshow.buzzsprout.com/

Over the past few decades wage growth has been very slow. I explain why this is an issue given how inflation is soaring. I give two potential explanations: decentralised labour markets (enterprise bargaining) and slow productivity growth. 

Full video: https://youtu.be/_JkShN7ZeCY

 More videos: 

When was US inflation LAST this HIGH? - https://youtu.be/kxFes-Hil7c 

The Inflation Reduction Act -  https://youtu.be/_y9VVm8Ee3s 

Social:

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manraj.nijjar11/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manraj.nijjar 

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manraj.nijjar1 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-manraj-nijjar-show 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManrajNijjar1 

Podcast: https://manrajnijjarshow.buzzsprout.com/

The inflation reduction act was recently signed. But behind the confusing name and the range of different policies included, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what the impact of this bill will be. I give a simplified explanation of what this bill is about. How it won't really affect inflation, and how it's mainly a climate change bill. Finally I explain how this bill will be paid for: via additional taxes on firms and a big budget upgrade for the IRS. 

Full video: https://youtu.be/_y9VVm8Ee3s

#inflationreductionact #consumerprices #inflationnews 

More videos: 

  Why construction costs are NOT going DOWN! - https://youtu.be/CMxCk-9xkqw

  When was US inflation LAST this HIGH? - https://youtu.be/kxFes-Hil7c

Social: 

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manraj.nijjar11/

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manraj.nijjar

  Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manraj.nijjar1

  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-manraj-nijjar-show

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/ManrajNijjar1

  Podcast: https://manrajnijjarshow.buzzsprout.com/