Easily Add New Lights To a Finished Room!

Got a dark room with weak lighting? In this video I walk you through options to seriously upgrade your light fixtures even in a room with a finished ceiling, no attic access and even with insulation above. No matter what your situation, as long as you've got drywall above, this video will help you add more light to any room. #diy #electrical #homeimprovement

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[bberding]

P.S.A. For anyone watching. All of these fixtures are disposable, one time use. There is no light source that can be replaced in them. When it dies, the entire fixture must be removed and replaced. Replacement fixtures often are not available and if they are, almost never match. If you are going to use these types of fixtures, please purchase extras. In my experience, about 1 in 10 is defective and will not last more than a month. The next batch never matches the first ones. Of course the proper way to do this is to buy fixtures with replaceable light sources such as light bulbs. Regular can lights are still far superior and look better. All of the fixtures featured here produce extremely harsh glare which is very hard and fatiguing on your eyes. You want your light source to be hidden, recessed up in the ceiling for example. I hope this helps someone one avoid all the pain that I have seen these fixtures cause.

[bobp]

Interesting. I replaced old bedroom ceiling fixtures with that same LED fixture you’re now ditching and the results were excellent. I can’t imagine making them even brighter now.

[antibrevity]

Good DIY project. I will mention that if this ceiling accesses an unconditioned space (i.e. attic) then all openings should be sealed to reduce air leakage as much as practical. Leakage leaves ugly dust and black streaks around such fixtures, can cause mold growth and rot on or within walls and ceilings, increases HVAC costs, and potentially reduces indoor air quality depending upon your home's construction.

Any time we are cutting into exterior walls, ceilings, or bottom floors we need to block those openings as much as practical to reduce air and pest infiltration. Just covering them with the fixture is not good enough; we need to block and seal the gaps. Home ventilation is critical, but it must be controlled and and should not be through random leaks as those tend to cause damage, mold, and energy waste.

Anyone who's done DIY electrical work on an older home has encountered what appears to be coal dust collected behind fixtures and within their electrical boxes. That represents years or decades of infiltration where airborne dust and moisture caused what you see; sealed boxes do not get dirt inside.

[BiggMo]

10:43 TIP: hook a fish tape to the bit, not the romex, pull the tape through, the counter pull the wire.

Also, while this is all open, it’s a good time to think about speaker placement … or security or even a mesh system for networking

[hansangb]

That Klein 54 bendable bit is awesome. Next time I have to do this, it won't be such a struggle session. Thanks for that

[DarKMatter.]

Congratulations on making to 1 million subscribers! We all knew you’d do it! 🎉👏🏻🎉 Can’t wait to see the gold play button.

[ffcolon]

I can’t thank you enough for showing how to add extra lighting to an area in a house and the tool tip great. Keep up with these awesome videos, also the garage door video is going to be a to do project once the weather cools down here the Houston Texas area. 👍🏻

[luistariba]

dude are you spying on me? everytime I have an issue I find one of your vids... you are the best!

[fidgetshouse]

I am filing this away for the next time I do lighting. More likely I will have an electrician do it, but I think it is so important to understand the process if someone is doing it for you. I ❤ your videos, and love my tshurt too!

[virgil]

Did the panels in my garage, upgraded from the old school screw in bulb fixtures. Cost was $120 since the electrical outlets were already there., and its incredible the lighting was changed. Did one in my laundry room to

[TheTalonts]

When drilling out the 1/2" holes, you could have turned a clear takeout box lid into a dust catcher similar to the bowl for the hole cutter. Just drill a hole in the lid the size of the base of the drillbit, then chuck the drillbit through it.

[qwaqwa]

When I put in lights similar to your round LEDs, I affixed some duct (Gorilla?) tape around the drywall edges where those clips are to prevent damage from possible future removal. The clips on mine are very strongly sprung!

[brucemitchell]

Congratulations on getting a million subscribers!

[buildtestbuild]

I'm sure somebody else has already commented, but I didn't see it when I scrolled, so just a little public service announcement. The non-contact testers should NOT be used to indicate voltage OFF. They can give you false readings. There are circumstances when there is voltage present but they won't indicate. They should only be trusted to give you an indication of voltage ON.

[Jeffs]

Great panel lights, just wondering if there's a version with a wall plug for apts without ceiling wires🤔

[sociopathmercenary]

The builder of my house apparently had a can light fetish. There are over a hundred can lights in my house 😳

The good news is the LED retrofit kits that cover the can are pretty cheap and easy to install. Better light distribution and look than just replacing with LED bulbs.

Considering those Barrina shop lights in my basement. I've been using their grow lights for a while and they are super bright.

[calburnIII]

Another "tool" that is really handy for stringing wire without convenient access is a "wire running kit", aka "fish pole". It's a set of 3' fiberglass segments that screw together, with different bits to screw onto the end--a hook, or an eyelet, etc. I've installed two ceiling fans and a bathroom exhaust fan, stringing the wire with my "fish pole". I bought mine at Harbor freight for about $11 as I recall. Unlike a standard fish tape, it's pretty easy to guide it, because it's stiff. And that stiffness allows it to go over intervening rafters if there's a little room but not enough room to have other convenient access.

[-old-Forthischet]

My two condo bedrooms didn't have any ceiling lights so were always kind of dingy when using only lamps. I did install can lights down stairs and while they are a nice update and bright, that look is getting old, IMO, so I looked around a lot for different ideas for the bedrooms. One day while shopping at Lowe's for other things, I ran across large outdoor ceiling LED lights that are really bright, are surface mount, in either circular or square and most importantly, really flat. One light in each room was all it took for a really bright room if that's what you're going for.

[MattHmm-rqdn]

A tip for thoes junction boxes pre run the threads into the plastic before you install them you'll have a much better time. It's easier to deal with stuff before you have it up there.

[timraber]

I replaced about 50 fluorescent fixtures with the led flat panels from Costco. They went up easy after I put up a few of them. They was all next to a rafter, so the frame got secured into wood. They brightened up our church class rooms and hallways.