How to Add an Overhead Light | Ask This Old House
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 เม.ย. 2016
- Scott Caron, master electrician for Ask This Old House, helps a homeowner install a chandelier in a dimly lit dining room. (See below for a shopping list, tools, and steps.)
Watch the full episode: www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/as...
#ThisOldHouse #AskTOH
SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: bit.ly/SubscribeThisOldHouse
Shopping List for How to Add an Overhead Light:
- Light fixture of your choice
- Electrical boxes
- 14-2 nonmetallic electrical wire
- Adjustable-length box bar with hanging clip
- Wire nuts
- LED-compatible dimmer switch
Tools for How to Add an Overhead Light:
- Tape measure
- Oscillating saw
- Fish tape
- Pliers
- Screwdriver
Steps for How to Add an Overhead Light:
1. Find an existing power source/outlet.
2. Turn off power supply to work area.
3. Measure the ceiling and locate the electrical box in the center of the room.
4. Mark the outlines for the ceiling electrical box and electrical switch box with a pencil.
5. Use an oscillating saw to cut around the outline of the electrical boxes.
6. Cut a hole with the oscillating saw where the wall meets the ceiling to allow access for the fish tape. You may need to cut additional access holes to fish around joists or strapping.
7. Feed the fish tape into the hole in the ceiling box.
8. Connect the 14-gauge electrical wire to the fish tape and pull it across.
9. Place the adjustable-length box bar inside the ceiling and twist it into place until it’s locked in.
10. Tie the electrical box to the adjustable-length box bar using the hanging clip.
11. Make electrical connections between the 14-2 electrical wire and the wires attached to the light fixture. Tie them together with wire nuts.
12. Place Madison bars behind the electrical switch box to keep it in place. Squeeze Madison bars with pliers to lock them into place.
13. Splice power supply wires to switch wires using pliers and wire nuts.
14. Reconnect the wires to the power supply outlet, cover it with electrical tape, and screw it back into place with a screwdriver.
About This Old House TV:
This Old House is the No. 1 multimedia home enthusiast brand, offering trusted information and expert advice through award-winning television, a highly regarded magazine, and an information-driven website. This Old House and Ask This Old House are produced by This Old House Ventures, LLC and are presented on PBS by WGBH Boston.
Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House:
Facebook: bit.ly/ThisOldHouseFB
Twitter: bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTwitter
bit.ly/AskTOHTwitter
Pinterest: bit.ly/ThisOldHousePinterest
Instagram: bit.ly/ThisOldHouseIG
Tumblr: bit.ly/ThisOldHouseTumblr
How to Add an Overhead Light | Ask This Old House
/ thisoldhouse - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
2:00 "F**king come on" 😂😂
Yup
1:51
Yeah, 1 in a million chance of that!
@@10MohGG There dirty talk hahah.
good catch LOL
I noticed the vacuum cleaner through out the installation process,most of. us will do the clean up after,but kudos to you for being so neat.
Don't forget to use a wet dry vacuum or a vacuum you don't care about, drywall will destroy normal vacuums
I have off center lights in bedrooms and game room, and also no lights in living room you make it look easy as hell todo this, with like no time? The magic of editing
Hi Scott - that home owner picker out a beautiful light fixture - job well done .
Pete Moss picker out? Did you mean picked out?
@@Yelawolf269 He corrected himself in his other comment. th-cam.com/video/6r_Ni1gc5xg/w-d-xo.html&google_comment_id=UghhU21Av8ZYEngCoAEC
0:26 and 5:40
Plate installed cleanly with no damage
5:40 bunch fo damage around the plate.
Brutal scott
What happened there? Can't say I'd be too happy about that.
Probably previous installers didn't wait for paint to full dry before putting plate on hahahah
If you look closely there is damage. It's white like they used Drydex putty pink to white.
