Relocating a Ceiling Light

Turn off the circuit breaker controlling the lighting circuit in the room with the misplaced ceiling light.

Remove the ceiling light's globe and light bulbs. In most cases a decorative cap nut holds the globe against the light fixture, so turning the cap nut counterclockwise loosens the nut.

Loosen the screws holding the light fixture against the ceiling, using the correct screwdriver to turn the screws counterclockwise. Lower the light fixture, exposing the electrical wires.

Hold the light fixture with one hand and spin the wire nuts holding the light fixture's wires against the power supply wires counterclockwise with the other hand. Set the light fixture aside.

Locate the ceiling trusses in the ceiling light's new location, using a stud finder. Hold a junction box against the ceiling at the light's new location, keeping the junction box away from the trusses. Trace the junction box's outline on the ceiling with a pencil.

Cut out the junction box's outline, using a drywall saw. Discard the drywall cutout. Reach into the hole in the ceiling and push the insulation away from the junction box's hole.

Climb into the attic with a slotted screwdriver, a 14-2 wire set, lineman pliers, the new junction box and a junction box mounting bracket. Locate the old junction box.

Loosen the old junction box's wire clamp -- the metal bracket that holds the wires against the junction box -- with the slotted screwdriver. Push about 6 inches of the 14-2 wire set through the junction box's wire clamp and tighten the clamp with the slotted screwdriver. A 14-2 wire set contains two 14-gauge color-coded insulated wires and an uninsulated wire.

Run the 14-2 wire set to the hole in the ceiling at the ceiling light's new location. Cut the wire to size with the lineman pliers, leaving about 6 inches of slack on the end of the 14-2 wire set.

Secure the junction box to its mounting bracket, using the mounting bracket manufacturer's directions. Most mounting brackets use a U-bolt to hold the junction box in place. Set the bracket in place between the two ceiling trusses and position the junction box in the hole in the ceiling's drywall. Tighten the mounting bracket's expanding shaft, using the bracket's directions as a guide.

Push the loose end of the 14-2 wire set into the new junction box's wire access hole. If the junction box has a wire clamp, tighten the clamp with the slotted screwdriver. Exit the attic with all of the tools and the excess 14-2 wire set.

Remove 1/2 inch of the insulation from the end of each insulated wire in the new 14-2 wire set, using wire strippers to shed the insulation. Both junction boxes contain two insulated wires.

Twist the ends of the two black wires in the old junction box together and cover the ends with a wire nut. Repeat this procedure with the old junction box's white wires. If the old junction box contains a green screw, wrap the 14-2 wire set's uninsulated wire around the green screw. If the junction box does not contain a green screw, twist both uninsulated wires together and lock them against each other with a wire nut.

Mount a junction box cover against the old junction box, using a slotted screwdriver to tighten the cover's mounting screws. If the ceiling light used a round junction box, use a round cover. If the light used a rectangular box, use a rectangular cover.

Twist the ceiling light's black wire against the black wire in the new junction box and tighten a wire nut over the wire ends. Combine the ceiling light's white wire with the white wire in the new junction box and cover the wire ends with a wire nut. Wrap the 14-2's uninsulated wire around the ceiling light's green wire and tighten a wire nut over the end of the wires.

Hold the ceiling light against the new junction box. Align the light's mounting screws with the junction box's screw holes and tighten the screws, using the correct screwdriver to twist the screws clockwise.

Install the ceiling light's bulbs and replace its globe.