Installing Track Lighting

by Murray Anderson

Track lighting is a great DIY project. It provides an opportunity to use light in creative ways like wall washing or accent lighting or simply to provide general illumination in a room. Most track lighting systems consist of three components - the track that holds the light fixtures and provides the electrical circuitry, connectors in wide range of shapes (including T shaped, L shaped and H shaped and flexible) that allow you to configure your tracks in a variety of shapes and finally, the light fixtures themselves.

Installing a track lighting system is not much different than installing any other light fixture, and it’s certainly a job most DIYers can take on). Here’s how –

Things you need
Ladder
Track lighting system (including connectors - be sure the connectors are made by the same manufacturer as the tracks and light fixtures).
Drill and drill bits
Toggle bolts (if mounting bolts aren’t included in your track lighting system)
Screwdriver
Wire nuts (Marr connectors)

Start by planning your track lighting layout

Your first job is to determine where you want the tracks to go. The existing junction box location will obviously influence this, but because a track lighting system can be adapted to so many shapes using different connectors you can get it to almost anywhere on a ceiling (or wall). Tracks are commonly available in sections ranging from 2’ up to 12’ but they can usually be cut with a hacksaw to provide unique lengths.
Once you’ve determined where you want the track to run, mark the ceiling with a pencil or blue painter’s tape (removes easily and doesn’t mark), Then, using a piece of track as a template held against the ceiling, mark the mounting holes in the track.
Before staring to install your new lights, take a few minutes to be sure you understand how the pieces fit together, it’s much easier to figure it out when you’re on the ground.

Installing your track lighting

Turn off the power to the existing fixture at the main panel. As an extra precaution, put a piece of tape on the breaker so no one will inadvertently turn it back on while you’re working.
Remove the existing lighting fixture and undo the wire nuts or tape connecting the fixture to the house wiring. Your new track lighting will be wired into the house wiring the same as the old fixture. Generally this means white to white, black to black and green or copper to the grounding screw on the junction box. If there are any other wires in the junction box make note of which wires connect to which and the colors of each. (A digital picture can be a great help here).
Install the adapter for the track lights to the wires coming from the junction box and fasten the adapter in place.
Plug the first piece of track into the adapter and then using the tack as a template drill hole for mounting the track section. Some systems come with mounting bolts included but depending on manufacturer, you may need to use toggle bolts to hold the track. Don’t tighten the bolts tightly at this time, you will need some slack to install the rest of the track sections.
Continue installing sections of track along your marked layout by clipping them together end to end.
Once all the track sections are in place, tighten the mounting bolts and install the light fixtures into the track.
All that’s left to do is turn the power back on at the panel and do the final positioning of your new track lights.

Murray Anderson is an experienced freelance writer over 500 articles published on the web as well as in print magazines and newspapers in both the United States and Canada. He writes on a wide range of topics and is a regular contributor to DoItYourself.com. He can be contacted at murand@lycos.com.