Ever since we updated the light fixture in our bathroom back in April, one thing has been bothering us: its proximity to the shower curtain. Okay, two things actually: its proximity to the shower curtain AND the fact that we didn’t have the energy to remedy the situation back in April (when we switched out the old light for a new one and did some slight drywall patching and painting- nothing nearly as involved as relocating the fixture box by a few feet).
So now that we’ve spent three months building up the energy to shift that light into the right spot, once and for all, we were ready to get going. The process began with measuring and marking the ceiling so that we could center the light directly in front of the window (which also would make it centered on the door). This way it would look like it was always supposed to be that way, instead of being centered in the room – which put it only a few inches away from the shower curtain – it was just weird, weird, weird.
Then we turned off the power and disconnected the light from the fixture box.
We had kind of forgotten where our beams were in the ceiling so we started off by drilling a couple of very small holes to see if we hit anything (nothing but drywall and air!) and then took it a step further by cutting a small hole in the drywall big enough to slip my hand into and feel around a bit. I could’ve just used my drywall saw, but my Dremel Multimax was already out, so I grabbed that.
Once our little feel-around mission confirmed that our intended placement for the fixture box wouldn’t be thwarted by any beams, we decided to mark the shape that we’d need to cut out for the metal fixture box. Since we didn’t have any spare boxes around to help us trace the squarish shape onto the ceiling, we made a quick template by pressing a piece of cardstock along the hard edges of the one that was still in the ceiling. It worked surprisingly well – as you can see from the impression below.
Once we cut out that template, we were able to trace it onto the ceiling so I’d know exactly where to cut – that way I’d cut it large enough for the whole box to fix through, but not so large that the fixture’s cover doesn’t hide it all. Oh, and we don’t usually mark in red sharpie but our pencil marks where disappearing on the gray paint so we went for red so we (and you guys) could see it more clearly. It was all going to get cut/covered anyway.
Then I used my drywall saw (which I finally worked up the energy to hunt down, since the Mutlimax wouldn’t cut the rounded corners as well) to put a bigger, fixture-boxed-sized hole in the ceiling.
It’s starting to look beautiful, isn’t it? Okay, not really. But this, my friends, is what progress looks like.
Before going into the attic to move the box, Sherry noticed a couple of screws that we’d need to remove from below, so she took care of that.
Taking those two screws out was all it took for it to hang loose in the existing space.
Now here’s the fun part. Going in the attic. On a 98-degree day. The hot, cramped, un-air-conditioned, distinctly Nick-Lachey-less attic (yes, that was a 98 Degrees pun). The attic that requires crawling on your hands and knees across narrow beams (see big arrow below) through nasty blown insulation. And for this particular assignment, it actually required crawling to just about the furthest nook in said attic (see little arrow below).
In case my efforts to earn sympathy points weren’t obvious enough yet, allow me to lay it on a little thicker. By the time I was done moving the light fixture, it took FOUR trips back and forth to my attic work area (for various reasons – like needing another tool and Clara’s singing being too loud for Sherry to hear my calls for assistance). And since our attic access is located outside of our hall bath (and the only pathway to my destination was not direct), here’s a map of the approximate trip I had to make each of those FOUR times by crawling on my hands and knees, in a sweltering full-of-insulation space that literally felt like a sauna.
In a word: it was miserable.
Now that I’ve sufficiently explained my less-than-ideal-humane conditions (have I not? don’t worry – there’s still more later), let’s get back to the task at hand. Here’s the situation up in the attic.
I’m not an electrician. Nor am I apparently one to spend any more time in a cramped sweatbox than necessary (I was pretty much working in the fetal position it was so tight – which at least made my “I want my mommy” whimpers a bit more appropriate). So I only snapped this “after” photo of having moved the fixture box into it’s new home. It took some unscrewing and rescrewing of the board that spanned between two beams, as well as moving the junction box (in foreground) so I wouldn’t have to add any actual wire. Did I mention I’m not an electrician?
When I was done, I asked Sherry to take a picture of the hot, sweaty, hyper-ventilating mess that was John Petersik. She pointed the camera and said “smile.” This is the best I could do. Yes, that’s sweat on my shirt.
