do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Why is my outside wall light going on and off?

Q. I have a mains powered wall light with a motion sensor. Since that very cold weather, when it senses motion and comes on, it flashes on and off, on and off...
Could something have been damaged by the severe cold?
Is there a part I can replace/fix, instead of replacing the whole light?
Thanks folks

A. My light suffered the same way. The sensor is a sealed unit so a new light is the only solution. I bought a new one and it looks better than the other one and works better.
My old one sometimes came on in bright sunlight and took ages to come on when dark.

How do I decorate a wall with a light in the center of it?

Q. I have a wall in my living room that has a wall light right in the center of it. I have no Idea how to decoate it. It seems so plain and I want to cozy up the room. The walls are painted a brick red and we have dark brown leather furniture. Thanks for your ideas.

A. I would suggest hanging art but making sure that you have symmetry on either side of the light. Another idea is to switch out your existing light to a modern track light (like you would normally have on your ceiling) if you had 3 track lights facing down onto three pieces of art that would look good. Or another option would be to add a console table against that wall, one that is a good width, then add some interesting pieces on it like large candles, a plant or sculpture and the light on the wall above it will feel like a part of the whole vignette.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Replacing a wall light fixture?

Q. I am trying to replace a bathroom wall light fixture. My dilemma is the fixture I took out of the wall has a strip of light bulbs with 6 wires (3 white/3 black). The new fixture only has 2 wires (1 white/1 black). Which wires do I use? What do I do with the extra wires? Will the connection work without the ground?

A. Remove the extra white and black wires, they should be just jumpers connected to the main wires. Then it is white to white, black to black. The connection for a light will work without a ground, but it is safer and to code to use a ground. Usually there is a green or thin bare wire, from the fixture for the ground. It can be directly connected to the box the main wires come into.

do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Why is my outside wall light going on and off?

Q. I have a mains powered wall light with a motion sensor. Since that very cold weather, when it senses motion and comes on, it flashes on and off, on and off...
Could something have been damaged by the severe cold?
Is there a part I can replace/fix, instead of replacing the whole light?
Thanks folks

A. My light suffered the same way. The sensor is a sealed unit so a new light is the only solution. I bought a new one and it looks better than the other one and works better.
My old one sometimes came on in bright sunlight and took ages to come on when dark.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Can I adjust an ordinary wall light and fix a switch to it?

Q. We have bought 2 new wall lights to replace some old fashioned ones, but never thought about the fact that the old wall lights have switch buttons on them (there is no wall switch to turn them on or off). Is there any way we can adjust ordinary wall lights and add a switch or a light pull to the actual wall light?

A. I would take them back,having this new information in mind and buy the exact lights that you need.As opposed to doing alot of modifications on the ones that you just bought.You'll be glad you did.Easier,less time consuming,and less expensive.

How do I wire an electrical outlet from a wall light?

Q. I want to install an electrical outlet on a wall that doesn't have any other outlets. There is a wall light directly above the place where I need the outlet so I want to use that junction for the power source. I do not want the wall light's switch to control the outlet. How do I wire this?

A. Depends on how the light is wired. If it's got only a black and a white wire, the only thing you can do is have the switch control the whole circuit. With only two wires, the black wire is made/broken at the switch, so the only way to get a circuit is to have the switch on.

If you have two black and two white, you're OK. One B/W pair will go to the switch and the other B/W pair provides the power. If you have this, notice that one pair is wired across the black of the other pair. That is, a black wire coming in ties to another wire going out without going to the light. The companion wire of the one going to the switch should be wired to the light. That's your switch leg, and it is made /broken at the switch. The white wire of the leg in should be on the other pole of the light. You want to take your new wire and add the black to the connection on the black coming in. You'll now have three wires there - hot in, hot out to switch, hot to your new outlet. Take your white from your new run, undo the white of the leg in at the light. Connect those two and add a white pigtail. Wire the pigtail to the light.

Be sure all circuits are off, and if you're not sure which wire is which, use an ohmeter to test. Be sure all grounds are connected in each box. Check out what will be on the circuits and make sure you don't overload them, and also that your boxes are rated for the amperage/wires you'll be using.

How do I stop my wall light bulbs making black marks on the ceiling?

Q. My wall light bulbs make black marks on the plaster coving and ceiling in my room. I understand you used to be able to buy little press on metal caps to stop this.

