Ceiling spotlights highlight specific areas of the room.
Ceiling spotlights uplift the style of a room without taking up too much space. A spotlight kit consists of housing with wires that fits snugly in a hole in the ceiling, while the trim and light sit flush with the surrounding surface. Depending on personal preference, you can fit the sunken spotlight so it sheds light on a family portrait or a collector's item, or even creates a reading nook. Before you begin, move the furniture to the middle of the room and cover them with a drop cloth. Also turn off the power at the circuit box when installing the electrical wires.
Instructions
1. Determine the spot on the ceiling where you want to install the spotlight, taking into consideration the what you want to illuminate, and mark it with pencil. Also mark the locations of joists on either side of the pencil mark.
2. Bore a tiny hole through the pencil mark on the ceiling. Straighten a wire coat hanger and extend it through the hole to ensure there are no obstructions above the ceiling. Ideally, you need 8 inches of clearance space above the spotlight to house its junction box.
3. Set the template for the spotlight on the desired spot on the ceiling and trace its outline with pencil. Insert the tip of a utility knife into the ceiling and extend it around the outline to create a hole. Remove the ceiling cutout through the hole.
4. Extend an electrical cable through the hole in the ceiling, allowing it to overhang by 16 inches. Strip the plastic coating from 8 to 10 inches of this cable before closing its tips. Also strip 3/8 inches of the plastic coating from the white and black wires.
5. Remove the lid from the spotlight's junction box. Extend the electrical cable through the hole along the box's side. Pair the matching wires according to their colors and slide connectors over their connection joints. Place the lid back on.
6. Set the spotlight's mounting clips into the hole in the ceiling, ensuring their top ends push against the drywall. This mounting hardware is included in the spotlight kit.
7. Set the can box into the hole and push its body up until its flange rests tight with the ceiling. Push the four clips upward, in turn, so they clamp the lighting fixture in the ceiling.
8. Install the decorative molding or trim around the spotlight. Holding the trim directly above the spotlight, pull out each spring and insert it into the corresponding hole in the can.
Tags: through hole, hole ceiling, above spotlight, cable through, cable through hole