How to Install Drop Ceiling Lighting in Your Home

Drop ceiling lighting fixtures dangle down from the ceiling on a length of chain or cord. It gives one the options to change the way a room looks and the nature of the lighting. All you have to do is decide where you want to install them and how many are needed for the drop ceiling. They typically look the best when they are installed in the middle of the room. You will have to make this judgment on how big the room itself is. Chandelier lights can even be installed in a drop ceiling providing a classy look. A hallway will not be an ideal place for drop ceiling lighting. The guide provided below will assist you in installing the drop ceiling lighting. 

Step 1 – Switch Off the Power

Turn all the power off in the circuit box that goes into the room. Place the ladder below the light fixture you currently have. Remove the fixture from the room ceiling. Unscrew the screws that are holding the fixture to the electric box.

Next, disconnect all of the electric wiring from the fixture and the box. If there is no existing electric box, consult an electrician to have one cut in and attached it to the joist, and have it wired correctly to the switch. Tie it in with a circuit box.

Step 2 – Lay the New Lighting Fixture

Take the new lighting fixture and place the light part on the ladder’s paint shelf area. Lay it where the cord or chain is. This is in between the dropped ceiling canopy part extended to the longest length and light portion. Hold the canopy to the electric box.

Step 3 – Join the Wires

Join the wires that are coming from the electric box together with the wires that are coming from the ceiling mounted part. Match the wires’ corresponding colors. There is usually one black wire and one white wire coming from the electrical box, and the same pair of color coming out from the light fixture.

Hold the ends of the wire beside each other and use wire nut to seal them together. A copper wire may come out from the electric box. Hook the copper ground wire over the ground screw (green) on mounting fixture hardware. 

Step 4 – Set the Canopy

Put the light’s ceiling canopy up to the box. Tighten one screw to hold the lighting fixture onto the box. Do not fasten the screw too tight, and do not screw the other screws. The canopy should now be hanging on one side from the ceiling. This allows you to still be able to have access to the internal fixture of the canopy.

Step 5 – Attach the Cord

The light may be hanging from the cloth’s cord or a different type of material. Slide the cord up and thread the cord through the canopy, and stop when the lighting fixture is the exact height you like it to be. Tuck the excess cord into the canopy’s empty space. For the cord to be secure at the level, tighten the securing nut and bolt which the cord runs through below the canopy. Cut the chains to the length desired with the bolt cutters if it is hanging from the chain. 

Step 6 – Put in the Bulb

Tuck all the wires into the electric box. To fix the ceiling canopy to the proper place, tighten the other screw. Put in the bulb and switch on the power.