How to install pendant lights over an island?
Sources
How to Install Pendant Lighting Step-by-Step - Puls Blog
blog.puls.com
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1
How to Arrange Pendant Lights Over An Island - 2Modern
www.2modern.com
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2
Installing height adjustable pendant lights | step by step diy - YouTube
www.youtube.com
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3
The Perfect Height for Hanging Pendants Over a Kitchen Island
cedarandmoss.com
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4
Answer
To install pendant lights over a kitchen island, follow these steps:
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Plan the Installation:
- Determine the number of pendant lights needed based on the island's length. A general rule is to install one pendant light for every 2 feet of island length2.
- Ensure the lights are spaced evenly, typically 24-30 inches apart5.
- Consider the diameter of the pendant lights and adjust the number accordingly2.
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Measure and Prepare:
- Measure the distance from the top of the island counter to the bottom of the pendant light. Aim for 30-36 inches of clearance to ensure comfortable movement and unobstructed illumination45.
- Ensure the pendant lights are centered over the island, with at least 6-12 inches of space on either side of the leftmost and rightmost lights2.
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Turn Off Power:
- Switch off the electricity at the circuit breaker or fuse box before starting the installation1.
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Remove Old Fixtures:
- Take down the old fixture (if upgrading) by detaching it, removing old wire connectors, and disconnecting wires1.
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Install the New Fixture:
- Connect the wires from the pendant light to the wires in the junction box, ensuring black wires connect to black and white wires connect to white1.
- Secure the wires with wire nuts and attach the ground wire to the ground screw in the junction box1.
- Install the mounting bracket and screws, then screw the fixture to the bracket1.
- Add the glass globe or shade, light bulb, trim, and any other remaining parts1.
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Final Check:
- Turn the power back on and test the pendant lights to ensure they are functioning correctly1.
References
1. How to Install Pendant Lighting Step-by-Step - Puls Blog2. How to Arrange Pendant Lights Over An Island - 2Modern3. Installing height adjustable pendant lights | step by step diy - YouTube4. The Perfect Height for Hanging Pendants Over a Kitchen Island5. Pendant Light Height Over Your Island + Spacing Tips!
Author: mechtrician1
Key insights
- It's important to ensure that the boxes for the pendant lights are centered over the island for a balanced and aesthetically pleasing look.
- The process of cutting holes and installing boxes for the pendant lights can be challenging, especially when dealing with studs in between.
- The house has engineered board with wood strips on the top and bottom, making it relatively easy to drill a hole through the stud.
- Always hook your neutral up first just in case your ground isn't bonded for some reason, a tip from an old-time electrician.
- Managing the mess of wires when installing pendant lights can be made easier by using smaller wire nuts and leaving leads for the lights.
- Cutting a piece of drywall with a dremel makes it very easy to cut round holes for installing pendant lights.
- ️ Three pendant lights over the island cabinet provide a more functional and aesthetically pleasing lighting solution compared to a single hidden can light.
Video Full Text
- So I think this gets the mickey mouse of the year award. Um family member purchased a new house or well new to them house and uh they wanted to replace the lighting fixture over their island um which was a kind of a big heavy. Uh metal fixture. Like this right here that I just pulled down and they want to put three pendant lights in here and uh so I'm going to add some boxes along here. I expected to find a box under here instead. I found a can light with a wall socket adapter in it so yeah. I think this is mickey mouse of the week maybe of the month possibly the year. So uh let's see how we're gonna figure out how to fix this all right so continuing on with this. I got the old uh. I got the old can out. It's a little bit challenging with uh.Read More
- It's a little bit challenging because it's uh installed before the drywall goes in so I uh get the you know you can't you don't want to rip the drywall out so um. I was able to kind of finagle it out of there. I'm gonna leave the old frame up there but I got everything else out uh. So this is what it's gonna kind of look like uh. I'm gonna put three boxes in and I'll plug the hole that that was in because this hole is not centered over this island right here. So we're going to get it centered and uh I had to go pick up some different boxes because as it turns out two of them are going to land where the studs go so. These little half-inch boxes are perfect for that. I'll use the dremel to cut out the holes to the right depth um so these will just screw right into the studs.Read More
