This is my original front porch light. As you can see it's small and shall we say worn out.I am not an electrician, nor do I play one on TV, but some jobs I can do myself.
The first rule to remember, and trust me on this one, is turn off the main breaker in the fuse box. Always. Some folks just tape the light switch down in the off position, but why take chances.
Once upon a time, I worked for a power company and while there, typed safety manuals. These were the books they used in teaching classes. This was a BIG company. They took electricity seriously. And so do I.
After unscrewing the white wire nuts and untwisting the 3 wires (copper, white, black), I removed the horizontal bars that held the original light.
Keeping the original screws that held the back (slanted) bar, I replaced the old with the new 2 bar section. On the outermost bar is a small green screw and the letters GND (ground). The copper (ground wire) must go around this tiny screw and be firmly tightened in.
Next connect the new black to original black wire, the original white with the new white wire, and original copper to the new copper wire. Do this by twisting the bare ends of wire around the original bare ends of wire, maybe 1/2 inch of wire shows at the ends.
Firmly fasten the wire nuts at the end of the copper (ground) wires, the end of the white wires, and the end of the black wires so no bare wire shows.
Align the new light fixture with the protruding bolts and screw in.
Unfortunately, this fixture did not work well with my siding, so I had to go back to Lowe's and get a different style.
A couple things that help when working alone:
1) Wear a nail apron or an apron with pockets to hold all of the pieces that are coming off and going back up.
2) Spread an old white sheet under the bench your standing on to catch any small screws that may fall through the porch boards.
3) Carry a large heavy duty magnet to locate said screws when you forget to put a sheet down.
Later on I'll show you the new light fixture and the process it took to get it right!
Until then, keep stitchin' . . .
2 comments:
Brave lady you are. Hubby tried to replace some spot lights on the front of the barn (second story.) Too scary up on the roof. $150 later, the electrician did it in 20 minutes.
Dang it, girl, you are so capable!!!
I used to document instructions for handling radioactive waste. Should I give that subject a try? LOL.
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