I've installed three toilets and two light fixtures in the last month. The toilets were the big deal for me. They're big. They're heavy. It involved plumbing...this was a big deal...to me.
My friends kept telling me just how easy it was to un-install a toilet and put a new one in. I finally broke down and did it. It got old flushing three to five times every time we used one. I'm not sure this is what they had in mind when they changed toilets from 3 gallon to 1.6 gallons.
So I put one toilet in that advertises, "You can flush 36 golf balls in one flush!". That little experiment cost me more in golf balls than the toilet did...
But we love the new toilets. We love our two new light fixtures. I feel like I'm not kind of the incredibly simple, yet to the uninformed outsider - kind of impressive, home repair!
Now if I could just get this hanging lamp installed. It has this old wire box (not really sure what you call it) that I'm trying to hook it up to and it doesn't fit. Not really sure what's next???
Bragg???
Did the new light fixture come with a bracket that attaches to the old box, which has bolt patterns for the new fixture? It would be a slotted metal plate with two machine screws hanging off the end...
ReplyDeleteBTW, what kind of "Hanging light fixture" is it? If it's a ceiling fan, you'll need to upgrade the electrical box to hold the weight.
Other than that, I kind of need more description of the old wire box. Is it square, rectangle, round, lengths/diameter (in inches please)?
WOW, Bragg ~ You are talkin' a language MOST Murphy's would flunk if it were a class.
ReplyDeleteyup - it has a bracket
ReplyDeletenope - it's just for a hanging lamp - no fan
it's a round box that's only about an inch or inch and a half deep and 3 1/4" in diameter...so there's no real place to put extra wires. I have no idea how to work with it....
so what would you recommend big fella?
trim as much wire from the light fixture as possible without cutting too short. The fixture should have a canopy which will allow the extra wire to sit in and not take up the space in your box.
ReplyDeleteA pancake box is perfectly fine to use, and the fixtures always come with too much wire to trim for hanging, so cut and fit.
Once you snip the wire to the correct length, you'll need to strip the end of the wire. Use a sharp pocket knife or utility knife to score around the insulation about 1/2-3/4" from the end and slip it off. Your newly shortened wire will now connect to the wire in the pancake box via the wire nuts supplied with the fixture.
Any other questions and give me a call. I'll be driving back through West Chester late tomorrow morning, early afternoon.