How to Hang Kitchen Lamps
- 1). Turn off the electrical circuit that powers the light fixture at your home's main electrical box. Go into the kitchen and test the circuit by flipping the switch on and off.
- 2). Unscrew the canopy and slowly lower it from the ceiling. The canopy is the plate that covers the wiring in the ceiling.
- 3). Untwist the plastic connector caps that connect the wiring.
- 4). Test the circuit again by touching the probes of a voltage tester to the bare wires on the light fixture. If you get a reading, go back to the main electrical box and shut off the proper circuit. Test the wires again.
- 5). Detach the wires leading from the lamp from the wires leading from the ceiling. Hold on to the light fixture (or have an assistant) as you do this so the fixture doesn't fall.
- 6). Remove the electrical box from inside the ceiling. Unscrew it if it's attached to the joist with screws or pry it off if it's nailed to the joist.
- 7). Remove one of the knockout holes on the side of the new electrical box near the cable connector. The knockout holes are the recessed holes on the side of the box, and the cable connector is the tab on the inside of the box that prevents the cable from sliding around and potentially getting damaged.
- 8). Slide the electrical cable leading from the ceiling through the knockout hole and cable connector so about 6 inches of cable is through the cable connector. Screw the cable connector tight to hold the wire in place. Always tighten the cable connector over the sheathing and not the individual wires; if necessary, pull more than 6 inches of wiring through the cable connector to do this.
- 9). Connect the electrical box to the ceiling joist near the hole in the ceiling.
- 10
Cut the excess wiring off the wires in the light fixture, keeping them long enough to reach the wiring from the ceiling. If the new light fixture hangs from a chain, remove excess links so the fixture will be at the proper height. - 11
Lift the fixture to the ceiling, again using an assistant, and connect it to the electrical box. Installation can vary by manufacturer and model, so read the instructions provided with your fixture for the proper installation method. - 12
Cut off 1/2 inch of sheathing from the wires on the light fixture with wire strippers. - 13
Wrap the green ground wire from the ceiling around the ground screw on the fixture and tighten the screw. Twist the end of the ground wire from the electrical box to the ground wire from the fixture with a plastic connector cap. - 14
Connect the black wire from the electrical box to the black wire from the light fixture with a connector cap and connect the white wires. - 15
Tuck the wires into the electrical box, cover them with the canopy and screw it to the ceiling. - 16
Screw light bulbs into the fixture. - 17
Turn the power to the circuit back on at the main electrical box and test the light.
