How to Install Shower Stall Lighting

Turn off the bathroom light circuit breaker. Hold a non-contact voltage detector against the bathroom light switch. The detector indicates the presence of electrical current by beeping and flashing. Confirm there is no current present before proceeding.

Check the positions of the joists above the shower stall by sliding an electronic stud sensor over the shower ceiling. Lightly mark the joist with a pencil or with painter’s tape.

Tape the round cardboard template provided with a remodel IC (insulation contact) recessed light fixture housing to the ceiling above the shower. Use the pencil to trace around the housing template.

Confirm that there are no electrical wires, plumbing pipes or other elements above the ceiling at the fixture location. Push the sharp end of a jab saw or drywall saw through the ceiling. Carefully saw along the traced circle to create a hole for the light above the shower stall.

Remove the light switch cover plate. Take out the two screws holding the switch inside the switch box. Pull the switch from the box, and remove the electrical wires by loosening the two screws on the side of the switch.

Thread the loop end of a glow rod up through the knockout hole along the top of the switch box. The rod travels up the wall next to the existing electrical cable and into the attic. Access the attic to find the glow-in-the-dark glow rod.

Secure a length of 12/2 NM (nonmetallic) electrical cable to the loop on the end of the glow rod with electrical tape. Thread the other end of the NM cable through the hole you cut in the ceiling.

Pull the glow rod from the switch box. Pulling on the rod threads the NM cable from the attic, through the wall and out the switch box.

Cut the ends of the cable at the hole in the ceiling and switch box. Make sure to leave at least eight inches of cable exposed at both locations.

Prepare both ends of the 12/2 NM cable for wiring by removing six inches of outside insulation from the cable with a dual NM cable stripper/cutter. This exposes the black, white and bare copper electrical wires. Use the stripper/cutter to remove 1/2 inch of insulation from the exposed wires.

Look for the electrical junction box attached to the arm of the remodel IC recessed housing. Use your thumb to press the tab on the junction box and release the box cover.

Insert a flathead screwdriver tip into the slot cut in the center of one of the round indentations on the side of the junction box. Push on the screwdriver, or tap it with a hammer to knock the indentation from the box.

Unscrew the lock nut from a NM clamp connector. Insert the threads through the hole you created in the junction box. Screw the locknut back onto the connector threads.

Feed the prepped electrical wires through the connector until the sheath surrounding the exterior of the NM cable shows inside the junction box. Tighten the connector screws to secure the cable.

Match the black wires inside the IC recessed housing junction box to the black cable wire. Twist an orange insulated wire connector clockwise onto the ends of the wires, holding them together. Repeat this electrical connection for the two white wires and for the two bare wires. Snap the cover back onto the junction box.

Insert the remodel IC recessed housing into the hole cut in the ceiling. Use one hand to hold the lip of the housing against the ceiling above the shower. Use the other hand to push up against the black spring clips inside the housing with the flathead screwdriver until the clips snap in place.

Screw a 60-watt type “A” incandescent light bulb into the recessed housing socket. You can use a 23- to 40-watt compact fluorescent light bulb if you require more illumination. Do not exceed the 60-watt maximum to avoid heat buildup inside the housing.

Squeeze the two torsion springs together on each side of the light fixture trim. Insert the springs into the hooks on the inside wall of the fixture housing. Push the trim firmly against the ceiling to create a water-resistant seal.

Look inside the switch box for the two white wires connected together with an insulated wire connector. Twist the connector counterclockwise to remove it. Match the white insulated wire from the new NM cable to the two original white wires. Twist a red insulated connector clockwise onto the three white insulated wires. Push the wires to the back of the switch box. Repeat the electrical connection for the bare copper wires inside the switch box.

Bend the end of the new black insulated wire from inside the switch box into a small hook with needle-nose pliers. Hook the new wire around one of the copper-colored screws on the side of a combination double-light switch. Hook the black insulated wire that leads to the original light in the bathroom around the remaining copper-colored screw. Hook the remaining black wire around one of black-colored screws on the opposite side of the combination light switch. Tighten all three screws.

Push the combination light switch back into the original switch box. Connect it to the box with the two screws provided with the combination switch. Cover the switch with a duplex wall plate.

Turn on the bathroom light circuit breaker to power the new shower stall lighting.