I had some free time this week and decided to tackle a project that I've been meaning to do for a while.
The kitchen lights have always looked weird. I mean just check them out... They look like a pair of boobs hanging down from the ceiling.
They might not have been so bad if they were the same size. But the one in the center is larger than the one by the window. It makes my kitchen ceiling look like it went to a plastic surgeon for a boob job and ran out of money half way through the procedure..
It's just awkward all around. So I decided they needed to be replaced. In addition to improved looks, both lights were also the old incandescent style which isn't very energy efficient. So upgrading to LED lights will not only be visually more appealing but also save money in the long run.
The first issue was deciding what to replace the unfortunate fixtures with. So I hit up Lowes, Home Depot and a few other local suppliers for some options.
I found some decent ones and some shall we say not so decent ones...
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| Who lives in a Pineapple Lamp under the sea? Spounge Bob DIYpants! |
Not sure if this is a light disguised as a joke or a joke of a light fixture! Ultimately I ended up deciding that the fixture below would work well above the sink by the window. I also decided to move the smaller fixture from above the sink to the center of the room, until I found a suitable replacement.
After getting home, getting the fixture assembled on my table and removing the old one above the sink it was time to put things up. I then went to the fuse box and shut off the power to the kitchen.
First step was to add in the new base/mount as it was different from the old fixture and to pull the wires down through the center opening.
Wiring was thankfully pretty simple. Black wires to black wires, then tied together with a twist and held securely with a wire screw/cap. Repeat for the white and ground wires. Although with the ground wires
Things were going swimmingly and with quite a bit of ease. I was pretty confident I could wrap this up after a bit and be on to the next project.
Once it was all wired I wanted to ensure it was working as expected so I went to the fuse box and flicked on the power.
Success!!! I then shut the power off as it was time to mount the base of the light to the mount I had put in earlier. This particular fixture has two machine bolts that hang down, you lift the base up and they come through the base and then nuts are put on to hold the fixture securely to the ceiling.
I fought with the damn thing for nearly thirty minutes before coming to a realization.
The bolts included were not long enough to reach down from the mount and through the base. This presented me with two options. Either A, go and buy longer bolts. or B enlarge the hole in the ceiling where the fixture is hanging from.
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| 4 Inch Opening |
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| 4 and 1/2 inch base |
Each presented problems. If I opted to enlarge the opening I'd have to do it by a half an inch and keep it aligned with the bolts that hang down from the mount presently. This typically is done with a jab saw. The downside is if I screwed it up, I'd then have to patch and fix the damage I would have caused.
Instead I opted to go and find longer machine bolts to connect the mount to the base. One quick trip to the Home Depot later and I came back with bolts were easily long enough to poke down through the base.
This however required me to take down the fixture, remove the mount and run the new bolts through. Fortunately this worked like a charm and I was able to reattach everything, and get the new fixture up.
I have to say this looks a lot better than the boob light and lights up the room a lot better!
I also took down the center light and replaced it with the one that was above the sink, but didn't put on the rounded cover. I'm planning on another project to replace that one in short order as well. But for now this DIY project is done and my kitchen ceiling doesn't look like it got a discount on a boob job.
