A few basic methods TO save money ON ELECTRICAL work

Ok, so we just recently had some work done. Nope, not calf implants, however you’re close…

How about can implants? likewise understood as recessed lighting. as well as we went for a pendant injection while we were at it (when in Rome…). really the large shot shows a lot more of the chaos that ensued just to get the space prepared for its close up (we eliminated half of Karl The Sectional as well as pushed him across the space together with rolling back the rug as well as covering the floor with decrease clothes under each work area).

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Can you believe we’re well into year three of living right here as well as we’ve never had overhead lights in the living space (except for one little light that utilized to hang off-center in the corner). as well as while we like lamps for ambiance, overhead lights can be practical to flip on when a lot more illumination is needed (like for discovering that rogue doll shoe that Clara needs rightthissecond!). generally there’s a reason that Candice Olson champions the whole light-layering thing (some recessed lights + a pendant + a few table lamps or floor lamps seems to be her wonderful spot, often with a sconce or two tossed in there for great measure).

And considering that we utilized to have two big fans overhead – without lights mind you, just huge hulking brown fans that we never utilized (this part of the home is cooler as well as has great deals of sliders to open for a breeze) – we had two fixture boxes in the ceiling to tap into for the recessed lights.

And magically, with the scroll of a mouse they’re done. as well as they’re glorious.

We believed about branching off from them as well as adding a heap a lot more (four? six? eight?) however made a decision that considering that there were just those two fixture boxes that existed, we’d online with two for now before swiss-cheesing the ceiling as well as getting a lot more materials. however understanding that we can always add a lot more now that these infants are wired up is nice.

When it pertained to making sure those recessed light conversions were done safely, we hired our preferred regional electrician (his name is Sean, as well as he runs S.J. Ryan Electric, who we pointed out during our kitchen area reno here).

The cords up in the attic above the living space were a bit as well frightening (not as much as code at all) for us to offer with on our own, as well as the peace of mind of counting on an professional for things that can shed your home down is always nice. however like a lot of DIYers, we were ecstatic to deal with whatever was within our skill set (because we’re affordable like that). Which indicated that we were delighted to instal the pendant light over the table by the window, just as soon as Sean’s people got the fixture box centered (it utilized to be about a foot as well far to the left so the old pendant made the window look truly wonky).

Sometimes we can step fixture boxes ourselves, like we did in our shower room here…

… however in this situation there wasn’t any type of slack in the cable for us to step it ourselves, as well as there were great deals of other wires going to the box that confused us, so we had them get things as much as code as well as step them over while they were at it.

It’s a great deal like exactly how we hired a contractor to assist us open up the wall between the kitchen area as well as the dining space as well as then did all the drywall/trim/finishing ourselves to save some loot. In this situation we grabbed the ol’ baton as well as did the pendant installation as well as patched the ceiling hole. considering that a lot of electricians fee hourly, the a lot more you do yourself, the a lot more you can save.

Oh as well as you can likewise save money by prepping the space before any individual shows up. For this bit experience we:

moved the sofa

rolled back the rug

put down decrease cloths

marked the ceiling for where we desired things to go

That last bullet is a biggie. Measuring to be sure the pendant would be centered as well as then marking an x on the ceiling saved us time considering that we didn’t have to dispute the pendant placement while the electrician was right here (any long chats while the electrician’s around = cash-money out the door, considering that they’re on his time).

And after they left, we:

hung the pendant light

patched that hole in the ceiling near the back window

caught our breath

put the space back together

And then it appeared like this…

Of program the gigantic window makes our quite pendant a great deal a lot more undetectable than he is in person (he’s crisp as well as simple to see in genuine life), however going from zero overhead lights to two recessed lights as well as a pendant over the table is such an remarkable change. There’s a reason all those people state “good illumination is a space changer.”

When it pertains to the whole hole patching shebang, we have a few ideas for you…

Hole patching idea numero uno: We utilize these bit hole-patching fit together things from house Depot together with Crackshot Spackle by Dap (applied with a spackle knife) for a great quick cover-up.

Hole patching idea numero dos: Don’t stop at one spackle session, I always try to do 2-3 thin applications so I catch all the bit flaws that I may miss the very first time (you can sand between each spackling sesh or just keep building it up as well as then sand when you’re sure you have all the low points filled). Note: you can see a lot of of this process on video right here if that helps.

Hole patching idea numero tres: I heard that Magic Erasers were quite helpful if you didn’t want to stir up as much dust as sanding would, so after my spackle dried I provided it a try. as well as I gotta say, it rocked. Some gentle buffing back as well as forth against the dry spackle with my only-slightly-wet Magic Eraser filed down the high points as well as made a great deal less of a mess, however I believe the crucial to my success may have been that I don’t mound my spackle (I just try to keep it flush while covering the low points, so very little sanding is necessary).

Hole patching idea numero quatro: When it’s time to paint over your smoothed out spackle, be sure it’s totally smooth (drywall or spackle flaws aren’t covered by paint, they’re emphasized by it). You likewise want to feather the paint out about 12″ beyond the spackled area, just so it’s not an evident blob of paint on the ceiling (two thin as well as even coats with long feathery clean strokes works for me).

As for the pendant that we chose, you may keep in mind it from our bit illumination collection (we pointed out that we bought three things in that old post- two of which we still had to hang). It was remarkable to lastly get it this infant up – particularly considering that it’s now completely centered over the table as well as in front of the window.

I like that the cable as well as canopy are a crisp white color. I nearly appears like it’s floating like a huge ol’ sun in the sky.

And as for the third thing that we gotten from our collection, that vibrant shade discovered a house on our bit stationery desk. Which is likewise understood as Burger’s treat desk considering that those are its two functions.

It adds a lot more of the colors that you see in the eco-friendly as well as blue lanterns on the desk, as well as the shapes in the shade seem to tie into the shapes in the mirror as well as the cutouts on the lanterns. It’s a great counterpart to the neutral options around it, like the walls, the desk, the chair, the ottoman, as well as the curtains.

We held a bit lamp shade fashion show with him. We tried it out on a few other lights, including the floor lamp in the sunroom (which was likewise cute) however made a decision to take pleasure in him in the living space for now. who understands where he’ll end up though…

Close up in 3… 2… 1. Boom.

As for the cost, this illumination upgrade was $72 in materials (for the two can lights, the trim for those, some wiring as well as junction boxes to repair a few poor connections in the attic, etc) as well as around $200 for all of the labor. We normally tell people it’s about $100 to get an overhead light added, so we believed that converting two of them to recessed lights as well as moving a fixture box so it’s centered (while straightening out some tangled fire-hazard wiring up in the attic) for $200 was a excellent price. Heck, when we look back at this before photo from 2010…

… it’s incredible exactly how far this space has come.

The only unfortunate thing is that we sat on the sofa this weekend as well as stated “why did we wait so lots of years to do this?!” Isn’t that always exactly how it goes? Oh well, at least now we can take pleasure in it. as well as state pun-tastic things like “I see the light!” whenever we walk into the room. Heck yes that happens.

What are you people as much as with lighting/ceilings/holes/pendants? Do you take the hire-out-some-but-do-what-I-can approach? I believe we saved around 100 bucks patching that hole as well as hanging the pendant ourselves. Sing it with me: “everyday I’m shuffling spackling…”

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