Nice job. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I like the bar with the teeth. The episode with the fish tape went altogether too smoothly. what about the top board for the frame? Also, who fixes and matches the drywall, texture, and paint?
Your video is excellent I will try to do it at my home like you did
"Now you get to see your food" lololol
😂😂
Lol 🤣🤣
🤣😂
Finally a thorough video. Thank you!
You are joking. They didn't show every step.
BTW I suggest watch a 13 part series called _What on earth happened_ by Ewaranon to learn that the earth is not a globe. Link in my about tab.
what a lovely video thanks for the help
Scott tell the truth now...how long did it really take to fish that across the ceiling?
yeah, that looked pretty miraculous. its never gone that easy for me.
RangerCaptain11A I’ve done it many times it can take from 1-2 minutes to 5 minutes if you know what your doing
Lmaooooo
todd baker I don’t comment on a lot of stuff but that was LOL
if you use a stud finder,it usually takes 5 minutes,call a pro if you don't know what your doing.
Even if he didn't like it, he wouldn't tell her.
don trump I saw this light at Menards yesterday. It's huge. Uses a bunch of little candelabra bulbs. Thought it would be using LED or something.
Honest Comments Yeah. surprised it wouldn't already come with them. I don't particularly care for this light fixture. It's huge!
where i could purchase that hanging light i like to have it on my dinning area..thanks
So I need the red wire if iam just using a regulawregular switch and not a dimmable like used here?
so what you do when the framing of the wall and the ceiling joist meet? Are you suppose to drill holes on the top plate of the wall do a 90 another hole and pull the wire? Sounds like a lot of destruction for a light. If you have outdated wiring same process all the way to the service panel? Any tips would be great. Thanks.
yes the way it's shown in the video it's completely unrealistic, unless fish tape is running in a channel between floor joists. I did similar light installation in my home and I had to drill hole through 5 floor joists just to get wire through from switch to the light.
I like how you wrapped the electrical tape around the outlet after wiring it up.
another awesome video from this channel.
I am approaching a dilemma and I cannot find any info on my next task so I thought I would reach out and see if I can get some feedback. I have and am sound proofing my middle bedroom to be my new home recording studio. The walls are secure with triple insulation including 1-1/2 rigid foam insulation sealed with insulation spray foam. This room is not only dead silent now it is completely air tight...except for my ceiling. The only thing left is the ceiling. My plan is to also apply the 1-1/2 rigid insulation sheets to the ceiling. Once done the entire room will be completely covered in 2-inch acoustic foam panels. Here's my issue. I need to drop my ceiling light fixtures down about four inches. Wiring is not a concern, but I'm not sure how to securely drop & mount the box to remount my lights to clear the double foam. Your thoughts?
A good electrician, and a good video.
How to know which direction the joists are going to fish and run wire 🤔
I run wires that way too I enjoyed the video 😎
Yes houdini way of sending fish tape through ceilings with numerous cross beams!!
That is going to be really bright
so what if the wire from the light fixture wire going to the switch only has the white/black and ground wires....how would i connect it to the existing outlet
Jay Bee Like you would for any other wire.
Sooooooo.... the wiring from the wall just happened to feed through the ceiling joist to the light box without drilling holes??? Am I missing something?
5:47 I know his heart dropped when it took a sec to turn on
Is that an oscillating multitool?
Yes.
duh!
1:30 is it ok to saw away a stud or wood panel?
That is just old wood backing they used to put plaster on.
imaging the house falls cause he cut off the stud
Question, why do the ceiling joists not touch the second floor? I thought they would all touch (the above wood) and fishing a wire the way that was shown would be impossible. (time 3:26)
you are right.. fishing that wire must've been a bitch ... I want to say the ceiling was remodeled, and this what we see now is suspended, to keep it leveled.. once I did something like that, although in Europe, it was made of metal .. but same principle.. main question is - why the heck didn't they have a light in the ceiling to begin with?!