Does anybody know if these are still available and where I can get these from or any other tip to help

Any help would be very much appreciated
Unfortunately I am only using 25 watt bulbs now to help this so really can't go much lower but thanks for this idea

A. Use lower watt bulbs. The heat is causing the marks.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

Replacing a wall light fixture?

Q. I am trying to replace a bathroom wall light fixture. My dilemma is the fixture I took out of the wall has a strip of light bulbs with 6 wires (3 white/3 black). The new fixture only has 2 wires (1 white/1 black). Which wires do I use? What do I do with the extra wires? Will the connection work without the ground?

A. Remove the extra white and black wires, they should be just jumpers connected to the main wires. Then it is white to white, black to black. The connection for a light will work without a ground, but it is safer and to code to use a ground. Usually there is a green or thin bare wire, from the fixture for the ground. It can be directly connected to the box the main wires come into.

do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Replacing a wall light fixture?

Q. I am trying to replace a bathroom wall light fixture. My dilemma is the fixture I took out of the wall has a strip of light bulbs with 6 wires (3 white/3 black). The new fixture only has 2 wires (1 white/1 black). Which wires do I use? What do I do with the extra wires? Will the connection work without the ground?

A. Remove the extra white and black wires, they should be just jumpers connected to the main wires. Then it is white to white, black to black. The connection for a light will work without a ground, but it is safer and to code to use a ground. Usually there is a green or thin bare wire, from the fixture for the ground. It can be directly connected to the box the main wires come into.

do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Why is my outside wall light going on and off?

Q. I have a mains powered wall light with a motion sensor. Since that very cold weather, when it senses motion and comes on, it flashes on and off, on and off...
Could something have been damaged by the severe cold?
Is there a part I can replace/fix, instead of replacing the whole light?
Thanks folks

A. My light suffered the same way. The sensor is a sealed unit so a new light is the only solution. I bought a new one and it looks better than the other one and works better.
My old one sometimes came on in bright sunlight and took ages to come on when dark.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I stop my wall light bulbs making black marks on the ceiling?

Q. My wall light bulbs make black marks on the plaster coving and ceiling in my room. I understand you used to be able to buy little press on metal caps to stop this.

Does anybody know if these are still available and where I can get these from or any other tip to help

Any help would be very much appreciated
Unfortunately I am only using 25 watt bulbs now to help this so really can't go much lower but thanks for this idea

A. Use lower watt bulbs. The heat is causing the marks.

How do you make the wires safe before you put a blanking plate on when you remove wall lights.?

Q. We want to remove 2 wall lights, but we do not want to permanently remove the wires, so we will use blanking plates, but are not sure how you make the wires safe first. Does anyone have suggestions please?

A. You don't say where you are. If you are in the UK you will need to use connector blocks (min 5amp rating) as we stopped using screw on type connections, such as wire nuts /midgets, many years ago. Connector blocks are widely available from diy shops.
Don't rely on turning the wall switch off to make the cables dead as there may still be live cables present. It is probably simpler for you to turn off the main switch (Usually the biggest switch at your fuseboard) After making sure that the cables are definitely dead, put the cables into your connector in exactly the same order as they were connected in the fitting. ie if a black and red cable were connected together in the fitting they must be connected together when you reconnect them. Many people make the mistake of not noting how it came apart. Put all your earth cables together and after gently tugging at all the cables to make sure it doesn't fall apart tape the connectors up before pushing back into the wall and covering with your blank plate.
You may be lucky and find that on removing the old lights you have existing connectors you can retain. In which case visually check there are no loose strands of copper after disconnecting the light and simply tape the connectors up.
If in any doubt of how to make it safe don't attempt it yourself, get someone in. Electricity kills.

Where can you get wall lights for your room?

Q. I have been watching room tours on youtube and a lot of people have really cool wall lights (not plain ones, like pink and stuff) ti make there room more fun, they have them over there bed and stuff. So I went to a couple of stores online but none had anything close to that. Please help!

A. Have you tried homedepot ive senn cool lights their

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I wire an electrical outlet from a wall light?

Q. I want to install an electrical outlet on a wall that doesn't have any other outlets. There is a wall light directly above the place where I need the outlet so I want to use that junction for the power source. I do not want the wall light's switch to control the outlet. How do I wire this?