- One of them is going to be where there isn't a stud because that's just how it works out and so I'll use one of these and I'll use two of these guys they didn't the three or six. I think these are three and a half. This is six or four sorry four. This is four and these are three and a half. I believe um three and a quarter maybe I forget. But these will work for pendant lights if you're putting pendant lights in but this uh this is really the size that it should be but because the way those lights are designed and I'll show it once. I get them installed. The bracket will be larger than the box but that's okay. So this is what this is what we'll be using to install this continuing on with this. So I got the holes cut with my dremel you can see that one there is in between two studs so I used an old work box. This one is just on the very edge of a bot of a stud. I'll be able to use one of the old work boxes in this place right. Here. I'm just going to notch just a little bit out of the stud and then this one is directly over a stud so. I used one of these pan boxes or close close mount half inch boxes and just took a couple of uh gold screws into it and that should pretty much set this up uh to hang the three pendants. So I've just got to get the other box here in the middle which is probably the most challenging um. I also obviously if there's studs in between.Read More
- I had to drill a little half inch hole on either side through the stud. This particular house has uh it doesn't have typical two by eights or two by sixes. It's got uh what look to be eight inch studs that are uh that apa board um. That's that engineered board with the wood strips on the top and the bottom. I don't know exactly what the technical term for those are but that's what these are so relatively easy to just drill a little hole. In there. It doesn't affect it in any way so uh we'll continue on and install the last box all right. So all three boxes are in now. Uh the wires are pulled through the boxes you'll notice this box is turned that's on purpose because the the clamp that's in there. I have it oriented so it doesn't interfere with the stud that's right next to it there. So uh that's why it's turned a little bit. You'll never know it though because these you know anybody. That's ever worked with these ceiling boxes before it really doesn't matter how they're rotated they're not. The orientation isn't important so it's ready to uh. It's ready to be wired up here. Now so the next step will be hanging the pendants wiring it up and then I'll patch up this hole and I'll show you how I do that so here's uh.Read More
- This is how. I tend to handle this kind of mess. So you know everything's kind of coming back to one box. You know there's probably a lot of different opinions on how to do this. But this is this is my method. So you've got this big rat's nest where everything's kind of tying together. I've got one of the feeds coming in one of them going out to another light already a can light and then I've added two more and they're all coming into this center box and just because of the way that everything was routed they all kind of had to come here. I couldn't daisy chain it another way so it's kind of like a star instead of a ring um. Uh you know this isn't really about wiring but always hook your neutral up first just in case your ground. Isn't bonded for some reason that doesn't really happen in some construction that's already existing but um you know. I had a old-time electrician years ago teach me to always hook up the neutral first not the ground but you know. I think unbonded ground is kind of kind of rare anyways so because I have this rat's nest and I've got to have another light connected here um rather than trying to wire the light into you know five or four leads. Four or five leads here um. I'm going to actually set it up where I bring some extra leads down for just the light. So I'll pack all this up in here.Read More
- So it's a lot easier to manage. Once the lights here then all I've got three separate leads that'll just have some smaller wire nuts on them. That is attached to this whole rat's nest rather than trying to attach the rat's nest to the bottom of the fixture. Because the wiring on the fixture is usually kind of tight you're trying to hold the fixture and mess with that. It's just easier to bring some little leads down so that's that's how I do this so that's just a little a little blurb on kind of managing this mess of wires. So this is just what I'm talking about here so I left these leads just for my light. Now. I'm gonna tuck these all up nice in the box while not trying to fight getting. The light hooked up here. So we'll just have three smaller yellow wire nuts use these red ones. Generally the red ones are larger they'll easily handle four or five uh 14 gauge wires so get that all tucked up in there and and we'll get the light hooked up.Read More
- So there's probably a million videos on how to do this. But I'll show it here since I have to do it anyways but the way that you patch a hole. Like this you cut a piece of drywall this size. I just used my dremel that if I didn't talk about it before has that jig where you can set the bit uh to a certain radius and it makes it very easy to cut round holes. So I'm going to take I just use some shim stock that I have laying around you know you can get this home depot. They work real well for this. I just put this in here. Any kind of piece of wood will work and what you do is. You screw it in here here here and here with a couple pieces.Read More
- Then it just gives you some backer to be able to put the piece in here and then screw it in here and then you putty it and everything. I'm not going to show that part. But you would you'd fill this all in and re-texture it and you'd never know that it was here all installed now um. I did not do the cosmetics before I get a whole bunch of comments saying you didn't finish it before putting the lights up. The homeowner is going to be doing that but they want to get the lights up in the meantime so they'll take care of the patching and the texture. The knockdown texture not too difficult though. But we're all patched up now and installed and uh these lights are functional. So we have now three pendant lights uh centered over this uh island cabinet now rather than one hidden can light with a mickey mouse fixture screwed into it. So it's all up to code and and it looks pretty. Good now.Read More