Installing a Chandelier
Here are the steps to installing a ceiling light fixture in one of the possible ways. Melissa tells me it's not actually a chandelier, but ANY ceiling fixture can be installed this way. I don't usually do it by wiring to the floor above but many do, so I did this one that way to show how it's done.First, here's the fixture we wish to install. Notice it has a VERY long wire on it, with a plug. I'm not going to need all of that.Before trying to chase down a problem (if we encounter one) I want to eliminate one possibility up front. I TEST the fixture. I'm removed the unfinished and unattached fireplace because I have a plug behind it. I use this with the plug on the fixture to "test" the fixture to be sure it's in working order.The light works, so now we'll get to work. FIRST TURN THE POWER OFF OR DISCONNECT IT ENTIRELY. I drill a couple of holes where I plan to put the wires thru from the ceiling below to the floor above.This part is scary for some. I cut the wires off leaving only a bit more than I think I'll need. I save the cut off wire with the plug still attached for later use in building a home made lamp or other light of some kind.Then I carefully seperate the two wires.And carefully strip the insulation off of the wires. (Note, sometimes its easier to push the wires thru the holes unstripped, but then harder to strip them because you have less room to work on stripping them and they cannot move then. With the fixture loose, I can do this outside of the dollhouse.I push the wires up through the holes I drilled earlier.At this point I go ahead and attach the fixture to the ceiling so that the weight of it will not be pulling on the wires as I finish the installation.Now we have one small problem. We decided to put the light in a slightly different place than we originally had planned. So there's no tape at the location of the wires. But you can see there IS a tape running nearby. A short scrap of tape will correct this. Here I've put in down but it has no power yet. But that's one of the great things about tape wiring. It's so very easy to extend the power to wherever you need it even if you didn't plan it perfectly.Now it has power as you can see by the four brads connecting it to the tape I put it across. And I turned the power on in order to test that the NEW tape does indeed have power. Once I'm sure it does, I turn it back off before proceeding. By checking each step you're unlikely to have any problem locating a mistake. Because there is never very MUCH you changed. Only one thing.Now I've added two more small brads. One into each conductor in the new tape and very near the wires coming up from below. I put these brads in MOST of the way and carefully wrapped the bare wires around them (one at a time) and THEN pushed the brads the remaining way into the wood. This makes a good connection for each wire. One on each conductor.Now I simply turn the power back on. And smile as the fixture lights up the room it's in. At this point it's installed. Many stop here, but I add one more step.Just to decrease any chance of the connection to the tape going bad by tugging on the fixture, or corrosion or any other movement over time I usually solder the two connections to the wires. When dong it this way the lights are likely to function properly for years and years. It's not a bad idea, and I just consider it insurance.So there you have it. I tried to photograph every single step and not leave anything out. Hope it helps anyone wishing to use this method to install ceiling fixtures. There are other methods. This is just one.Compliments of DarrellandMelissa
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