A. Depends on how the light is wired. If it's got only a black and a white wire, the only thing you can do is have the switch control the whole circuit. With only two wires, the black wire is made/broken at the switch, so the only way to get a circuit is to have the switch on.

If you have two black and two white, you're OK. One B/W pair will go to the switch and the other B/W pair provides the power. If you have this, notice that one pair is wired across the black of the other pair. That is, a black wire coming in ties to another wire going out without going to the light. The companion wire of the one going to the switch should be wired to the light. That's your switch leg, and it is made /broken at the switch. The white wire of the leg in should be on the other pole of the light. You want to take your new wire and add the black to the connection on the black coming in. You'll now have three wires there - hot in, hot out to switch, hot to your new outlet. Take your white from your new run, undo the white of the leg in at the light. Connect those two and add a white pigtail. Wire the pigtail to the light.

Be sure all circuits are off, and if you're not sure which wire is which, use an ohmeter to test. Be sure all grounds are connected in each box. Check out what will be on the circuits and make sure you don't overload them, and also that your boxes are rated for the amperage/wires you'll be using.

How do I stop my wall light bulbs making black marks on the ceiling?

Q. My wall light bulbs make black marks on the plaster coving and ceiling in my room. I understand you used to be able to buy little press on metal caps to stop this.

Does anybody know if these are still available and where I can get these from or any other tip to help

Any help would be very much appreciated
Unfortunately I am only using 25 watt bulbs now to help this so really can't go much lower but thanks for this idea

A. Use lower watt bulbs. The heat is causing the marks.

How do you make the wires safe before you put a blanking plate on when you remove wall lights.?

Q. We want to remove 2 wall lights, but we do not want to permanently remove the wires, so we will use blanking plates, but are not sure how you make the wires safe first. Does anyone have suggestions please?

A. You don't say where you are. If you are in the UK you will need to use connector blocks (min 5amp rating) as we stopped using screw on type connections, such as wire nuts /midgets, many years ago. Connector blocks are widely available from diy shops.
Don't rely on turning the wall switch off to make the cables dead as there may still be live cables present. It is probably simpler for you to turn off the main switch (Usually the biggest switch at your fuseboard) After making sure that the cables are definitely dead, put the cables into your connector in exactly the same order as they were connected in the fitting. ie if a black and red cable were connected together in the fitting they must be connected together when you reconnect them. Many people make the mistake of not noting how it came apart. Put all your earth cables together and after gently tugging at all the cables to make sure it doesn't fall apart tape the connectors up before pushing back into the wall and covering with your blank plate.
You may be lucky and find that on removing the old lights you have existing connectors you can retain. In which case visually check there are no loose strands of copper after disconnecting the light and simply tape the connectors up.
If in any doubt of how to make it safe don't attempt it yourself, get someone in. Electricity kills.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

Replacing a wall light fixture?

Q. I am trying to replace a bathroom wall light fixture. My dilemma is the fixture I took out of the wall has a strip of light bulbs with 6 wires (3 white/3 black). The new fixture only has 2 wires (1 white/1 black). Which wires do I use? What do I do with the extra wires? Will the connection work without the ground?

A. Remove the extra white and black wires, they should be just jumpers connected to the main wires. Then it is white to white, black to black. The connection for a light will work without a ground, but it is safer and to code to use a ground. Usually there is a green or thin bare wire, from the fixture for the ground. It can be directly connected to the box the main wires come into.

do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Where can you get wall lights for your room?

Q. I have been watching room tours on youtube and a lot of people have really cool wall lights (not plain ones, like pink and stuff) ti make there room more fun, they have them over there bed and stuff. So I went to a couple of stores online but none had anything close to that. Please help!

A. Have you tried homedepot ive senn cool lights their

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

Replacing a wall light fixture?

Q. I am trying to replace a bathroom wall light fixture. My dilemma is the fixture I took out of the wall has a strip of light bulbs with 6 wires (3 white/3 black). The new fixture only has 2 wires (1 white/1 black). Which wires do I use? What do I do with the extra wires? Will the connection work without the ground?

A. Remove the extra white and black wires, they should be just jumpers connected to the main wires. Then it is white to white, black to black. The connection for a light will work without a ground, but it is safer and to code to use a ground. Usually there is a green or thin bare wire, from the fixture for the ground. It can be directly connected to the box the main wires come into.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Where can you get wall lights for your room?

