Installing or changing light fixture should be quite easy to do. Many people are concerned about handling electricity devices and they may be reluctant to install or change anything that is powered with electricity. Light fixtures are available in some many varieties. We could find different sizes, shapes, finishes and colors. Glass, wood, metal and plastic are quite common in modern fixtures. Fixtures can be purchased in lighting specialty stores, Big Box stores and hardware stores. However, we should be aware that box stores don’t always provide us with the kind of service that we want. We should be able to find many $5.99 light fixtures in many places. In specialty stores, we could find many top of the line models, such as 8 feet high chandelier for the dining room and main hallway that can be around $8000. Specialty stores could be in line with our needs if we have huge budget. However, new DYI-ers shouldn’t try something more complicated and they need to start with more affordable models, such as jelly jar unit.
First of all we need to unpack the light fixture and check if everything is already included. Other than the fixture, we also need mounting plate, screws, assembly instructions, wire nuts and others. Other tools that we need, but not included with the fixture, are current tester, flat nosed pliers, wire stripper, screw driver and side cutters. Safety is the most important factor and we will need to disable the power breaker at the primary electrical panel. We may be experienced enough and do things carefully, but accidents do happen. We shouldn’t take chances and by disabling the power breaker, we will be able to work more easily. After the electricity no longer flows, we can remove the old light fixture safely. We can do this by removing the bolts and screws that hold the fixture. We will also need to remove ground straps and wire nuts. In some cases, the mounting bracket is identical, especially if we purchase the fixture from the same manufacturer. If the bracket is still solidly attached, we can use it and this will save time and effort.
The bare copper wire of the fixture should be connected to the copper ground wire, located in the gem box. Other providing some support while we work, this will ground the fixture. Use flat nosed pliers to twist the end of the black fixture wires and we should connect it with the black power wire. We should repeat this procedure with the white wire. In this situation, the fixture should already be wired properly. Often, we could simply screw the new bulb and turn on the fixture. If we accidentally cross the wire, the breaker will kick off and this because the electrical box is short-circuited. In this case, we will need to check our work, by turning the breaker off. It should be quite easy to handle the fixture installation and change. The instruction manual should also be quite easy to follow, so we shouldn’t be too concerned with the whole process.