We just purchased a house that is over 100 years old, and we are trying to figure out how to convert an existing pull chain ceiling light to a ceiling light that is operated by a light switch. There are two ceiling lights in the kitchen, one already operated by the switch, and the one only operated by the pull string. The house is 2 stories, so unfortunatly climbing about in the attic won't work for us. The ceiling is the original historic ceiling, so I don't want to damage it, but we would also rather not run a wire on the outside of the ceiling. The wiring in the house was updated years ago, prior to our purchasing the house. Can anyone suggest any ideas? We are just starting to get into this "do it yourself" thing...but we do have someone who will be helping us with the electricity - the only thing is that he is only used to working on much newer homes. Any help you can offer will be much appreciated - thanks!

 

You need to map the wiring. Figure out how both lights and the switch are wired, and determine if the pull-chain light is powered from a different circuit.

Did you want to control both lights with the existing switch? You may get lucky and find that the power run jumps from the switched light to the pull-chain fixture -- and the pull-chain is the end of the run. (IOW, it doesn't continue to any receptacles.)

 

Perhaps you could use a fan remote control.