I had an electrician come in and remove a florescent light fixture, and install a standard interior light fixture that hugs the ceiling. It uses one standard 60 watt bulb. This is in my pantry.
It did not have an electrical box, so he cut through the drywall and put one in.
After he left, I noticed that he did not use the metal mounting bar that came with the fixture.
Is this OK, or could this present a problem down the road. I worry about electrical fires, etc.
Thank you!
Kadee
It is most likely OK. The bar is to be used in situations where the fixture screws do not line up with the holes in the box.
He probably hung the fixture directly from the ceiling framing and did not trust a "cut in" box to hold it
Hi, OP said electrician installed a box. I consider that bar as an adapter to facilitate the fixture mounting screw holes does not line up with holes on the box. I just had same thing when I replaced rusty bath room fixture with new one at my BIL's house.
It sounds fine to me.
That bar is for times when someone wants the fixture between two joists, too far from either for the box to be attached to one. I'm sure that was not the case here, that the original light was next to a joist. And the electrciian left the bar behind because it was included with the box and you paid for it.
But let's say someone brings home Bonzo for the weekend and he spends his time swinging from the light fixture. The worst that will happen is that Bonzo pulls the fixture down, that pulls the box connected to it down, through the ceilng, but it will still have the wiring enclosed properly in the box/fixture, with no fire hazard. Even if the box is below the ceiling now.
Don't forget that Bonzo weighs a lot more than he seems to, at least 100 pounds. Unless it has a glass shade that breaks from the weight, anyone lighter swinging from the light probably won't do anything to it, .
If I presume correctly, this bracket is around 4 inches in length? If so, then the bracket is not necessary for proper installation. It is an adapter plate.
What does the bar look like? There are at least two types of "metal mounting bars".
One that let's you install a box between 2 joists like this...
...and bars like this that can be used to mount "center post" fixtures or fixtures where the mounting holes don't line up with the screw holes on the box.
In either case, it can't hurt to give him a call and ask. If he's a nice guy, he'll explain it. If he doesn't, as in he blows you off or tells you not to worry about, then you may indeed have a reason for concern about his workmanship.
A trustworthy contractor will explain why he does things the way he does and the explanation should make sense when he's done. If not, well, then it's time to dig further.
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