I just finished framing a riser platform for the second row of seating. I want to run lights under each step (2 in the front, and 1 in the back). I am leaning towards rope lights and I want them to be the same as the rope lights I put in the tray ceiling.

Can someone point me in the right direction? I would love to have them all on a dimmer. I do not have a strong electronic background so if you can point me to a product that would be great. I have romex running to the back of the tray for the rope lighting - can I hardwire it on a dimmer or do I need the plug in rope lights? If i use the plug in, am I SOL on the dimmer?

I put a blue rope light around my riser edge (12ft), and it's not bright enough to worry about dimming. If they are indeed dimmable you could use an x-10 module.

Where did you order the rope light?

If you are using standard incandescent rope light, you can dim them no problem with a standard dimmer. You'd simply put outlets where you want the rope lights to plug in and have those outlets controlled by the dimmer. You then plug the rope light into the outlet.

I have two outlets on my riser and one on my soffit all controlled by the same dimmer (Grafik Eye) for my rope lights. I have rope lights around the perimeter of my riser as a step light (with the outlet in front and hidden by the first row of chairs), under the third row bar for accent lighting, and behind some crown molding along the perimeter of the ceiling.

Don't overlook the opportunity to use step lights instead of rope lights if you are talking about just lighting up the steps for safety.

The idea is that I want a glow similar if not identical to what is going to be up in the tray.

I saw a post a while back where someone sanded down the plastic tubes and put some kind of reflector in the tube and at a distance it gave almost a "solid beam of light" feel vs. plain old rope lighting.

Can someone walk me thru this process, where to buy the materials, and have the steps and tray on the same dimmer?

Thanks in advance:D

If you are using standard incandescent rope light, you can dim them no problem with a standard dimmer. You'd simply put outlets where you want the rope lights to plug in and have those outlets controlled by the dimmer. You then plug the rope light into the outlet.

I have two outlets on my riser and one on my soffit all controlled by the same dimmer (Grafik Eye) for my rope lights. I have rope lights around the perimeter of my riser as a step light (with the outlet in front and hidden by the first row of chairs), under the third row bar for accent lighting, and behind some crown molding along the perimeter of the ceiling.

controlling an outlet with a dimmer is asking for trouble; don't plug in a vacuum cleaner :)

I had romex running from the light switch (dimmer switch) over to the riser. I then cut the plug off the rope lighting and connected it to the romex with the screw connecting end extending thru the riser. After carperting, its just a matter of screwing the rope light connections together. The lip of your riser, steps will keep the light under and create the glow effect that you are looking for.

http://www.tomweigel.com/pictures/ht/ht2.jpg

I put a blue rope light around my riser edge (12ft), and it's not bright enough to worry about dimming. If they are indeed dimmable you could use an x-10 module.

The blue lighting may be different but I was suprised how much effect my rope lighting did have on the screen when not dimmed.

Of course its not so bad that it was readily noticable until someone knowing more about it pointed it out to me by pausing a dark movie scene and then adjusting the brigtness up and down. I could then see that the blacks were better on the screen with it dimmed.