I think you're right. One of the later shots from the plenum seems to show 2x4s and not full size joists - I think this is a drop ceiling.
man I hate drop ceilings in old houses.
It is probably how the house was built.
Nice demonstration of using F-clips; wish you had gone a bit slower on that part !
glad to see that tape. no one seems to do the electrical tape around the receptacle in these videos but especially for home projects where someone inexperienced might try to look in, all those terminals on the outlet are live and dangerous for whoever opens the box next!
It's no issue if you shut the breaker off.
That’s just code for metal boxes it’s not a matter of keeping someone from touching it
What kind of ceiling does she have that she can fish wire over the joists?
It looks like it's an older home and a new ceiling was put in below the original one.
1:51 - 2:03 was uncomfortable.
no stapling of the wire?
What is the name of the bar he used to mount ? Boxon bar?!
Wesley Brown usually called a remodeling bar
I need this but in my bedrooms
is the outlet now turn on and off with the switch?
No he used a pigtail to give the outlet and switch it's own power
Great video but a fast cutting clean wood blade would have been a time saver instead of that carbide tip but i bet that was some some tough material. Diablo makes a very good sheetrock blade these days that I have found very useful. Love the show and this channel you guys rock. Looking forward to the new episodes.
Scott, our wall power outlet died in 15 year old home in central Illinois. No reason. I changed the outlet itself with a new one, no luck. The other nearest outlets work. Could you consider a video on how an electrician would diagnose this sort of problem? Thanks. Wayne.
+The Cool One did you test to see if there is power
+lito dan Your first outlet died because it deteriorated internally from age. You new outlet doesn't work because of a possible new ( or pre-existing ) open in the wiring that may have been created when installing the new wiring device.
Best to kill the breaker for that circuit and test continuity to HOT from this device to a known-good wiring device HOT on the SAME branch circuit.
+The Cool One Are you sure that outlet is not controlled by a switch?? Try plugging a "turned on" lamp into the plug and work all the switches that are close by. Could it be controlled by a GFCI device or breaker?? Have you checked all of your circuit breakers to see if any are tripped?? If none of these are the cause, try removing the outlets on either side of the dead outlet and see if a splice in one of them has failed. When doing this, turn off the power to the surrounding outlets first for safety. Don't forget to check the reverse side of the wall the affected plug is on because the wiring may travel through plugs on both sides of the wall. One last thing: be careful with that "dead" outlet. It may have a "energized" conductor present but no "neutral" so the circuit is not complete but there is still a "potential" there between the energized conductor and the ground.
Pappa Bob he said the other outlets are on the same branch (breaker) do that’s not a breaker issue
I see this all the time. One VERY common cause is corrosion in the "stab in" connections on the back of the outlet. The problem doesn't always have to be at the outlet that isn't working, either. If the wire feeding your dead outlet has lost connection at the outlet prior to that one in the circuit, the prior outlet will still work just fine, but the wire leading to the problem outlet has gone dead, or the neutral has gone open, either way the result is the same. The outlet doesn't work. The only solid solution to that is remove every outlet and put the wires around the screw terminals and NEVER use those stab in things. I once had to do this to every device in a 5500 sq ft house that kept having problems. That's a lot of outlets and switches!
some houses have a backbox for a overhead light but They do not instal as they want to make the homeowner instal it
Is it legal to take power from an outlet to add a new light?
It is totally legal. It’s like plugging in a lamp just make sure you don’t use a fixture that pulls to much amperage
I am missing how the wire from the switch is run to the wall outlet to connect for power. What I saw was the guy connecting the wires that came from the outlet that were already in the switch box. How to establish the connection from the switch box to the outlet was left out. Do I need to add and run another wire from the switch box to the outlet once I've installed the switch box. Can anyone help me here?
Thata what I'm wondering too.
yes to your question. He ran a hot wire from the outlet up to the switch.
