Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - replacing light fixture--scared

Hi all,

I have a house built in 1958. I want to replace the ugly fixture in the bathroom. How hard is this? The wiring has not been updated since it was built, but we do have grounding wires.

Is there anything I need to worry about re: the wiring in a house this old? We also have a fuse box which we plan to replace in the fall.

The biggest issue is the temperature rating of the existing wiring. Many (but not all) wiring fixtures require 90-degree wiring to connect to. Your current wiring is probably 60-degree wiring, and almost certainly not 90-degree wiring. So before you buy a fixture, read all the installation instructions. That means that you'll need to open the box in the store and pull out all the literature and read it right there in the store. The requirement for 90-degree wiring is almost never specified on the outside packaging (because they really want you to buy the fixture). I know that store employees don't like you to open the packaging before you buy, but you must. If necessary, ask a store employee to open it for you.

The next very important consideration is to make sure you carefully record all the connections before removing the old fixture. Then connect the new fixture exactly like the old one. Black-to-black and white-to-white is not always the right algorithm.

thank you!

I'm not sure about the temperature rating. How do I find out about this? :cool: I was also thinking, though, that this might not be so simple because the light fixtures in all 3 bathrooms have a little plug for a men's razor. What would I do with those wires? :confused:

by the way, when we tear out our existing fuse box, will the temperature of our wiring be changed too?

An old lighting fixture with a razor plug probably has both a switched and unswitched hot wire at the ceiling. If you will be replacing this with a fixture without a receptacle, then you will want to use the switched wire and cap off (with a wire nut) the unswitched wire. If you don't know which is which, you can guess. If the light stays on all the time, you guessed wrong and will need to reverse the guess. But don't guess about neutral and grounding wires. That could be fatal. Make sure you know which wire is neutral and which wire is grounding. When in doubt, come back and ask.

Replacing a fuse box will not automatically change the wiring in the walls. Those are normally two different projects. Replacing the fuse box usually costs $1000-$2000, but replacing all the wiring in the walls can cost a lot more than that.