Proper Procedure To Remove & Replace Bathroom Vanity Light
One of the simple & easy ways when it comes to updating the appearance of a bathroom is to remove & replace an old, out of date & obsolete vanity light with one that is more suited to your sense of style. Due to the fact that the wiring is already in place in the wall, replacing vanity light is generally easy enough to do without a need to call an electrician. In the majority of cases, it is just a matter of pulling out a few screws and cutting off the wires in order to get rid of the old vanity light and then connecting the new fixture to the power source as well as to the wall.
Removing The Old Vanity Light
Before you begin to remove or install any electrical components in the bathroom, you need to turn off the power to the room by placing the suitable circuit breaker to the "off" position. If the breakers are not properly labeled, then ask a friend to turn on the light switches in the bathroom as you try the probable breakers. Make sure to turn any other circuits you have turned off back to "on" if they are not connected to the bathroom.
- Remove The Glass Shades: First of all, pull out the glass shades from the vanity light. In most of the cases, these are held in place with the help of small thumb screws that must be loosened to release the shade.
- Remove The Light Bulbs: Now, pull out the light bulbs and place them in a location where they won't break. If you take the assistance from your friend, then it can make the process even easier.
- Loosen & Remove The Nuts Or Screws: Loosen as well as take out the nuts or screws that are taking hold of the old fixture onto the wall. Place those nuts or screws to one side or hand them to your helper. Firmly, pull away the old fixture from the wall, which in turn will expose the wiring.
- Check The Wires Using Noncontact Voltage Tester: Examine the wires using a noncontact voltage tester in order to make sure that there is no power coursing through any of the wires that are connected to both the fixture as well as the in-wall wiring.
- Remove Wires From The Housing In The Wall: Smoothly pull out the wires from the housing in the wall so that you can disconnect them. Pull out the wire nuts and disconnect the old fixture wiring from the in-wall wiring. You need to do this once for the set of white wires as well as once for the set of black wires. If there is a bare ground wire, then you need to remove that as well.
- Remove The Entire Vanity Light Assembly: Finally, remove the entire vanity light assembly from the wall and set it aside. Examine the wires sticking out of the wall in order to make sure that their ends are in good shape. If not, cut them and strip 1/2 inch of the coating off the end of each trimmed wire with the help of wire strippers. This will make sure a good connection when hooking up the new fixture.
Replacing The Bathroom Vanity Light
Before you secure the new light's wires to the wires in the wall, take a look for a mounting plate in the materials that came with the light. Entirely dependent on the manufacturer, the piece may be known as a plate, bar or bracket. These are designed to safely secure the fixture assembly to the electrical housing on the wall. If the old fixture has one of these in place, then you need to remove it.
- Attach New Mounting Bracket To Electrical Box: First of all, secure or fix the new mounting bracket to the electrical box in accordance with the installation instructions that came with the light. The specifics vary slightly which is entirely dependent on the bracket style, generally shaped like a bar or a disc. The bracket assembly should come with the screws needed to secure it to the electrical box.
- Connect Bare Grounding Wire To The Grounding Screw: Attach or fix the bare grounding wire to the grounding screw on the new bracket by warping it two or three times around the partially loose screw before tightening the screw. The top on the grounding screw may be tinted green. If it is not and you are not able to figure out which screw is which, then go through the details in the installation paperwork that came with the vanity light.
- Tighten A Wire Nut: Warp together the ends of the black wire from the new light as well as the black wire from within the wall. Tighten a wire nut over their ends by flipping the nut clockwise. Tug smoothly in order to make sure the wires are secure inside the nut.
- Set The Fixture In Place On The Wall: Warp the white wire ends together in the same fashion, but make sure the wire nut is tight. Set the fixture in place on the wall, making sure that the wiring is fully tucked into the electrical box.
- Tighten The Nuts Or Screws: Tighten the nuts or screws that take hold of the vanity light base plate onto the mounting bracket secured to the electrical box. Your vanity light may also need extra support, like wall anchors. If so, the light kit need to have the plastic wall anchors and screws for them as well as directions for where to drill the holes for the anchors. Go through the light kit's instructions for extra support as needed.
- Insert One Light Bulb Into Each Socket: Place the glass light shades on the vanity light and attach them in place with the help of included thumb screws or nuts. Place, fit, or push one light bulb into each socket. Use LED bulbs in order to save on energy costs. If you are using incandescent bulbs, then make sure the wattage is lower as compared to the highest indicated wattage listed on or near the socket. Turn on the bathroom circuit breaker before turning on the appropriate bathroom light switch to power the new vanity light.