How to Install Recessed Lighting in the Kitchen Through the Attic

Trip the circuit breaker at the main fuse box to discontinue power to the kitchen. Try turning on lights or kitchen appliances to confirm there is no power.

Put on the old clothing as a protective measure. Add a pair of work gloves and eye gear. Put on a face mask if you have asthma, trouble breathing or have allergic reactions to dust.

Place a ladder beneath the area of the kitchen ceiling where you plan to install the recessed light. Place the circular paper template that comes with the recessed light on the ceiling, over the hole just drilled. Trace around the template on the ceiling, using a pencil.

Cut through the outline drawn on the ceiling, using a drywall hand saw. Pull out the cut piece of ceiling with your hands and dispose of it.

Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from each end of both the black and white cut wires, using wire strippers.

From the attic crawlspace that is above the kitchen, find the electrical junction box above the kitchen ceiling that is activated by the kitchen light switch. Loosen the two screws on the box that have a black and a white wire wrapped around them, using a Phillips screwdriver.

Wind an end of the black wire a half turn around the screw that has the black wire already on it. Wind an end of the white wire a half turn around the screw that has the white wire already on it. Tighten the screws.

Drill a hole, using a portable power drill, through a nearby wood joist that is up against the kitchen ceiling. Run both wires through the hole in the joist as an added insulation measure. Pull the wires out of the joist from inside the hole in the kitchen ceiling.

Twist the end of the black wire from the ceiling around the end of the black wire from the recessed light fixture. Twist the end of the other wire from the ceiling around the end of the white wire from the recessed light fixture. Screw a screw-tab connector onto each pair of twisted wires.

Place the recessed light fixture in the ceiling, with the bulb socket facing down. Screw a bulb into the socket.

Place the recessed light fixture cover plate over the hole, on the ceiling. Screw metal screws through the pre-drilled holes in the plate and into the fixture's pre-drilled holes, using the Phillips screwdriver.

Screw wood screws through the pre-drilled holes in the sides of the plate and into the ceiling, using the Phillips screwdriver. Restore electric power.