Q. I have been watching room tours on youtube and a lot of people have really cool wall lights (not plain ones, like pink and stuff) ti make there room more fun, they have them over there bed and stuff. So I went to a couple of stores online but none had anything close to that. Please help!

A. Have you tried homedepot ive senn cool lights their

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

Replacing a wall light fixture?

Q. I am trying to replace a bathroom wall light fixture. My dilemma is the fixture I took out of the wall has a strip of light bulbs with 6 wires (3 white/3 black). The new fixture only has 2 wires (1 white/1 black). Which wires do I use? What do I do with the extra wires? Will the connection work without the ground?

A. Remove the extra white and black wires, they should be just jumpers connected to the main wires. Then it is white to white, black to black. The connection for a light will work without a ground, but it is safer and to code to use a ground. Usually there is a green or thin bare wire, from the fixture for the ground. It can be directly connected to the box the main wires come into.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do you make the wires safe before you put a blanking plate on when you remove wall lights.?

Q. We want to remove 2 wall lights, but we do not want to permanently remove the wires, so we will use blanking plates, but are not sure how you make the wires safe first. Does anyone have suggestions please?

A. You don't say where you are. If you are in the UK you will need to use connector blocks (min 5amp rating) as we stopped using screw on type connections, such as wire nuts /midgets, many years ago. Connector blocks are widely available from diy shops.
Don't rely on turning the wall switch off to make the cables dead as there may still be live cables present. It is probably simpler for you to turn off the main switch (Usually the biggest switch at your fuseboard) After making sure that the cables are definitely dead, put the cables into your connector in exactly the same order as they were connected in the fitting. ie if a black and red cable were connected together in the fitting they must be connected together when you reconnect them. Many people make the mistake of not noting how it came apart. Put all your earth cables together and after gently tugging at all the cables to make sure it doesn't fall apart tape the connectors up before pushing back into the wall and covering with your blank plate.
You may be lucky and find that on removing the old lights you have existing connectors you can retain. In which case visually check there are no loose strands of copper after disconnecting the light and simply tape the connectors up.
If in any doubt of how to make it safe don't attempt it yourself, get someone in. Electricity kills.

Where can you get wall lights for your room?

Q. I have been watching room tours on youtube and a lot of people have really cool wall lights (not plain ones, like pink and stuff) ti make there room more fun, they have them over there bed and stuff. So I went to a couple of stores online but none had anything close to that. Please help!

A. Have you tried homedepot ive senn cool lights their

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Where can you get wall lights for your room?

Q. I have been watching room tours on youtube and a lot of people have really cool wall lights (not plain ones, like pink and stuff) ti make there room more fun, they have them over there bed and stuff. So I went to a couple of stores online but none had anything close to that. Please help!

A. Have you tried homedepot ive senn cool lights their

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Why is my outside wall light going on and off?

Q. I have a mains powered wall light with a motion sensor. Since that very cold weather, when it senses motion and comes on, it flashes on and off, on and off...
Could something have been damaged by the severe cold?
Is there a part I can replace/fix, instead of replacing the whole light?
Thanks folks

A. My light suffered the same way. The sensor is a sealed unit so a new light is the only solution. I bought a new one and it looks better than the other one and works better.
My old one sometimes came on in bright sunlight and took ages to come on when dark.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I stop my wall light bulbs making black marks on the ceiling?

Q. My wall light bulbs make black marks on the plaster coving and ceiling in my room. I understand you used to be able to buy little press on metal caps to stop this.

Does anybody know if these are still available and where I can get these from or any other tip to help

Any help would be very much appreciated
Unfortunately I am only using 25 watt bulbs now to help this so really can't go much lower but thanks for this idea

A. Use lower watt bulbs. The heat is causing the marks.

How do you make the wires safe before you put a blanking plate on when you remove wall lights.?

Q. We want to remove 2 wall lights, but we do not want to permanently remove the wires, so we will use blanking plates, but are not sure how you make the wires safe first. Does anyone have suggestions please?

