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Home & Garden Articles
Installing Track Lights
Thu 08 Feb 2007 - 08:04
Installing Track Lights
By Leroy K. Calstard
With a budding artist in the house, you want to mount his paintings on your walls and bring attention to them. What better way than to use track lighting? Today's track lighting is as pretty as it is practical, and you have a wide range of styles to choose from.
Even for the non-handy among us, track lighting can be easy to install, since there are now track lighting kits that you can just plug in. They are easy to install, but if you want the professional look of real track lighting, you will have to do some installation. It's not as difficult as you may think, if you follow these instructions.
First, you will need to gather all of your materials and tools. You will need an assistant, a ladder or step-stool, the track light kit, a tape measure, a drill, a screwdriver, electrical cable and tape, long nose pliers, a circuit tester, a voltage meter,
toggle bolts, and wire nuts. Have everything handy so you don't have to stop and start again on the project, and then just take it step by step.
Step one. Turn off the power at the breaker box or service panel. Check with the circuit tester to make sure there is no power in the line. Remove the existing fixture and disconnect the wires, keeping the live ends separate from each other.
Step two. Attach the live end to the track and secure by tightening the setscrew, then attach it to the mounting brackets. Connect the pigtail leads (short wires connected to the terminal)to the house wiring and secure them with wire nuts. The black pigtail to the brass wirer and the white pigtail to the silver wire and the green pigtail to the green wire.
Step three. Lay out the track location, based on where you want to hang the pictures and where your junction box is. You can use Ts or angles to bring the lines closer, but make sure you use the same brand as your system. Mark the mounting holes and make sure the track will be evenly parallel with the wall. Drill holes for the toggle screws.
Step four. Mount the track by placing the circuit and fixture wires in the junction box and install the mounting plate on the box. Snap the track into the junction box following instructions. Put the toggle bolt through and bring the track to the ceiling. (You will need help at this point.) Insert the bolts in the drilled holes and attach any fittings and the end pieces at the ends of the track. Attach the electrical adapter to the track and install the cover over the assembly. Install the fixtures and screw in bulbs.
Step five. Turn the power back on and test the lights. If they don't work, check the current with the tester and check for any missed connections.
Now all you need to do is hang the pictures and adjust the lights to show them off. Adding dimmer switches will add ambiance to this beautiful art display.
Leroy Calstard regularly pens online reports on news associated to hand tools. You can have a look at his writings on makita power tools at http://www.insidewoodworking.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leroy_K._Calstard
http://EzineArticles.com/?Installing-Track-Lights&id=446862
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