Fish a wire from switch down to outlet black to black white to white bare to bare there was probably three of each color so in this case you would twist all three together and add a short piece of wire and wire nut together to reduce to 1 and hook up outlet
@@howardk04 So you would then twist 4 wires in a single wire nut?
The two 8/32 screws are supporting that fixture, not the U bar, you should have used a fan rated bar and box instead.
That was a fan rated box support he used.
Do you have round electrical boxes in north america?
Here in finland all electrical boxes are circular so that making holes for them is much easier.
jimvest plastic light boxes in America are round. Metal ones are hexagonal.
Jimvest I suggest watch a 13 part series called _What on earth happened_ by Ewaranon to learn that the earth is not a globe. Link in my about tab.
I thought lighting circuits had to be on there own rcd hear in england they have to be
It's permissable in residential wiring not commercial or industrial in USA
How did you tie in to the electrical? It looks like you just ran wires from the switch to the fixture. Where's it getting power from?
Richard Dalton [Escobedo MS]
He brought the power from the outlet bello 5:11
Da outlet
Okay, so you wired the light switch to the light fixture. Where did you get the electricity?
Lisa Wilson from below
The outlet 😂😂LOL Lol
Same question I had.. did not see him run electrical to either Ceiling or form switch? Magic.. lol
It’s not an outlet. It’s a receptacle
NO ONE wants to grab your PU55Y.
so conduit is not needed?
0:42 What is the name of that saw?
oscillating multitool
the dewalts are nice cause they have a trigger that makes it more controllable. the other brands just have an on/off switch
What is the name of the Chandelier ?
Frank.
How do you know there’s no water pipes above?
Lol look at the location why would there be water pipes there?? Haha
Matt B what type of pipes could be up there? I’m only asking bc I was putting in can lights for someone and we had to change to the low profile type bc there was a pipe directly where she wanted a can.
Knowing what’s above and around the room mostly
even if there were water pipes, a box is shallow enough that it wouldnt be a problem
@@jeepanon true. But we’re not talking boxes we’re talking can lights.
I wouldn’t play poker with Scott. He wouldn’t give away anything!
i dont understand how even with the perfect tools to cut holes he still managed to botch that switch hole
After she flipped the switch to turn on the fixture, there was a brief moment when nothing turned on. I would have laughed my ass off if he failed to distribute power to the new fixture.
They should do an outake where thr person Turing on the light acts like they are getting electrocuted but really kver play it
Led lights tend to do that, especially when it’s more than one led light bulb controlled by one switch, it’s common.
@@DapperChe what's the scientific explanation
@@mr.g937 well regular light run 120 volts, led light bulbs and light fixtures use lumens, which runs off of low voltage. They have step down transformers inside that transforms the 120 volts into lower voltage.
@@DapperChe What lumens do you mean direct current
Do you actually think that ceiling mount will last?
shauntampa fixture was on the floor 2 days later
looked like a piece of trash. I don't know why he wouldn't just cut a 2 foot piece of uni strut and push it up the hole and actually have it sit on top of the framing, then hang the light off that
They do work I’ve used them on multiple occasions you tighten them really good or else things start to fall LITERALLY
Tripnotyst So just lay the strut on top? dumb.
shauntampa Why wouldn’t it last? It bites into the wood. You special?
2:00 WHAT THE HELL 😂
Funny if a pecker came out the ceiling and she stops and stares at it like, how the crap? Oh well it is coming through a hole
i actually liked it haha
How did he run that fish tape? He made it look like one try pushing it made it exactly where she was! Thats impossible!
I'm sure it took plenty of attempts!
You can hear the fish coming.
I thought wire ran through a wall needed to be solid core and not twisted pair.
Greg Dinert wtf is solid core?
this only works if your house has sheetrock
mine is concrete or plaster or some bs
Not necessarily so. You can do it with plaster walls too.
lol running power from an outlet for a light it shows you how different the codes are for each country in nz the lights are separate from the power outlets
The fixtured is dated now 6 urs later
Ok..but for a novis out there you should be explaining more bout the wiring.