A. You don't say where you are. If you are in the UK you will need to use connector blocks (min 5amp rating) as we stopped using screw on type connections, such as wire nuts /midgets, many years ago. Connector blocks are widely available from diy shops.
Don't rely on turning the wall switch off to make the cables dead as there may still be live cables present. It is probably simpler for you to turn off the main switch (Usually the biggest switch at your fuseboard) After making sure that the cables are definitely dead, put the cables into your connector in exactly the same order as they were connected in the fitting. ie if a black and red cable were connected together in the fitting they must be connected together when you reconnect them. Many people make the mistake of not noting how it came apart. Put all your earth cables together and after gently tugging at all the cables to make sure it doesn't fall apart tape the connectors up before pushing back into the wall and covering with your blank plate.
You may be lucky and find that on removing the old lights you have existing connectors you can retain. In which case visually check there are no loose strands of copper after disconnecting the light and simply tape the connectors up.
If in any doubt of how to make it safe don't attempt it yourself, get someone in. Electricity kills.

Where can you get wall lights for your room?

Q. I have been watching room tours on youtube and a lot of people have really cool wall lights (not plain ones, like pink and stuff) ti make there room more fun, they have them over there bed and stuff. So I went to a couple of stores online but none had anything close to that. Please help!

A. Have you tried homedepot ive senn cool lights their

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I decorate a wall with a light in the center of it?

Q. I have a wall in my living room that has a wall light right in the center of it. I have no Idea how to decoate it. It seems so plain and I want to cozy up the room. The walls are painted a brick red and we have dark brown leather furniture. Thanks for your ideas.

A. I would suggest hanging art but making sure that you have symmetry on either side of the light. Another idea is to switch out your existing light to a modern track light (like you would normally have on your ceiling) if you had 3 track lights facing down onto three pieces of art that would look good. Or another option would be to add a console table against that wall, one that is a good width, then add some interesting pieces on it like large candles, a plant or sculpture and the light on the wall above it will feel like a part of the whole vignette.

Two wires from switch and two wires from the wall. Want to mount wall light. How?

Q. The house was built in the 50's. Two wires are coming up from the switch and two wires are coming down from the top of the wall. I do not see a third wire. I attached the wall light wires left wires to left wires and right wires to right wires and light stayed on, when I moved the switch it threw the breaker. So I used many combinations and the switch would not make the connection. It appears one wire may be white and one black. Help please!

A. You don't need a voltage tester, you need an Electrician. I know this is a DIY Forum, but your description is vague at best. Quit playing around and just call a professional.

What kind of wall decors will you use to decorate your room? Wall Shelf or wall paper or wall light?

Q. What kind of wall decors will you use to decorate your room? Wall Shelf or wall paper or wall light?
Personally , I love wall paper/wall pics. hehe ^-^

A. In fact, i like wall art, something like this one: http://www.hihomedecor.com/contemporary-flower-pattern-hand-painted-unframed-canvas-wall-art-set-5pcs but i don't know what your room style...

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I wire an electrical outlet from a wall light?

Q. I want to install an electrical outlet on a wall that doesn't have any other outlets. There is a wall light directly above the place where I need the outlet so I want to use that junction for the power source. I do not want the wall light's switch to control the outlet. How do I wire this?

A. Depends on how the light is wired. If it's got only a black and a white wire, the only thing you can do is have the switch control the whole circuit. With only two wires, the black wire is made/broken at the switch, so the only way to get a circuit is to have the switch on.

If you have two black and two white, you're OK. One B/W pair will go to the switch and the other B/W pair provides the power. If you have this, notice that one pair is wired across the black of the other pair. That is, a black wire coming in ties to another wire going out without going to the light. The companion wire of the one going to the switch should be wired to the light. That's your switch leg, and it is made /broken at the switch. The white wire of the leg in should be on the other pole of the light. You want to take your new wire and add the black to the connection on the black coming in. You'll now have three wires there - hot in, hot out to switch, hot to your new outlet. Take your white from your new run, undo the white of the leg in at the light. Connect those two and add a white pigtail. Wire the pigtail to the light.

Be sure all circuits are off, and if you're not sure which wire is which, use an ohmeter to test. Be sure all grounds are connected in each box. Check out what will be on the circuits and make sure you don't overload them, and also that your boxes are rated for the amperage/wires you'll be using.

How do I stop my wall light bulbs making black marks on the ceiling?

Q. My wall light bulbs make black marks on the plaster coving and ceiling in my room. I understand you used to be able to buy little press on metal caps to stop this.

Does anybody know if these are still available and where I can get these from or any other tip to help

Any help would be very much appreciated
Unfortunately I am only using 25 watt bulbs now to help this so really can't go much lower but thanks for this idea

A. Use lower watt bulbs. The heat is causing the marks.

How do you make the wires safe before you put a blanking plate on when you remove wall lights.?