But once I had cooled down, rehydrated, and (most importantly) showered in the hall bathroom – Sherry and I headed back to our bathroom to admire our progress.
Once we screwed the new fixture boxed up into the support boards (just like we had unscrewed it in the original spot), it was time for the light itself to be reinstalled. We still need to patch the old hole (using this method) but Sherry agreed to do that part since, if you couldn’t tell, I really milked how difficult my part of this task was. See how much better our light fixture placement is now that it’s centered on the window/toilet/door. It’s like it was always meant to be this way. Whew.
Honestly, had it not been ten million degrees in our attic, this project wouldn’t have been that bad. The task itself was pretty straightforward, it was just the conditions that made it challenging (crawling into the crammed little corner of the attic multiple times on a freakishly hot day made it a lot more complex than someone with super easy attic-access on a mild day). Perhaps it’s the universe’s way of saying “Yeah, you really should have done this in April.” But for anyone who asked back in April why we didn’t just “quickly reposition the light fixture while we were switching it out” – this is why. All that attic work is a pain – and just to access that part of the ceiling basically requires that you David Blane yourself (aka: assume the fetal position in a space so tight it might as well be a suitcase). So sometimes taking bigger projects and breaking them down into manageable phases that we tackle over time is what works best for us. That and complaining a lot after you’re done with the especially annoying stuff. Haha.
Anyone else have fun in their attic or another similarly cramped & hot space recently? If you haven’t, I highly recommend it… or not. We’ll be back this afternoon with the patched ceiling and a bunch of shots of the whole room along with a budget breakdown because we’re officially calling this little bathroom upgrade done. Woot! And – spoiler alert – we think all the sweat that we’ve put into this tiny rectangle of a room was totally worth it. Just don’t ask me to crawl back into that corner of the attic for at least another week…
Psst- To follow this bathroom sprucing project from the start, check out this planning post, this painting post, this light-swapping post, this art and trim-painting post, this toilet-updating post, this window frosting and shampoo wrangling post, this door trimming post, this border tile demo post, and this border retiling post.
Christine says
John, you are just the best husband there is! I have been after my husband to ‘center’ our dining room chandelier for three years now. One day, one day…. Of course, I guess I could learn how to do the same? Nah, I’ll wait for him.
Vidya @ Whats Ur Home Story says
Perfecto! I think I have told you this a million number of times, I loooooooove that light fixture.
Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says
We need to do this so badly in our dining room! The fixture (a chandelier I made for the first Pinterest Challenge) hangs out in the middle of nowhere. It’s neither in the middle of the room nor centered on the table… it’s just there. I am talking about installing our bedroom chandelier today at LHBH!
PS. I’m still in love with that fixture. The blue is beautiful.
melissa rohr says
my husband had a similar attic quest this week putting in ceiling fan support. i couldn’t believe how “wet” he was when he came down – all in the name of coolness for our kids room!
Janelle D says
What a difference a little shift makes. Look how much the light sparkles now. In the words of Clara: pretty, pretty!
Ashleigh says
My sweet husband just finished our bathroom remodel which required a new bathroom fan/light which required attic time. He took a thermometer up there with him to get an accurate temperature read. It was 135 degrees. The poor guy was so HOT, and I don’t mean in the normal he’s HOT way. :-) Glad the project is done though, and blessed to have a sweet man to finish the job!
Teri says
So much better!! Another day working in the heat, you look so tired. Hope you soon get to have some down time to enjoy all things you are working so hard for!
Erin says
Wow! I’ve been reading YHL for several months and I had no idea John is a Phi Sigma Pi alum. I’m an alum from Beta Chapter. Such a small world! It’s always fantastic to see Brothers doing great things!
YoungHouseLove says
No way! Small world. Alpha Omicron chapter here…
Philia,
John
Katharine says
Alpha Xi here! Thank goodness we can greet each other over the internet — it’s been, like, 13 years since I did the secret handshake …
Kate says
Holla! Best times of my college years in PSP! Omicron chapter
Erin says
Im from Gamma Iota chapter as well! Thats such a fun fact to learn about John!
