How To Install A New Chandelier

Many people will feel they will need to acquire the skills of an electrician to install their new chandelier, lantern or wall sconce. This is by far the safest way of doing the job and you should make the necessary enquiries to obtain the skills of a licensed and qualified electrician. However there are many people who are interested the field of do-it-yourself. If there is a light or electrical wiring at the point where you wish to install and you feel that the electrical installation and physical hanging of a chandelier is within your means then there are a few basic points to remember before proceeding. Be aware that if the light connection is on the outside of a house, for instance the installation of a new lantern, additional care needs to be taken over the waterproofing of the electrical system. This article does not propose to go into installing a new electrical light circuit. You may also like to contact an electrician just to ensure that you have a backup should you find the job beyond your means.

First and foremost is to be aware of the legal and safety requirements with electrical fittings. You may need to check with your Landlord and/or the local authorities that you have the right to modify your electrical circuits. It is particularly relevant if you have a listed building. You should read and familiarize yourself with the manufacturer's instructions of the new lighting fixture. Check that none of the parts mentioned are missing, nor that it excluded a necessary part such as the supporting chain. You need to ensure that you have everything, parts and tools, needed to complete the job. You should establish that the point of fixing or hanging (on the ceiling) is strong enough to hold the weight of the chandelier or wall sconce. It is worth familiarizing yourself with the method of replacing the light bulbs since this is something you will certainly have to do at some point in time. In fact it would generally be easier to install the chandelier and then add the light bulbs at the end.

It then goes without saying that you need to turn off the electricity supply. However since that may be inconvenient for the length of time it takes to install the lighting system, you may be able to establish from the safety trip fuse box (breaker box) exactly which electrical circuit you are using and the appropriate switch to turn it off. This is a fairly simple operation: you simply turn off one trip switch at a time and see if the light you are replacing goes on or off. Something that is indispensable when working with electrical circuits is one of those simple screwdrivers with a built-in light to enable electric currents to be detected. This allows an additional confirmation that the electrical wires are not alive.

With the wiring that you are working on now safely turned off, we proceed with dismantling the old fitting making careful note of the wiring and in particular the color of the wires; it will certainly be worth making a small diagram if the wires are complicated or you expect the job to take a long time. An alternative would be to use masking tape and labeling the wires.

With the above preparations completed, the actual process of installing the new lighting system should go smoothly. Once the chandelier is installed, you will need to do a test of the circuit. If you followed my advice about leaving the light bulbs out until the end, now is the time to put one in place and test it by turning the electrical circuit back on. If problems occur that you feel you are unable to solve, then contact a qualified electrician for advice or to complete the job.

Julian Pollock is a practising accountant and a trained therapist as well as a successful web site publisher. Among his publications are numerous articles on chandeliers, candelabra and lanterns (chandelier-mall.com).