Q. We want to remove 2 wall lights, but we do not want to permanently remove the wires, so we will use blanking plates, but are not sure how you make the wires safe first. Does anyone have suggestions please?

A. You don't say where you are. If you are in the UK you will need to use connector blocks (min 5amp rating) as we stopped using screw on type connections, such as wire nuts /midgets, many years ago. Connector blocks are widely available from diy shops.
Don't rely on turning the wall switch off to make the cables dead as there may still be live cables present. It is probably simpler for you to turn off the main switch (Usually the biggest switch at your fuseboard) After making sure that the cables are definitely dead, put the cables into your connector in exactly the same order as they were connected in the fitting. ie if a black and red cable were connected together in the fitting they must be connected together when you reconnect them. Many people make the mistake of not noting how it came apart. Put all your earth cables together and after gently tugging at all the cables to make sure it doesn't fall apart tape the connectors up before pushing back into the wall and covering with your blank plate.
You may be lucky and find that on removing the old lights you have existing connectors you can retain. In which case visually check there are no loose strands of copper after disconnecting the light and simply tape the connectors up.
If in any doubt of how to make it safe don't attempt it yourself, get someone in. Electricity kills.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do you make the wires safe before you put a blanking plate on when you remove wall lights.?

Q. We want to remove 2 wall lights, but we do not want to permanently remove the wires, so we will use blanking plates, but are not sure how you make the wires safe first. Does anyone have suggestions please?

A. You don't say where you are. If you are in the UK you will need to use connector blocks (min 5amp rating) as we stopped using screw on type connections, such as wire nuts /midgets, many years ago. Connector blocks are widely available from diy shops.
Don't rely on turning the wall switch off to make the cables dead as there may still be live cables present. It is probably simpler for you to turn off the main switch (Usually the biggest switch at your fuseboard) After making sure that the cables are definitely dead, put the cables into your connector in exactly the same order as they were connected in the fitting. ie if a black and red cable were connected together in the fitting they must be connected together when you reconnect them. Many people make the mistake of not noting how it came apart. Put all your earth cables together and after gently tugging at all the cables to make sure it doesn't fall apart tape the connectors up before pushing back into the wall and covering with your blank plate.
You may be lucky and find that on removing the old lights you have existing connectors you can retain. In which case visually check there are no loose strands of copper after disconnecting the light and simply tape the connectors up.
If in any doubt of how to make it safe don't attempt it yourself, get someone in. Electricity kills.

Where can you get wall lights for your room?

Q. I have been watching room tours on youtube and a lot of people have really cool wall lights (not plain ones, like pink and stuff) ti make there room more fun, they have them over there bed and stuff. So I went to a couple of stores online but none had anything close to that. Please help!

A. Have you tried homedepot ive senn cool lights their

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Where can you get wall lights for your room?

Q. I have been watching room tours on youtube and a lot of people have really cool wall lights (not plain ones, like pink and stuff) ti make there room more fun, they have them over there bed and stuff. So I went to a couple of stores online but none had anything close to that. Please help!

A. Have you tried homedepot ive senn cool lights their

Can I use an AC wall light dimmer as a 12V voltage regulator?

Q. Hi. I need to reduce the voltage of a DC power supply from 16V (external laptop battery) down to 12V so I can use it as a power supply for my other 12 volts gadgets. Can I use an AC wall light dimmer for this? I've read that this works by reducing voltage so an incandescent lamp can be dimmed. I'd like to know your thoughts if it will work for my purpose.

A. You need to learn what regulation means. You might get it to reduce the voltage but that is NOT regulating it.

do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

do i paint my cabinets dark and walls light or the other way around?

Q. I want to paint my kitchen walls and cabinets but dont know if the walls should be a little darker than the cabinets or maybe the walls light and the cabinets dark. Also I have paneling I want to paint so do I paint it a different color than the walls and cabinets.

A. I'd paint the cabinets lighter and the walls a little darker shade. Nothing hardly makes a house look as old or as out of style as dark cabinets. Dark cabinets just scream 1970's and 1980's. The paneling color partly depends on where it is. You also may want to use some wood putty over the grooves in the wood paneling if it's the wide 1970's style paneling. If the panels are narrower (about 2" or so), I'd leave the grooves in place.