Lanie says
Apparently you have a bunch of Phi Sig readers here! lol. I honestly though I was reading it wrong when I saw the letters on his shirt. Gamma ep chapter here!
Jessica says
I saw the “Sigma” on John’s shirt a few months ago and ask about it. Alpha represent! :)
Natalie Czimskey says
Delta Psi, holla.
Audrey says
My fiance and I are Gamma Alpha chapter alumni :)
Carrie Elizabeth says
Gamma Upsilon!
Serena says
I’m in love with that light! And it definately looks better centered with the toilet, rather than the room as a whole! (Where did you get it?!)
We’re having a similar issue in our great room- only its a ceiling fan that’s centered in the middle of the room, tho our fireplace [and all the furniture positioned around it, IS NOT.
Honestly, it’s been driving me nuts for almost two years now and I’ve been dragging my feet in calling and electrician to fix it. Especially when I see your blog posts like this where The Hubbs can do it for FREE.
Where in the world does a couple with LESS THAN ZERO carpenter’s experience learn these things? How did you guys learn? Is there a book you would recommend or something? I’m scared we’ll kill ourselves or set fire to the house! :p TIA!
YoungHouseLove says
All trial and error and google and asking people! Really- we just try to learn as we go and ask questions (and survey the internet at large, especially the more trusted sources like major home improvement sites). I’m sure there are great free books at the library too- just pick whatever subjects you want to learn about!
xo,
s
Cindy says
My 17 year old son started his first “real” job this summer and was being used as a guinea pig for some rewiring. This included, yes you guessed it!, going into the attic also during the very very hot weather. While in the attic, balancing on those oh so sturdy and wide beams (insert sarcasm here) he took one itty bitty wrong step and FELL THROUGH THE CEILING TO THE FLOOR BELOW. First trip down that road for him… So, great job John! Not only are you a great husband but really really coordinated!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! Hope he was ok!
xo,
s
Mollie says
john is bringing on the funny lately! well done, sir.
Rebecca Li says
What a trooper you are! Goodness, I’m pretty sure I would have just waited another 3 months for it to cool down–this summer has been HOT!
Joanne says
Not actually me, but my boyfriend spent a LOT of time in the TINY crawl space under our house (along with the bricks, wood and concrete dust the builders didn’t bother to clear up) to move plumbing and electrics for our kitchen reno over the weekend… horrible job that took lots of trips (and frequent dusting off in the garden) but worth it in the end!
Meredith says
Um, you TOTALLY have LOTS of my sympathy. We have a “finished” attic, which is actually where our clothes closets are. I only like to go up there in the early morning or late evening because it’s so hot and stuffy up there. If you made me do any kind of physical labor or re-wiring…I’m impressed you were able to see with all the sweat that was probably dripping in your eyes. Between that and deck building, I think you deserve a vacation to somewhere cold. Or at least a cold beverage and some ice cream!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, thanks Meredith!
-John
Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove says
Eep! All things electrical make me nervous! Glad it was an easy fix (if you ignore having to go up in the attic a couple of times in the heat).
Kellie says
I see that you have a 2×4 that holds your box since it’s not near a ceiling joist. Just FYI, they actually make a retrofit kit for just this purpose and it will even hold a ceiling fan! I only know because I recently relocated the light in my stairway and I had the same issue you did. The retrofit looks like a mini shower bar and actually tightens between the joists in the same way- by unscrewing. It has little teeth on the end caps that bite into the joists and hold it in place. The box slides on the rail between them and tightens with a screw when you get it in the right spot. Love your blog! We have one of our house progress too, though not as cool as yours.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Kellie!
xo
s
Jessica says
Get back up there and get ‘er done, John! lol!
Devon @ Green House, Good Life says
What a difference!
I haven’t spent much time in the attic recently, but I wanted to share something really cool (no pun intended) about my very green home: The attic is “sealed” (no vents to the outside), with spray foam insulation along the underside of the roof instead of the floor of the attic, so the attic space stays within five or ten degrees of the rest of the house. During a Texas summer, our old (traditional) attic could easily reach 130 degrees, but our new one never gets above about 85. This also means that the AC isn’t pumping cool air through an oven, keeping our cooling costs down.
