Hi all,
I am new to the group and have searched for the answer to my question but cant find the answer, so i am hoping there is a knowledgeable person out there that can tell me if it is possible to have a couple of wall lights in my living room, all over the internet there are tutorials on how to fix the fitting to the wall, but none explain where the wires come from, i have just a long straight wall so how am i supposed to know where the wires are?
thanks in advance!
Davie
It all depends on the wall and where your existing wiring is. :-)
The electrical feed will almost certainly have to come from above (i.e. ceiling level) or below (floor level, less likely unless it's in an upstairs room). As to how the wires are to get to the middle of the wall where the lights are, there are various possibilities depending on what sort of wall it is:-
If it's a solid (i.e. brick, cement, breezeblock) internal wall, i.e. one without a cavity then your choices are:-
Surface wiring (probably in plastic conduit for tidiness).
Chased in wiring, cut a channel in the wall put the wire in the channel and plaster over. This is better but messier and harder work than surface wiring.
If it's a plasterboard on battens internal wall then it's fairly easy, usually, to feed the wire down the gap between the two plasterboard skins from the ceiling above and make a hole where the light is installed to fish the wire out.
If it's an exterior cavity wall then your choices are similar to those for an internal solid wall. You're not supposed to drop wires down the cavity and anyway it's likely to be filled nowadays. One additional possibility is to wire from the outside, you could take a wire outside (at ceiling level) and run it down the outside wall and drill a hole through. This may or may not be a better way to do things, it all depends.
As to where the wires 'come from' in terms of the supply there are two basic possibilities. You can connect to your ring main (or other socket feed) in which case you will need a "Fused Connection Unit" (FCU) with an appropriate sized fuse for the lighting wiring, probably
5 amp or so. You can connect to the wiring behind any convenient socket either in the same room or in the room above.Alternatively you can connect into the lighting circuit whose wiring you will almost certainly find in the ceiling feeding the central light in the room concerned. Since this is already a lighting circuit you don't need an FCU. Unless you already have a *lot* of lights on the circuit there shouldn't be an issue with adding a couple of wall lights though strictly you should check to ensure you're not overloading the circuit.
The naiveté of your enquiry would suggest that you shouldn't consider tackling this task.
I *did* wonder about this too but decided information could do no harm.
When we moved in to this house we had two wall lights in the living room that didn't work. When we redecorated and striped the paper off the walls I found the wall had been chased from the lights to the switch at the doorway and both lights connected to the switch. Black to black and red to red.
hi guys, the wall is solid, so i managed to channel the wires within the wall and plastered over it and then painted the living room, worked like a dream, ohh and thanx Stickems :p
I was about to reply that perhaps the OP shouldn't even consider doing it, if they have no knowledge of where wiring *might* be. But I think your replies say it all already! ;-)
JW
That's OK, anytime.
| >> I am new to the group and have searched for the answer to my question but | >> cant find the answer, so i am hoping there is a knowledgeable person out | >> there that can tell me if it is possible to have a couple of wall lights | >> in | >> my living room, all over the internet there are tutorials on how to fix | >> the | >> fitting to the wall, but none explain where the wires come from, i have | >> just | >> a long straight wall so how am i supposed to know where the wires are? | >>
| > It all depends on the wall and where your existing wiring is. :-) | >
| > The electrical feed will almost certainly have to come from above | > (i.e. ceiling level) or below (floor level, less likely unless it's in | > an upstairs room). As to how the wires are to get to the middle of | > the wall where the lights are, there are various possibilities | > depending on what sort of wall it is:- | >
| > If it's a solid (i.e. brick, cement, breezeblock) internal wall, i.e. | > one without a cavity then your choices are:- | >
| > Surface wiring (probably in plastic conduit for tidiness). | >
| > Chased in wiring, cut a channel in the wall put the wire in | > the channel and plaster over. This is better but messier and | > harder work than surface wiring. | >
| >
| > If it's a plasterboard on battens internal wall then it's fairly | > easy, usually, to feed the wire down the gap between the two | > plasterboard skins from the ceiling above and make a hole where | > the light is installed to fish the wire out. | >
| >
| > If it's an exterior cavity wall then your choices are similar to | > those for an internal solid wall. You're not supposed to drop wires | > down the cavity and anyway it's likely to be filled nowadays. One | > additional possibility is to wire from the outside, you could take | > a wire outside (at ceiling level) and run it down the outside wall | > and drill a hole through. This may or may not be a better way to | > do things, it all depends. | >
| >
| > As to where the wires 'come from' in terms of the supply there are two | > basic possibilities. You can connect to your ring main (or other | > socket feed) in which case you will need a "Fused Connection Unit" | > (FCU) with an appropriate sized fuse for the lighting wiring, probably | > 5 amp or so. You can connect to the wiring behind any convenient | > socket either in the same room or in the room above. | >
| > Alternatively you can connect into the lighting circuit whose wiring | > you will almost certainly find in the ceiling feeding the central | > light in the room concerned. Since this is already a lighting circuit | > you don't need an FCU. Unless you already have a *lot* of lights on | > the circuit there shouldn't be an issue with adding a couple of wall | > lights though strictly you should check to ensure you're not | > overloading the circuit. | >
| > -- | > Chris Green | |
All within 35 hours? That's good going!
You surely have to admit that your OP really did sound like you hadn't the first clue!?
I was just needing a little confirmation.
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