Saturday 14 January 2017

Lighting - putting in the lights

First test your light using a 9V battery - nothing worse than putting in a broken light or one that needs a new bulb or a bulb tightening.  


all systems go


Straighten the wires to help them lie nice and flat in the groove.  Just run them firmly between your fingers a couple of times.


wire need straightening


If they have the sticky pad on them I take it off - entirely your choice - I don't like to be able to see them when they go up.  Just use very, very tiny dabs of superglue gel.  Use a cocktail stick or even a pin to apply it in tiny dabs on the inner rim of the mount.

removing sticky pad also puts the wire back in the centre

If you are using a ceiling rose there are at least three ways of doing it and I use them all depending on what works best for a particular light in a particular place.

You can glue in the ceiling rose straight to the ceiling on its own.  Locate the hole using a toothpick.





You can thread your light and ceiling rose up together and just put glue on the rose and pull both up into place making sure you get a good tension on the wire so they are snug against each other and the ceiling.  Take care not to tug too hard.

Less risky is to glue the light to the rose, as you would if it were going directly on to the ceiling - so using the sticky pad or some superglue gel.




Twist the ends of your wires together and thread through the hole.


Lay the wire neatly in the groove and cover with masking tape.  Press down well.  Don't glue the wire into the groove or cover with wood filler just in case you every want to remove the fitting.

flat as a pancake, no bumps


The three lights you've seen go in here took exactly two hours to do start to finish; taking my time and a mini cuppa tea break.  

sitting room

hall

No picture of the dining room as that is a work in progress.  Come see me next week to see how that's going.




(24/06/16)













12 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you, I never seem to be able to find what I would really like. M

      Delete
  2. What a Difference lighting makes ,doesn't it? An added layer of realism that is like Night and Day!

    elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I truly think lighting just makes the project...as you say night and day! M

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What type of glue do you use to put up the ceiling rose?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sure I have read simewhere that you should use an epoxy resin BUT I have used ordinary PVA and also small spots of superglue. What i do now is use both together. I thinly coat all over with PVA, not right to the edges cos I want any surplus to have room to squeeze into. If you do get any on the ceiling wipe off immediately with a very slightly damp cloth, otherwise it will dry shiny and this shows when the light is on. So when thinky coated and going tacky I out on a few tiny spots of super glue gel, well away from the edges. My thinking is these will hold the rose in place while the PVA dries completely. So far this has worked just fine for me. Marilyn

      Delete
    2. Great thanks, I've not put up ceiling roses in any of my houses before but am going to in my next one :).

      Delete
  5. Maybe google round in case there is better ineformation out there. I did look on Sue Cooke's site and she says superglue. Do use the gel though, the runny stuff is a real pain for getting everywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello Marilyn,
    I never would have thought about using a battery to test the lights...I always take out the one transformer I have and set everything up...what a great trick! I think your explanations about wiring are going to be very helpful to many...and I must agree, those sticky foam things annoy me!
    Big hug
    Giac

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Happy you don't like the foam thingies. It is nice when you work in isolation to hear now and again that you aren't totally cracked. M

      Delete
    2. the 9V battery doesn't show you how bright they will be (or not) but it does at least show they are working. M

      Delete

To prevent spam your comments come to me first. I will be as fast as I can to post them and reply. Please do leave a message.