I want to light a closed stone column from inside — how do I get the depth right before I order?
My stone column is closed on all sides and I want to light it from inside — how much room do I need behind the stone? There is no single depth to copy from a flat wall. The flat-wall bands are a starting point only, so test a closed section in your real stone before you commit.
Why a closed column behaves differently
Inside a closed column, sheets sit on the inner faces and light outward from every side. Each face must read evenly alone, and evenly against its neighbours.
Corners fail first. A gap, a misaligned edge, or a sheet stopping short of the corner leaves a dark line up the column. Decide where each sheet ends before ordering, and check corners lit, through stone, along the full height.
Seams need the same check. Sheets can be spliced for a larger face, held by their 3M adhesive backing, but a raised splice or lifted edge can read as a stripe through thin or veined stone. Judge faces lit, from the viewer’s distance, along seams and corners — not just at the centre.
Allow for thickness, too. The glowing area is 1.6mm thick; the connector stands 5.6mm proud. Allow 6mm at the connector and 2mm at the glowing area, and move a connector off a corner or seam rather than squeezing it in.
What depth should I start from?
For flat stone, start from 30–50mm for high-density sheets and around 50mm for standard-density sheets — and stop there. Inside a column, faces sit close together, stone is viewed from all sides, and small differences in thickness or veining show up across the whole column at once.
Read how distance hides LED dots behind stone and acrylic for the flat-wall background, then test those bands in your own closed section, with the same sheet and layout you plan to build. Without that test, one face can show dots while the faces together look uneven.
How do I wire several faces without sealing the driver in?
Size the driver for all faces together, and confirm that combined load before ordering. BG-2002 is single-colour, 288 LEDs, 610×305mm, 30W; BG-0318 is RGBCCT, 2835, 640 LEDs, 490×245mm, 24V, 50W, 2700K and 6000K whites, 6 cores (V+/R/G/B/warm/cool); BG-0313 is RGBW, 512 LEDs, 45W, 5 cores, white only as 3000K or 6000K. Choose the finished light first, then wire for that sheet.
Keep the driver outside the column, or behind a removable panel at the base or top, where it can be checked or replaced without taking stone down. Never seal it inside with no access, and agree that access point before the stone goes up.
What about heat inside a sealed column?
Air cannot move freely inside a sealed box, and heat from several lit faces builds in the same small volume. Allow an air path where the design permits, do not pack filler hard against the lit faces, and judge the closed sample again after it has been running a while — not only at switch-on.
What should my sample actually prove?
Build a small version of the real column, and check it the way it will be viewed:
- Real stone, at the real thickness and finish
- Closed section, with corners and seams
- Planned sheet type, laid out face by face
- Every joint lit and viewed from the viewer’s distance
- All faces wired together, driver in its accessible position
- Closed up, run as it will be used, then judged again
If the sample shows dots, a dark corner line, or one face brighter than the next, change the layout or sheet and test again. A second sample round is far cheaper than rebuilding a finished column.
See the full range on the flexible PCB LED light sheets main product page.
FAQ
Can I use the flat-wall distance directly for a closed column?
No. Use 30–50mm for high-density sheets and around 50mm for standard-density sheets only as a starting point, then test a closed section in your own stone.
Why do corners go dark inside a column?
Usually a sheet stops short of the corner, sheets do not line up at the joint, or a raised connector pushes a sheet out of plane.
Where should the driver go?
Outside the column, or behind a removable panel that stays reachable after installation. Confirm the combined load of all faces before ordering.
Which sheet suits a column?
BG-2002 for a single colour, BG-0318 for RGBCCT with 2700K and 6000K whites, BG-0313 for RGBW with white only as 3000K or 6000K.
Request a quote or a sample
Send the stone type, thickness and finish, the column shape, and the light you want, and request a quote or a sample. A sample built as a closed section, in your stone, settles depth, corners, and evenness before the full column is built.