Don't worry about the room being too dark if you go with a slightly darker color for the walls. The walls don't have to be all that much darker than the cabinets. I'd go with a medium tone for the walls and a light tone for the cabinets.

Why is my outside wall light going on and off?

Q. I have a mains powered wall light with a motion sensor. Since that very cold weather, when it senses motion and comes on, it flashes on and off, on and off...
Could something have been damaged by the severe cold?
Is there a part I can replace/fix, instead of replacing the whole light?
Thanks folks

A. My light suffered the same way. The sensor is a sealed unit so a new light is the only solution. I bought a new one and it looks better than the other one and works better.
My old one sometimes came on in bright sunlight and took ages to come on when dark.

How do I decorate a wall with a light in the center of it?

Q. I have a wall in my living room that has a wall light right in the center of it. I have no Idea how to decoate it. It seems so plain and I want to cozy up the room. The walls are painted a brick red and we have dark brown leather furniture. Thanks for your ideas.

A. I would suggest hanging art but making sure that you have symmetry on either side of the light. Another idea is to switch out your existing light to a modern track light (like you would normally have on your ceiling) if you had 3 track lights facing down onto three pieces of art that would look good. Or another option would be to add a console table against that wall, one that is a good width, then add some interesting pieces on it like large candles, a plant or sculpture and the light on the wall above it will feel like a part of the whole vignette.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

How do I wire an electrical outlet from a wall light?

Q. I want to install an electrical outlet on a wall that doesn't have any other outlets. There is a wall light directly above the place where I need the outlet so I want to use that junction for the power source. I do not want the wall light's switch to control the outlet. How do I wire this?

A. Depends on how the light is wired. If it's got only a black and a white wire, the only thing you can do is have the switch control the whole circuit. With only two wires, the black wire is made/broken at the switch, so the only way to get a circuit is to have the switch on.

If you have two black and two white, you're OK. One B/W pair will go to the switch and the other B/W pair provides the power. If you have this, notice that one pair is wired across the black of the other pair. That is, a black wire coming in ties to another wire going out without going to the light. The companion wire of the one going to the switch should be wired to the light. That's your switch leg, and it is made /broken at the switch. The white wire of the leg in should be on the other pole of the light. You want to take your new wire and add the black to the connection on the black coming in. You'll now have three wires there - hot in, hot out to switch, hot to your new outlet. Take your white from your new run, undo the white of the leg in at the light. Connect those two and add a white pigtail. Wire the pigtail to the light.

Be sure all circuits are off, and if you're not sure which wire is which, use an ohmeter to test. Be sure all grounds are connected in each box. Check out what will be on the circuits and make sure you don't overload them, and also that your boxes are rated for the amperage/wires you'll be using.

How do I stop my wall light bulbs making black marks on the ceiling?

Q. My wall light bulbs make black marks on the plaster coving and ceiling in my room. I understand you used to be able to buy little press on metal caps to stop this.

Does anybody know if these are still available and where I can get these from or any other tip to help

Any help would be very much appreciated
Unfortunately I am only using 25 watt bulbs now to help this so really can't go much lower but thanks for this idea

A. Use lower watt bulbs. The heat is causing the marks.

How do you make the wires safe before you put a blanking plate on when you remove wall lights.?

Q. We want to remove 2 wall lights, but we do not want to permanently remove the wires, so we will use blanking plates, but are not sure how you make the wires safe first. Does anyone have suggestions please?

A. You don't say where you are. If you are in the UK you will need to use connector blocks (min 5amp rating) as we stopped using screw on type connections, such as wire nuts /midgets, many years ago. Connector blocks are widely available from diy shops.
Don't rely on turning the wall switch off to make the cables dead as there may still be live cables present. It is probably simpler for you to turn off the main switch (Usually the biggest switch at your fuseboard) After making sure that the cables are definitely dead, put the cables into your connector in exactly the same order as they were connected in the fitting. ie if a black and red cable were connected together in the fitting they must be connected together when you reconnect them. Many people make the mistake of not noting how it came apart. Put all your earth cables together and after gently tugging at all the cables to make sure it doesn't fall apart tape the connectors up before pushing back into the wall and covering with your blank plate.
You may be lucky and find that on removing the old lights you have existing connectors you can retain. In which case visually check there are no loose strands of copper after disconnecting the light and simply tape the connectors up.
If in any doubt of how to make it safe don't attempt it yourself, get someone in. Electricity kills.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers