Stage two: fix the length of the hallway cove run
Run the tape along the trough itself, not the floor. Add up the straight sections and returns, then walk it again and confirm the total. That number is the spine of everything after it.
Only now look at cut points. Many strips can be cut at designated points and reconnected with compatible connectors or by soldering, depending on the product. Read the interval published for the item you intend to buy and plan every cut to land on one. A return corner falling mid-interval is a decision made here.
Stage three: specify the strip, the channel and the control
A cove throws light at a usually white ceiling, so medium output often does more than high. One option, with watts per foot, CRI, tape width, lumens per foot and cut interval read off the listing and verified, is the COB 300 Series at medium output. Browse the LED strip lights collection with the trough dimensions in hand.
A channel gives the run a straight, screw-fixed line down a wall that may not be straight itself. It helps dissipate heat generated in normal running and reduces, but does not guarantee the loss of, visible dots. Three things decide how far they show: LED density on the tape, the depth of the channel, and the diffuser type. It is not mandatory. If the cove will be dimmed, confirm compatibility across strip, driver and control first.
Stage four: size the driver and plan the parallel feeds
With the length fixed at stage two the arithmetic is simple: published watts per foot across the installed footage, then at least a further 20 percent of current headroom, then a driver with enough rated output from the power supply listings, both verified.
Put numbers through it. If the published figure is 2.5 watts per foot and the corridor comes to 28 installed feet, that is 70 watts, and 20 percent on top means drivers rated 84 watts and above. Take that figure off the product page, never off this paragraph.
Check the marked voltage on all three purchases before ordering. Tape, supply and control have to agree, and on a run like this that means 24V stated at each.
Then draw the feeds. Constant voltage strip wires in parallel, each segment carried back on its own pair, never chained end to end. On a long hallway that means feeding from both ends, or two legs meeting at a central driver. Our note on voltage drop explains why the far end dims otherwise.
Stage five: prep, dry fit, mount and wire
Vacuum and degrease inside the trough. Fresh plaster dust is the commonest reason a cove run lets go weeks later, and adhesive behavior varies with product and substrate, so do what the manufacturer instruction says.
Dry fit before committing. Lay the channel in unfixed, sight down the corridor from the far door, and adjust until the line is straight to the eye rather than to the plaster. Then screw it down, seat the strip and land the feeds.
Power comes at the end of this stage, and it stops at a line. The breaker feeding the hallway lighting circuit goes off first, and the electrician confirms which one. The hardwired driver, the ceiling junction box, the switch loop, the switch or dimmer box at the wall and any in-wall cable are the licensed electrician's scope, worked to the manufacturer instructions supplied with each device, to whatever local electrical code requires, and to the NEC where it has been adopted. Nothing here asks you to open an energized box or read a line voltage conductor. Take none of this as clearance for line voltage work.
Stage six: commission before the trough is closed
Power up with the lid still off. Walk the full length twice, once looking at the ceiling and once straight ahead, checking for a bright patch at each feed, a dim tail at the far end, and anywhere the strip shows from standing height.
Fix what you find while the trough is open, then dim it and check the run behaves evenly. Label both feed legs, leave a service loop, and only then close up. If the corridor runs past 30 feet or turns a corner, bring the hallway measurements to LED Club before ordering. The room level view is in our hallway lighting guide.
