Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Installing New Ceiling Fixture

Hello:

I want to install a new ceiling light over my kitchen island. There is one currently in place, but it's way off center - the island moves and the previous owners used it in unusual location and therefore had the light in an unusual spot.

So, I need to eliminate the old light and install a new one. Sort of a goofy question, but what is the best way to cut a hole in the ceiling? The holes that I've seen are just about perfect circles. How does one achieve this?

Also, will it be easy enough to pick up the wiring from the original fixture and move it to the new one?

Thanks for your advice and suggestions,
Kim

Most of the time when you see a perfect circle around a recessed can light, the can was installed before the drywall, and a rotary cutting tool was used to cut the hole by using the can as a guide. It guarantees a perfect fit.

If you just have one to do, you can just trace the hole on the ceiling with whatever is going to fit in the hole, and cut it very carefully with a drywall saw. If you want, you could also buy a drywall circle cutter, sold anywhere drywalling tools are sold.

Perfection usually isn't required because the fixture will have trim to cover small mistakes.

Whether or not you can move the wiring depends on which direction the cable is coming from relative to which direction you are moving the fixture, how the cable might be stapled, and which way the joists run. Don't count on getting lucky enough to just move the cable. Even if you are that lucky, your new fixture may require 90-degree wiring and if your house was built before 1985, you won't have it. So it is very likely that you'll need to leave the existing junction box there to splice in a new length of cable. Then because the old junction box needs to be permanently accessible, you'll need to put a blank cover plate on it.

Thanks, John. I appreciate the info. Regarding the cover plate - so I can't just fill in the hole and paint over it like the original fixture was never even there? How come the old junction box needs to be permanently accessible?

Thanks again!

All junction boxes with splices must be permanently accessible. You cannot just bury a splice and repair over it. Whether or not you need a visible cover plate depends on all those other variables we discussed earlier. The first step is to figure out what you have now.

What's directly over the kitchen? If there is an accessible attic, this job would be MUCH easier. If additional wire is needed, the junction box could be located in the attic and the old hole patched over.

Thank you John, and Chirkware -

There is garage attic over the kitchen so we'll look into putting the junction box up there.

Thanks again!