absolutely no knowledge. hallway ceiling light needs replacing. Have no one to do it , too small job to hire?

Question

anyone able to give detailed instructions for me? I am older female, need to sell house

Answer 1

This is no problem. A typical light fixture has three wires going to it, a black or red for hot, white for neutral, and a bare or green for ground. First things first, turn off power to the light at the breaker. Depending on your light fixture, unscrew the nut or screws holding the fixture to the outlet box. The wires should be connected with wirenuts. Unscrew the wirenuts and disconnect the wires from the light fixture. Your halfway done. Unpack your new fixture and look at how it is mounted to the outlet box. You might be able to use the old hardware. If not, just read your directions. I always like to connect my ground first. The ground might be connected to a green colored screw on the bracket on the box. If not, connect the incoming ground wire to the fixture wire with wirenuts. Next, do the same with the white wires and then with the black. Now, all that is left is re-attaching your fixture to the outlet box with the given hardware. Turn the power back on at the panel and go check your handywork. Congratulations! You just changed your first light fixture! Good luck with the sale!

Answer 2

If you're replacing the existing light with a similar type, it should be very simple. Usually there are two screws or nuts that secure the fixture to the box in the ceiling. First find the circuit breaker that will cut the power to the light. Then remove the screws or nuts on the existing fixture. Carefully lower the fixture until you see the wiring. There should be a black, white, and a green wire. If there isn't a green wire, don't worry. The new fixture should have a green wire. Hopefully these wires are connected with wire nuts. These are cup shaped usually plastic red or yellow in color. Color is not important. These are removed by turning them counter clock wise. Installing the new fixture may require you to use the bolts supplied depending on the base depth. The new light should have mounting instructions included. Re-connect the new light by nutting the wires back together. White to white and so forth. If you have problems, e-mail me and I would be glad to help you further.

Answer 3

Older females with no electrical experience should not begin with a ceiling fixture. There are numerous configurations. I suspect it is an older home, and the switch is probably wired in the outlet box which complicates matters. Unless you are lucky, there will be a gob of wires. Get an older man to look at it!

Answer 4

while nothing electrical is too small of a job to hire, especially if you know nothing about the job in question (electrocution is a nasty thing!!)

but if you're feeling adventrous and/or trying to save a little bit of cash, consider talking to your local hardware guys at Lowe's or Home Depot. they'll be able to tell you how to replace the ficture, from what tools to use to which color wires to mess with.

***MAKE SURE that the power source that feeds the light is shut off at the fuse box, or you may end up regretting your little DIY project...