Maureen says
Looks nice! Our entire upstairs is uninhabitable because of the heat. We have our guest room and craft area up there and it is so darn hot, we don’t even go up there. Our 1956 cape cod was never properly insulated, and the “side wall attics” on either side of the house basically cook the entire space. We need to really get up there and insulate but we all know how the “to-do” lists run… lol
April P. says
It looks beautiful!!! John… you are amazing!!
Ginny @ goofymonkeys says
Good for you for taking care of it! Our attic is the same way, but thankfully we never need to get in there. I’m pretty sure my husband would rather bust many holes in the wall/ceiling than crawl through the attic in July!
Shelley says
Kudos to John! That is some serious DIY commitment! In my house it would’ve waited for fall weather and been off center a few more months. lol
Grace Y. says
Kind of insane how just the right spot can really make the space! When I first saw that light I honestly thought “eh”, but in the correct place I’m totally in love wih the fixture and the space! You guys rock!!
ilikebeerandbabies.com says
Love that fixture.
tom says
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like this was one of those projects that could have waited a few months ;)
CherylM. says
The light over my dining table is way off center and I have been trying to get my husband to center it forever… but he says
1. I’m allergic to insulation
2. It’s too tight to get into that space
3. It’s super hot up there
etc etc….. John can you come to my house and motivate my husband to center our light?? Pretty please?? … LOL
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, sure, I’ll be right over!
-John
Monika says
I’m starting to think that John secretly likes the heat or is a glutton for punishment. Either way, it looks so much better centered like this!
Ekaterina says
How tall are your ceilings, guys? We just remodeled our bathrooms and I wanted a chandelier in there. But the code does not permit hanging fixtures within 8ft vertically-3ft horizontally of a drain :( might be different, where you live
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, I think it’s different in every county. Our ceilings are 8 feet tall. Our fixture is definitely 3 feet from the drain though (in its new spot, not in the old one though!).
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
Love it! I think it looks much better. I have never done anything like this, but this past weekend my BF installed a new light fixture at his mom’s new place. I was the flashlight holder! :)
Missy G. says
John, I feel your pain. Any time that we have to get up into the attic to go farther than 1 foot from the ladder, then we have to get into jeans and long-sleeve shirts. Our insulation is so old that it’s made of fiberglass, so if it touches our skin, we get crazy itchy! Re-insulating the attic has been on our to-do list for a couple of years now, but we decided to get the roof and window replaced first. We’re in an old house, too (obviously)!
We also have to deal with the crazy high temps and humidity here in south Louisiana, so the attic is just not a fun spot, haha.
Katie says
Wow – Crazy what an impact re-locating that light has! Your bathroom looks fantastic! John, you’re the man.
Kim says
On behalf of my husband, who hasn’t seen this post, thank you. We have a light that we need to move about the same distance. It’s in the front room of our house, which used to be the living room. It’s now the dining room and the light is not centered on the table. Just recently I was trying to talk him into trying to do this little project ourselves (meaning mostly him, haha). He kept saying, “I’m not an electrician”. I googled. “Look, honey, it says right here anyone can do it.” “Look honey, I think Younghouselove has done this. If they can do it, we can.” My plan wasn’t working. BTW, our attic is similarly extremely difficult to access (aka I will never go to that part ever), and my husband is 6’4″. And Charleston SC is HOT. Guess we will be saving this project for the fall. THANK YOU!
YoungHouseLove says
So glad to help! Hopefully it’ll be a downright pleasant task in the fall! Haha.
xo,
s
Robin @ our semi organic life says
What an improvement! It looks so much more purposful now. Not sure how I could say that about a bathroom lamp but it’s true! Another pro for having a range house too.
