How To Install a Light Fixture

Recently I installed a new light fixture in our bathroom, and although I almost find this as a routine chore, I also realize that this change can be quite intimidating to many people who have never had any experience with electrical wiring. The first and most important principal when working with electricity is to always make sure you turn the power off to the wires you will be working on. To repeat, turn the power off. If you are changing an old light with a new light fixture, then make sure you have a good light bulb in the old light fixture, and that it is working so you can visually see when you have turned the power off. Every house has a main breaker panel with either switches or fuses. Leave the light fixture turned on, and then locate the switch or fuse which controls that light fixture, and after you have switched it off, you should be able to verify that the light has indeed gone out. Now, for your safety, place a piece of tape over that switch so that you, and nobody else will accidentally turn the circuit back on, until you are ready. If there are other people in the house, let them know not to remove your tape for your safety.

Now, as a second measure of safety, locate the wall switch that turned on this light, and after you turn the switch to the off position, then do the same with placing a piece of tape over the switch in the off position. With this method, you should now have two levels of protection safely switched off on your old light fixture. You should be able to see once again that your old light is currently turned off and ready for dismantling.

On the other hand, if you are installing a new light fixture on a new wiring circuit without an existing old light fixture, then you will want to take an additional safety precaution. For about $25 you can purchase a voltage tester, as show in the picture. With this device, you can press the lever on the device and it can sense any live voltage just by getting it close to the wires. It does not need to actually touch any wires, just to get close with the tip of the instrument, and if there is electricity then the device will light up and beep an audible alert as to live wires. This item can be purchased at any major hardware or building supply store that carries electrical wiring, meters and other supplies. There is no need to use a meter and touch any wires with your bare hands, if you use this simple device for a nominal cost.

If you still feel you want another level of safety, then always wear a good pair of leather gloves when working with wires. You should probably not choose a thick leather glove, like a winter glove, but a standard leather only glove that you can freely move and handle wiring while wearing the gloves. The leather will give you an extra insulation layer which will stop any possible electricity from entering your body if you should touch the bare copper wiring with your hands. So I have provided you with several methods of general safety when working with electrical wiring, and you should be able to work safe all of the time.

As we move onto the next phase of our project, if you have an existing light fixture, you need to remove it from the fixed installation. Start by removing all of the light bulbs. This is important because it is likely that you would break these during the removal of the old light fixture, and you do not want to deal with the safety hazard of broken glass. So remove all of the light bulbs and store them in a safe place away from you work area. Next, if your old light has glass light bulb shades, then remove each of those as well. On a typical bathroom vanity light, there are three screws at the top, or bottom of where the glass shade sets into the fixture. Carefully hold the glass piece with one hand, while removing the screws with the other hand. Soon you should be able to remove these glass shades, and store them in a safe location away from you work area. Next, there should be some screw, or nuts which hold the fixture to the wall. These nuts may be cleverly constructed to look like a square, or a small ball. If you are not sure, read the rest of this article first to see how our new light is installed, and then just follow those similar steps in reverse order to remove the existing light fixture. In this case, well assume that you were able to unscrew your old light fixture, then disconnect the wire connecting the old light fixture, and remove the old mounting plate for that light fixture.