Good grief. What a light fixture she chose.
what a mess around that outlet @5:40
Never showed where the studs were in the ceiling at all what if you drilled your whole right in the center of a stud then you got a big mess!!
2:45 you can see the joists. There is a gap above the joists that makes fishing the wire easier.
Didn't describe wiring hookup in any detail.
Actually as a overhead chandelier
My lights are very very very bright
Alex Pisocky HAHAHza
You do not normally put your lighting fixtures on the same circuit as your receptacles, but, in a pinch, this demonstration will work. He should have found the closest lighting circuit and tapped in to that wiring for the new lighting fixture.
You wouldn't attach a light fixture to a dining room receptacle circuit, but otherwise in house wiring, lights and receptacles are commonly combined in general purpose lighting and receptacle loads.
Says who?
What he did is technically a violation. The dining room receptacles are similar to the ones required on the kitchen countertops and are considered Appliance circuits. As such lighting loads cannot share power from these particular receptacles. “(2) No Other Outlets. The two or more small-appliance
branch circuits specified in 210.52(B)(1) shall have no other outlets.”
Nice Job, ugly Lamp.
true
Everyone is so negative. 🤔
Dopey Sims 1:51
18 bulbs. She picked a real power saver there. A worst choice I have never seen.
I think he messed up the dry wall by cutting too wide. Even after the outlet cover is put-on, it could not cover the cracks.
Yeah he did but there’s a bigger cover that can fix the problem call over size cover plate
That box/cutout was already there. The only one he did was for the switch, and they didn't show any close-ups of that one.
He really needs to invest in a pair of wire strippers. Stripping wire with Lineman Pliers is not acceptable. Don't do it. Wire strippers are cheap.
Do you like how big my base is? Yes its so long
Bruh the Johnny Sins of Electrical. hahaha. No wonder TOH had to swap him out...he is just sexual he can't help in one bit hahaha
There is at least some fakery here. Patching the hole in the wall and ceiling is ignored. .They showed no way to hold in place the little U-bolt that holds up the electrical box. The wire did not look like Romex to me.
No electrician likes designer lighting
Scott, you really shouldn't encourage stripping wires with your linesmen and I've seen you do it on several occasions. It scores the copper and makes it prone to breaking once it's twisted and causing intermittent connection issues down the line. I've seen it several times and they are extremely hard to find later.
Also, how did you know there was a dropped down ceiling? I'd imagine you would have had to investigate this long before you did the job.
Where's the part when they bone?
LED lighting the way to go these days. No bulbs to deal with.
I only use incandescent or halogen bulbs because LEDs create harmful dirty electricity and blue light.
You tapped into the electrical outlet for the light switch. How? Not enough information for a DIY.
Lisa Wilson They have other videos on that particular subject.
lights wired toWall sockets why? you never do that in the uk
+ONYX E.S. Wall sockets are always used in NA if there's enough space power wise.
This isn't the UK
1:51 WHY WHY WHY
They tried introducing those crappy twist on connectors here in Britain years ago. They didn't catch on... American electrics are so simplified. We have separate circuits for lighting and power here
And there it is. I knew I'd see this comment here as soon as I saw wirenuts in the video. Eurotrash love to complain about things they don't know anything about.
jej3451 yeah and if it's crap and lazy you can guarantee an American would use it...
thats what i thought running light circuits from power points lol
Hassan Abshir haha exactly
Can’t we all just be friends here
oop's was suppose to be " picked ''' sorry everyone .
if
First
Terence I suggest watch a 13 part series called _What on earth happened_ by Ewaranon to learn that the earth is not a globe. Link in my about tab.
J
This guy is very old school
Brook is hot.
what a hack job on the wall outlet..
never buy a house without a ceiling light. they tried to save couple of bucks literally during construction; God knows what else they tried to cost cut as well.
