Home Improvement Thread

[RyDogg66]

I own an old home, over 100 years old. In my kitchen I have two giant flourescant light fixtures. My wife wants new fixtures (three pendant lights at each spot). I have no experience with electricity, is this something I can do by myself or do I need to hire someone. If I do need to hire someone, do they need to be an electrician? Or just a handyman type? For clarification, I would be installing a fixture in a place where there is already another fixture, so I would assume I wouldnt need to rewire the entire thing, just connect?

[1992casey]

If everything is up to snuff, you'd just turn off the circuit breaker and hook up positive to positive, neutral to neutral, and ground to ground. In a 100 year old house, however, you might find that the wiring might not be up to snuff. I'd start by checking the requirements in the directions that come with the new fixtures.

[JimH5]

Ceiling fixtures can be a chore. Some things to be mindful of. . .

 

Is the new fixture heavy? Someone's got to hold it while the other person makes the electrical connections & mounts it.

 

Is the existing electrical up to code? Is it grounded? Is there a box holding the wires? Is the box properly installed structurally. . .can it hold the new fixture?

 

I've done a couple of them over the years, and sometimes it's a 15 minute job, and another time it could take much longer. . .

 

Hope yours goes smoothly!

[GoudaBrew]

I didn't have any experience in home improvement projects before we bought our home either, but I've done a couple of light fixtures. Being that your house is quite old, you might have knob and tube wiring. I would watch a few instructional Youtube videos on how it's done and see where your confidence is after that. Also, ask friends. Someone might be more than happy to lend you a hand. Electricians charge around $75-100 an hour so it could add up if your doing three fixtures.

[mothershipconnection]

You pretty much need to take the old one out before you'll know. If you have modern wiring and are either installing a fixture that weighs less than the old one, or have a brace in your ceiling to support significant weight, installing new lighting is super easy. If your wiring is old-fashioned or you're trying to install something really big and heavy, the job could be anywhere from mildly challenging to a gigantic pain that you'd rather hire a pro for.

 

ALWAYS SWITCH THE BREAKER OFF OR REMOVE THE FUSE BEFORE YOU WORK ON FIXTURES.

[RyDogg66]

Thanks for the pointers and ideas. The new fixtures dont look to be heavy at all, and no heavier than what is currently up. That being said, our house is full of knob and tube wiring, since the fixtures are only going to be about $160, I have decided to bite the bullet and hire a professional. I will be able to sleep better at night knowing the job is done right.

 

Now...back to focusing on building my backyard ice rink.