Installing Your Chandelier (using an electrician)

Hiring an Electrician to Install Your Magnificent Chandelier

You're excited about your new exquisite chandelier purchase at the lighting bazaar. It's still wrapped up in a box and you need to assemble it. You're like a kid at Christmas; you can't wait to tear into it Then you realize it. You realize that a chandelier uses electricity.

Electricity, if you haven't figured it out lately, can be lethal if you are not careful. It's a fairly common way to die among electricians. There are a kazillion volts of electricity running through hundreds of wires all over the house. You know not to touch any of them unless you have a really reason. Even then you have someone at the fuse box to turn all the juice off just in case something goes awry.

So rather than paying an overpriced electrician $100 to come in and ease some of your burden, you play macho and try to download something online that would walk you step by step through your installation process. So you say to yourself, "how hard could it be? A few wires, a few snips, and then bingo, instance elegance!"

You can do that but I wouldn't recommend it. First, unless you're a trained and experiencd electrician, you could really hurt yourself. No, I mean really really hurt yourself.

Secondly, I have always operated under the principle of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." In other words, if you do mess up any of the electrical connections and circuitry in your house, think of how much you would spend to have a qualified electrician come and undo your damage. Probably more than $100.

Lastly, get the job done right the first time. Period. If he (or she) screws up, you bring him back to fix it. Simple. The electrician should have some sort of 30 day or 60 day guarantee. It's standard.

So, how do you find a good electrician? Ask your friends if they know someone. It's not necessary to get a union shop to take care of you, though that guy will probably know what he's doing because of all the training and experience he has. It'll cost you but it's probably worth it. Asking around will probably get you in contact with one or two. Otherwise, let your fingers do the walking or let your mouse do it for you.

Installing your new chandelier shouldn't cause you mental angst. But if you want the job done right, hire someone who will get it right the first time. You want to be able to enjoy your chandelier a bit.

Should You Make a Candle Chandelier?

Should You Make a Candle Chandelier?

By now you are to the point where you like the idea of having a chandelier gracing your dining room. You can envision the lights glowing softly as you talk with your significant other about the day's events. Sigh. To use an overused cliche, it's candlelight dining on steroids. And you know you shouldn't have to pay $1000 for such an exquisite light feature. So what do you do? Build your own.

If you search long enough on the internet, you'll be able to find just about everything you'd ever want or need. This is also the case with making a candle chandelier. Now, if time is an important issue, then waltzing over to your Home Depot or Lowe's or your home lighting store is still the better and more efficient option. But if you have lots of time and are good with your hands and tools, then building your very own candle chandelier just might be the very thing you need to do.

If you've seen the number of fixtures on the online market, you'll know that many are very very intricate. Of course you will pay dearly for those intricacies, but they do exist. However, there are simple designs that simple to create as well. The design I have in mind is a chandelier in its basic form: a circle or a square with candles evenly placed on the sides with chains on the outer or inner edges rising to the ceiling to hang the fixture. Balancing the candles is critical to this design. Another design is equally simple: two boards in the form of a plus or an X with candles at the ends of each of the boards. The chandelier can be held up with chains rising to the ceilings from the ends or from where the X meets. That seems to be a much better approach as the candle flame won't heat the chain.

Again, there are designs for more intricate candle chandeliers on the web. A quick online search should reveal dozens of Do It Yourself designs. Choose one of those or be creative in your design.

Chandelier Intro

This is a blog about the Chandelier. It's more than just lighting or a simple ceiling fixture. The chandelier has class and sophistication. Hopefully you'll one day be able to enjoy the pleasures of chandelier lighting.