Not true...folks were happy with floor lamps in the past
@@irecruitfish7410 my grandma has no light in her living room
ugly fixture
no doubt.. expensive piece of ugly eyesore..
We need to standardize and use the plastic old-work boxes with the universal clamping ears.
This is way to much extra work and precaution just to have a box that doesn't even sit tight to the wall.
The cover plate should NEVER be the anchor for the wiring device or have consequence on the box's positional integrity...
Metal boxes make me cringe. You can't have h0omeowners plugging things in and operating switches with the plate and box moving around in the wall.
W;re trying to PREVENT fires here.
Use the plastic box for accessible / working wiring devices! Cheap, plentiful, easier to use, SAFER.
We're trying to PREVENT fires.
+Rocco Croce I don't see any major problems with the installation of the electrical boxes in this video. The madison bars are just as safe as plastic wing old work boxes. It's not going to fall out or into the wall, and madison bars are usually a better choice when working with lath and plaster walls because they distribute the load over the lath very evenly while the plastic boxes tend to put a lot of pressure at the corners where the wings are.
Unfortunately with plaster walls, it's hard to get a box to sit evenly; if the wall itself has an uneven coat of plaster or the plaster is old and brittle, then it's going to look like a mess during an installation like this. That said, I'm not sure a plastic box would have helped with the mess with the outlet box (assuming Scott removed the box at all and didn't just fish the wires through the box while it was in the wall).
Admittedly I prefer to see metal boxes in old work applications that are screwed directly into the stud; it's a very secure method to mount a box, but it seems Scott didn't have the opportunity to secure the box to the door framing which was probably too far to the right.
Metal box is recommended with dimmers for heat disapation. Mad bars installed correctly are quite sturdy. Plastic boxes are easier to install for sure
+Rocco Croce Plastic boxes, or metal boxes for that matter, with the side wings are fine for more modern walls with "wallboard" surface but don't work as good, and sometimesNOT AT ALL, in other types of wall finishes. With wood lath, as shown in this case, the madison hangers work much better as you can do what Scott did here (cut out the center lath) and the clip catches the top and bottom lath very securely. Taking the proper time and being careful, the boxes installed with the madison hangers are very secure and DO NOT depend on the plate for any stability. Not as common, but they do make a madison clip that has longer "clips" (the part you wrap inside the box) for walls that are too thick for the normal clips. He used needle nose pliers to squeeze the clips tight to the box. You can also do that by slipping a thin screw driver between the box and the opening trapping the clip along the outside of the box while pushing the clip inside the box tightly to the inside of the box. Always tape the device inside the box to avoid any live part from coming into contact with the clip. I have mounted "hundreds" of boxes with madison hangers and never had a problem.
When I started into the trade in the 70's my Journeyman liked using metal cut-n boxes with Madison Clips or "Battleships", as they are narrower than the plastic or bakelite boxes and more forgiving to chipping, especially in lath and plaster work. The holes in the ears of the cut-in boxes (6:07) are also designed to attach screws to the lath for support if necessary. The multi-tool definitely makes it easier to cut the lath.
The issue with using metal boxes, as shown, is having to bond them if an equipment ground is available. A ground screw or clip must be attached to the box and equipment ground. I'm not sure he addressed that in the video.
that plaster patch will be an eyesore for months/years to come... maybe she'll call mr silva in for a youtube repair... too bad thisoldhouse crew doesn't do paint jobs...
refrigeration tech How hard is it to patch that? you just had to find something, huh? you must be miserable
Not my favorite light fixture. Homeowner will have to keep a crate of replacement bulbs on hand for all 18 to stay lit.
you make the mess when you cut the hole look not professional man
He loves making holes. I've watched all his vids. Great stuff but he loves making holes. And plugging em. 😉
Lol hi Dad. U write comments and Emojis!! LOL 😂😂 dad
Wow, now that's quality. NOT