How to Install a Ceiling Power Box
- 1). Drill a small hole through your ceiling, at the location where you want to place an electrical junction box.
- 2). Push a light-colored stick or a long screwdriver through the hole and secure it in place.
- 3). Go up into the attic crawlspace and look for this "flag."
- 4). Use a 4-inch diameter drywall saw to cut a hole in the ceiling.
(Alternate access: If you don't have an attic crawlspace, cut the 4" hole in the ceiling where the new fixture is desired. Locate and avoid any joists. Visually trace the run of the joist to a side wall and then down to find possible nearby electrical lines, like a wall outlet, running inside the wall along this path.) - 5). Remove the cover from the wall outlet. Cut away a piece of drywall, 6-inches tall by 3-inches wide, above the outlet box to expose the wiring. If you see black, white, and green ground wires--and an additional red wire--stop and consult an electrician's guide book on how to handle three-wire connections.
- 6). Insert a flexible electrician's "fish pole" into the ceiling hole. Guide the fish pole along the joist towards your "target" wall and then down inside the wall. Fish the pole until the tip appears above the wall outlet box. Attach new electrical wire to the tip and pull the pole back through until the new wire arrives at the ceiling hole.
- 7). Turn off all power circuits in the breaker box.
- 8). Install a ceiling box hangar, with an octagonal junction box attached, over the ceiling hole if you're in the attic or up through the hole if you are inside the room.
- 9). Run existing electrical service wire to this new ceiling junction box. If you're in the attic, find another ceiling junction box nearby and run new service wire to it.
- 10
Run the new service wire to the new ceiling box. Connect a temporary test fixture, like a simple light socket with a bulb, to the new ceiling box wires. Set the lamp switch to "on." - 11
Restore the power. If the test light comes on, the wiring is correct. If it does not come on or if the circuit blows, troubleshoot the problem. Turn off the power before continuing. - 12
Turn off the power when finished with the test light. Remove the tester and cap off the bare wires in the ceiling until you can install the new fixture. Repair any drywall damage necessary. Restore power when done.
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