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Let There be More Light!
May. 22nd, 2021 01:06 pmOur living room has always been difficult to light. This is odd because the walls and ceiling (except the fireplace area) are white, but we've always had trouble lighting the room. Throughout the time we've been here, Lisa has installed different light fixtures to work on the issue. As I wrote a few weeks ago, Lisa extended an outlet under the computer desk using surface conduit, but that was only the start of the project, and yesterday we tackled the bigger part of the project.
( Installing a New Light Fixture )
As we finished the site preparation, Lisa determined that she didn't have enough wire. We probably have an extra spool of wire somewhere, but we couldn't find it. So we had to go to Lowe's, where we bought another 250 feet of wire. (We obviously didn't need that much today, but it seems likely that we'll need it eventually, and the unit price is cheaper in the larger rolls.)
This, by the way, is why Lisa planned this project for a Friday. The outlet project earlier this month we started on a Sunday night, and rather than finish off the whole project with the light, we had to stop and put everything back together because I had to have my computers back online for Monday morning. In this case, had we got to a point where we needed to stop for the night, we could just continue on Saturday.
( Running Conduit, Pushing Wires, and Mounting Fixtures )
After completing the wiring, Lisa turned the circuit breaker on and put bulbs in the fixture.
( Switch On and Reinstall the Computers )
My job during this was to ocassionally hold tools and stand by to run errands as needed. When I wasn't needed for that, I could read from one of our railroad magazines to keep Lisa entertained while she wrestled with conduit, wiring, and fixtures.
Lisa still thinks we might need one more light fixture. Our living room is larger than the entire studio apartment in which I lived for a year in San Jose after moving out of Fremont and before starting to cut the ties to the Bay Area, and with its high ceiling, it seems to have lots of shadows. Fortunately, the way she installed the florescent light on the ceiling a few months ago left her some room for expansion, so when she feels up to it, we'll probably go purchase another identical fixture and install it next to the existing light to double the illumination.
( Installing a New Light Fixture )
As we finished the site preparation, Lisa determined that she didn't have enough wire. We probably have an extra spool of wire somewhere, but we couldn't find it. So we had to go to Lowe's, where we bought another 250 feet of wire. (We obviously didn't need that much today, but it seems likely that we'll need it eventually, and the unit price is cheaper in the larger rolls.)
This, by the way, is why Lisa planned this project for a Friday. The outlet project earlier this month we started on a Sunday night, and rather than finish off the whole project with the light, we had to stop and put everything back together because I had to have my computers back online for Monday morning. In this case, had we got to a point where we needed to stop for the night, we could just continue on Saturday.
( Running Conduit, Pushing Wires, and Mounting Fixtures )
After completing the wiring, Lisa turned the circuit breaker on and put bulbs in the fixture.
( Switch On and Reinstall the Computers )
My job during this was to ocassionally hold tools and stand by to run errands as needed. When I wasn't needed for that, I could read from one of our railroad magazines to keep Lisa entertained while she wrestled with conduit, wiring, and fixtures.
Lisa still thinks we might need one more light fixture. Our living room is larger than the entire studio apartment in which I lived for a year in San Jose after moving out of Fremont and before starting to cut the ties to the Bay Area, and with its high ceiling, it seems to have lots of shadows. Fortunately, the way she installed the florescent light on the ceiling a few months ago left her some room for expansion, so when she feels up to it, we'll probably go purchase another identical fixture and install it next to the existing light to double the illumination.
