He Lights Up My Life...

Look at this porch light. Ugh, right? It's tarnished and the plastic surround behind it is cracked and chipped. The back door light looked just as bad, so last Fall we purchased two new fixtures. Greg got the light changed by the back door within a few days of our purchase, but didn't get to the front light before winter. Early in the Spring I asked him when I might look forward to having the front one done. His answer? "Before Autumn." Hmmm, can you get more noncommital? Last week he was off work and got a few projects done, including this one.

Normally I might have just posted a before and after of the lights, but one of my internet friends requested some photos of the process.

First of all, I would have removed the glass panes and the light bulb, but he got right to it, cutting through the caulk and taking out the screws. Oh, of course you should turn off the power to the light, and that he did.

He's pulled the fixture off and is removing the caps from the wiring. Untwist the wires and remove the light.

Now take off the metal bracket that holds the fixture to the electrical box.

Pull out the electrical box, then tuck the wiring back up into the wall until you're ready to connect the new light.

The new surround is much larger than the old one. Center and trace around the new one.

You don't have to worry about it being perfect, since the new one will cover the marks, but don't go crazy. :o)

Use tin-snips to trim the siding along the trace lines. This gives some room to get under the siding to remove the old surround.

The old one was stapled into the wall, so he used the tin-snips and cut through them. Then pull the surround off, being careful of the siding.

Here it is all cleaned out.

He had to trim the siding a bit more before fitting the new surround in under the siding, then it slid in and fit perfectly.

Again, be careful with the siding, but it will pull up so you can get under it.

Pull out the wire and thread through the electrical box. Here he's putting caulk around the opening before putting it back into the wall.

The light fixture we chose does not sit flush against the wall, so there is a cover that goes over the surround. You can see it has a scored template for whichever size/shape of hole you need. Greg cut out the large round one with a utility knife.

He screwed the electrical box back in.

Then he snapped the cover on and screwed the bracket on.

I held the light up while he connected the wires and tucked them into the electrical box. Then he fit the light over the bracket and screwed it on.

Ta-Da! Here's the pretty new light!

Thanks, Honey, for letting me photograph your every move on this project. And thanks for getting it done before Autumn!