apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I hope the link below will work but in case not, it is from Ikea and called Leding - super cheap ($16.99 in Canada) and looks good. I replaced a wall fixture in a bathroom with one once and it worked well. In terms of how to - it comes with instructions but you do have to be able to shut off the electricity at the breaker or fuse box, not just the switch.

http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00098214

I agree. Ikea is your best bet Garret. They have great lighting options that are easy and economical.

Just make sure you switch off that line in the circuit box first. Otherwise you will fry yourself.

Questions like this make me worry about civilization as a whole.

There are lots of "How To's" for changing electrical fixtures in DIY.com and Thisoldhouse.com

After you pick out the light fixture you want (Ikea is a good bet), I would recommend you have your superintendent install it. An incorrectly installed light can lead to an electrical fire.

hey michaelc,
this person is earnestly asking for help, why do have to throw that last line in? isnt this a site where people can ask about stuff like that without having to feel incompetant. oh well. unnecessary commentary like this makes me worry about civilization as a whole, too.

Don't be afraid - changing a light fixture, or an outlet, or a switch is all unbelievably easy. Flip off the breaker, and dive in.

Hey, I have the same ugly, cheap light fixture! I too, am pretty freaked out about changing it (as a renter I do not have access to the breaker) but this thread has given me hope.

"as a renter I do not have access to the breaker"

Actually as a renter, you have to have access to the breaker for your unit - unless you're living in an illegal unit that's not built to code.

Maybe replacing the patterned glass cover with a plainer one would be a quick fix? You can get them cheap at hardware stores. I have a similar light fixture with a plain frosted cover in a similar spot, and I don't even notice it.

Really thanks Steph309. I want to elaborate, but I will not. You are correct this is a forum for solutions to common problems. I just forget that not everyone has the basic tools of survival, which is sad.

You also might be able to just replace the glass with something more interesting. It looks like you have a center-post fixture with plenty of clearance on all sides, so you should have lots of options; search ebay or flea markets for vintage glass shades, or go to a big lighting supply house and see what they have.

If you get something deeper than what you have now, you may need to go to the hardware store and get a longer stem (the post the shade goes on) - it's just a piece of threaded tube and easy to swap and adjust. I had to do that with an awesome vintage jadite shade I put in my kitchen recently. Get a new, shiny twist-on cap (the part that holds the shade on) while you're there, and you'll have a great looking fixture, without touching the wiring at all.

My sentiments exactly steph309....

It's pretty irritating when someone asks a question and someone throws in some snide remark. If you think it's a dumb question...skip it! Jeez...

bepsf - really? I'd imagine I just ask the maintenance team for my building... Its a pretty massive place (over 300 units) and I would hate to turn off someone else's electric by mistake :)

You should have breakers in your unit. Ask your maintenance people.

There's a very simple 3-bulb vanity light at Home Depot-- just three round bulbs on a chrome background. It's only $9 and it looks really simple and clean.

Changing a light can be one of the easier/faster DIY projects (unless the last person to install a light did something weird to the wall...) Its a matter of disconnecting and reconnecting 3 wires, and some light work with a screwdriver. Find out about those breakers, learn what the ground wire does and what it looks like, and you're off... Or ask maintenance...

Sometimes you can use existing parts from your previous light and other times you can't use a damn thing.

1) Turn off the lights
2) Turn off the breaker
3) Remove the existing light fixture (sometimes a screw driver is needed)
4) Remove the wire nuts fixture from the wall
5) Remove the metal plate
6) You'll have black wire white wire ground wire (they should match up to your light fixture according to color) [but sometimes it is different according to the age of your house, or a moron that improperly installed it- check the directions AND what it was previously wire up to before)
6) Twist the wire from the light fixture to the wire in the wall - use the wire nuts and twist them so they stay joined together
7) Screw in your light fixture to the wall
8) Turn on the breaker
9) Turn on the lights!

Sometimes you hooked it up wrong, but don't panic - just turn everything back off and make sure you connected the correct wires.

good luck!!

This is my favorite reference for installing light fixtures. The photographs are really clear and it tells you how to figure out which wire is which.

I have the same type of fixture- plain glass not patterned - and I kept it. Almost nothing else works with my retro 1940's style bathroom. That Ikea fixture would be ugly in there...

"Actually as a renter, you have to have access to the breaker for your unit - unless you're living in an illegal unit that's not built to code."

That is a blanket statement... Actually as a renter, I don't. Not everybody can access their electrical supply box.

I live in a 135 year old building and my single 20 amp circuit breaker is in the basement behind a locked door. When the building was electrified in 1910, it was to code.

hey garret, i'm kind of envying that light fixture. it is handsome compared to my bathroom light!

In some buildings, your GAS can't even be shut off in your own apartment!