Help With Wall Light Installation

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Pigrenok

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Hello to everyone.

Please, help me as with an advice.

I have recently bought a house. There was a wall light in one of the bathrooms. It was an old ugly plastic light, which we did not like, but it was staying in place while some building works going on in the house because it was the only operational bathroom.

In the meantime, I have bought a new nice bathroom (IP44 rated) wall light. But when we removed the old light, we found a standard single back box and the light was fixed to the backbox using two standard socket/switch bolts. And the new light have two screw holes on a much smaller distance between each other and cannot be fitted using the same bolts. Moreover, the new light casing does not fully cover the hole.

Now I have only two options in mind:

1) Use some kind of a bracket which will be fixed to the backbox and the light will be fixed to the bracket. I have seen several brackets on the internet, but none of the available in the UK. This option will not solve the closing the hole problem.

2) Put a wooden blanking plate, fix it to the back box, make a hole in it to get the cable out and fix the light to the wooden plate. I have never seen any wooden blanking plate readymade, so, probably will have to make one.

Obviously, the third option would be through away the light I have bought and find the wone which will fit to the backbox, but again, I have a huge problem as I do not know how to find out whether a specific light will fit the backbox, It seems now they all are made differently. So, I would prefer to use this option only in the worst case scenario.

If you have any other options or have any idea of implemetation option 1) or option 2), could you, please, share your thoughts with me. I will really appreciate any help.

Thank you very much in advance.

Best regards,

Vitaly.

 
No the third option is take out the back box, fill in the hole with cement then plaster (assuming a solid wall) or patch in a new bit of plasterboard if a stud wall.  Then drill suitable fixing holes to fix the new light, obviously making sure you don't drill through the cable.

 
But should I use something like an architrave switch backbox in order to house cable inside ot just fille everything and just leave the cable out and get it into the light housing?

 
Most wall lights are fitted without a back box, just the cable coming out of the wall.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have used architrave backboxes in the past, also the ones that MK make for their LSC couplers to go in plasterboard.

Most modern fittings are shite and have not been designed to have wire connected to them......see Saxby Duro for a design where the connector box they supply is actualy BIGGER than the enclosure it is designed to fit into

Just saying

 
can you post link to the light you have bought or give us a make / model number so we can see what you are fighting with.

Generally speaking no light fitting fits a back box, unless we get lucky somehow.

 
Binky, I wanted to include the link to the item (it was on eBay), but because I am new on this forum I am not allowed to place links in the messages. If you will go to eBay and enter the following eBay item number:191366755085, you will find the light.

Thank you very much in advance.

Best regards,

Vitaly.

 
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