Installing my first light fixture

Because of our 23 year age difference my husband, Ralph, made sure that I knew about home repairs. We did all sorts of projects together including plumbing, electrical, plowing for the garden, mixing and pouring cement. He said he did not expect me to know how to do some of these things alone, but to know if I was being ripped off by someone I hired. Ralph, honey, I was paying attention. Look at what I did!

The light fixture in the guest bath was horrid. We changed other fixtures when we moved in, but not the ones in the bath. Because I am going to paint in there I knew it was now or never.

This is the old fixture. Yuck!

These are the easy to read (if you can find the English section) directions for installing a new fixture; white to white, black to black, and connect the ground. I can handle this.

Not everything matches the directions. Instead of a box for the wiring the wiring just came out of a hole in the wall. I suspect this is because there is a stud where the box should be.

I can deal with this little bump in my road. I put up the support for the new light, being careful to level it because the support was welded together crooked. So far, so good.

I struggled to contain the wires under the cover of the light fixture, but I managed. I turned on the power and flipped the switch: BUZZT! Yikes, turn off the switch, turn off the power - what had I done wrong.

I dismantled the light and all looked well to me, but it did not work. Could I have nicked the covering of one of the wires because they were jammed together near where the screw went to hold the fixture on the wall?

I borrowed my neighbor's husband, Frank. I asked him to look at my wiring and tell me where I went wrong. I really wanted to do this myself.

Frank looked and said I did the wiring perfectly, but because it didn't work he would run the ground differently. BUZZT!

Now he was as puzzled as I was. He said it was a simple wiring job, that it would very difficult to do wrong. He futzed and futzed and at last found the smallest of nicks in the covering of the black wire. All it took was a little electric tape and I had LIGHT! (I owe Frank a chocolate cake.)

I know Ralph would be proud of me, so would my Dad, and you can tell that I am damned proud of myself.

The new guest bathroom light. Ta-da!