Hesitant Handyman Repairs - Replacing a Flush Mount Light Fixture
Hard to look at
Sometimes you come into a room, look up at the ceiling and think, “that’s a dang ugly fixture. What was the contractor thinking?” Let’s be honest–most new construction homes are cookie cutter, with the contractor burning through several pallets of the same fixture over and over. This is best illustrated by the time one of our light covers was stuck and I needed to consider breaking it to change the light bulb–after exerting way too much effort trying to rip it loose, I came to the conclusion that it was a possibility that I could find an identical cover at our local Habitat ReStore. And you know what? They had a whole stack of them. $2 apiece. Sold.
Time for a change
All that to say, sometimes you just want a new fixture. When my wife and I moved into our home, we had an idea that we wanted to do a DIY project on based on something she’d seen on Pinterest In the laundry room–a beautiful, beaded contraption with light pouring out through crystal beads. We picked up a ReStore light fixture with the intention of remaking it as her vision, but the project kept getting shoved into the back burner. And then it happened–we stumbled across exactly what Amanda wanted on a clearance shelf at our local Home Depot–originally $75.00, marked down to $17.00. the spool of beads alone would’ve been roughly the same cost, so we said “let’s just grab this and be done with it.”. (sometimes it’s better to buy a clearance fixture than it is trying to craft the entire piece yourself…)
How I did it
Disclaimer
Working with electricity is dangerous–always consult with a qualified electrician before tackling electrical projects in your home, and follow manufacturer’s detailed installation instructions as well as local codes.
Most DIY projects involve risk of some sort. Your tools, materials, and skills will vary, as will the conditions at your project site. The Hesitant Handyman has made every effort to be complete and accurate in the instructions provided on this content. The Hesitant Handyman will not assume any responsibility or liability for damages or losses sustained or incurred in the course of your project or in the use of the item you create. Always follow the manufacturer’s operating instructions in the use of tools, installation instructions for your fixtures, check and follow your local building codes, and observe all commonly accepted safety precautions.
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Required supplies
- Light fixture (obviously)
- Wire nuts (sometimes these are included in the packaging for the light fixture, so double check)
- Electrical tape
- New bulbs (Note: This link is for the specifc type of bulbs I used in the fixture I bought–make sure you pick the bulbs that fit the fixture you buy)
Required tools
- Screwdrivers (usually a Phillips and a flathead at minimum. If your contractor was really feeling kinky, you might find a square head in your old fixture. We’ll get to that later.)
- Wire cutters
- Non-contact voltage tester
Step 1 – Kill the power
Look, this should be obvious, but if it’s not–trying to change out electrical fixtures without first cutting power at the breaker is a bad idea. If the idea of shutting off power at a breaker is a foreign concept to you at this point, I’m guessing you’ve disregarded the part where I told you to consult with a qualified electrician–stop what you’re doing, go back and do that, please. It’s better for all of us.
Step 1A – Make sure the power is off
As obvious as the last one should be, I’m also a wee bit paranoid when it comes right down to it, and I don’t touch a dang thing until I’m sure there’s no power. using the non-contact voltage tester I check to make sure it doesn’t tell me there’s juice in any of the lines in my fixture. If for any reason your voltage tester tells you there’s power, go back and make sure you turned off the right breaker.
Step 2 – Pull the old fixture
So this was fun for me because it was obvious a couple things happened here previously.
- the contractor who built our home put the fixture on too soon after painting (as some of the insulation from the old fixture was stuck to the ceiling)
- The contractor who built our home also had a habit of losing screws for his outlets and replacing them with whatever was lying around. I’ve found just about every variety of screw you can imagine in the weirdest places, and the most common one was a square head drywall screw. I’ve found them in a switch, two outlets, and during this project in the mounting plate for the existing fixture.
I first pulled the glass dome off of it, which gave me access to the bulbs (which, as it happens, were the only CFLs left in the house–I thought I’d pulled them all when we moved in, but no, apparently not). I pulled out the old bulbs, which gave me access to the mounting screws, which were the square headed ones I mentioned previously. I don’t know why this dude had so many square head screws. Maybe he was a former Kreg employee?
Once the mounting screws were loosened, I was about to pull the fixture off to reveal the wiring. The wires were connected by wire nuts, but I just cut them off and stripped the wire ends for the new fixture.
Step 3 – install the new fixture
So the first piece with the fixture I bought was the crossbar–it mounted across the mounting holes used by the previous fixture, being a slightly larger fixture than the original one.
Once that was installed, I proceeded to wire everything up. Hot to hot, neutral to neutral, ground to ground.
Once it was wired, I attached the fixture to the mounting pins on the bracket, then installed the new candelabra bulbs into it. After going back to the downstairs and reactivating the circuit, I came back upstairs to see if it worked, which yes, it did in fact work.