Carol says
Bless you, John! I will be sure to point your ordeal out to hubby when he complains about our attic. At least ours is straightforward compared to yours! We plan to place wall sconces in the living room and are debating a ceiling fan as well since we have NO lighting in this 17 x 19 room. Still debating on fan-we are looking at some stylish ones. Anyway it shakes out, hubby will have to venture to the attic. We tore the sheetrock off another wall this weekend, so now we have studs staring at in the living room. Must place a beam before ripping those out. Stay cool!
Stefanie D. says
one of best things we did was put a small access to attic
in ceiling of master bedroom closet…just a square large
enough for a man to get through..just pops out….no stairs..have to use a ladder but hardly ever use but when do need it don’t have to crawl all over attic….
Erin says
Looks awesome!! What a job, but in the end it looks great where it is!
Krystle @ ColorTransformedFamily says
Wow! The light looks so much better now that it has been moved. My husband would have complained about doing that in the middle of the day too.
Joy says
Looks great! My sympathy to John for all the ninja-like crawling and crouching. I like the tag team approach, that’s how we do things in my house as well. Although my husband is the “drywall-patcher” so I guess that makes me the ninja. :)
Donita says
You are such a sport *a bit of a drama queen, but a sport* LOL JUST.KIDDING!!!! That light looks so much better centered. The off center would have bugged me too. I love that light. :-)
Jillian {Her Split Ends} says
i LOVE it…what a difference. The view when you walk into the room is perfect!!
Cheers
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
Sarah K says
I’m going to file that under “projects not to do in the summer”! It looks great though! What a difference – definitely worth all the sweat.
Kristin says
More important than the wonderful work on the light fixture, is that a Phi Sigma Pi shirt you’re wearing!? Hello from a Brother from Alpha Beta at the University of Maryland!
YoungHouseLove says
Yep, I’m an Alpha Omicron brother from UVa. Small world!
Philia,
John
Emma says
You’ve learned a valuable skill John – moving overhead light fixtures! You’re super deadly now. The bathroom looks immeasurably better!
Brandyn says
Lol – I’ll admit the whole time I was reading about the attic work I was thinking “don’t you wish you had just done this in April”. I definitely shouldn’t talk though – I’ve had my new light fixture in my kitchen for months and after my first attempt cutting molding (to hide the LEDs) I gave up and still haven’t finished.
Totally worth the effort though – the light looks a lot better center in the window than the room.
Carol Farrish says
This is the second light fixture from your house I want!
Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says
UGH! That totally sucks but on a bright note – it looks BEAUTIFUL! I love that light.
My poor hubby has the joy of shingling a roof in 96 degree (not counting the 60% humidity which makes it feel more like over 100 degrees) – he has a similar look on his face. No fun at all.
Brenda says
Aw, poor John! It looks SO much better, though. I think the beautiful blue glass looks even better now that it has space, and it can properly be a focal point.
Katherine says
So, John…do you have a whole slew of curse words and phrases for when you are making your way along through the miserable attic? I certainly would!
YoungHouseLove says
It’s more like a mad man muttering. Not even sure they’re real words.
-John
Tracey says
Hey, John… For what it’s worth, your arms look pretty buff in that exhausted after photo. Maybe the deck project is hulking you out more than you thought?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- amen!
xo,
s
Emily M says
Best part of this post (I mean, I do love the rest of it, don’t get me wrong) is finding out John’s a PSP alum!! Me too! Alpha Pi chapter at Penn State. I’ve been reading for years and had no idea. So. Awesome! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Awesome! Alpha Omicron chapter here.
Philia,
John
Alex L says
Agreed Emily! I already loved following YHL and this was just like the cherry on top of the sundae. Philia from the Alpha Pi chapter at Penn State. :)
Alex L says
Agreed Emily! I already loved reading YHL (been a fan for about a year) and finding out John was a brother was like a cherry on a sundae. Philia from Alpha Pi chapter at Penn State :)
Lauren says
That “small” change makes a huge difference. I definitely underestimated how much work it is to move a light fixture though!
Have you noticed that you have less light in your shower now since it’s been moved further away?
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, we haven’t noticed anything. But since most of our showering happens during the daylight we usually shower without it on anyways thanks to all of the natural light that comes in that window.
-John