One of the last stages of apartment renovation is the installation and connection of lighting sources. Despite the popularity of drywall and stretch analogues, the classic in the form of a painted ceiling will always remain popular. With its arrangement, the height of the rooms remains unchanged. Whereas drywall and stretch, due to the frame, eat up precious centimeters. And if these options involve the installation of a hidden guide for lighting, then what to do with the classic version? How to hang a chandelier on a concrete ceiling? Let's take a closer look.
Mounting Methods
There are three methods for fixing chandeliers to a classic ceiling:
- With a hook. This is one of the popular ways that allows you to mount fairly large lamps, including on a leg.
- On suspension bracket. This method makes it possible to install lamps designed for low ceilings. These lamps are not massive, have a small height, are pressed close to the ceiling.
- On the cross bar. This method is designed for weighty structures.
The question "how to hang a chandelier on a concrete ceiling" largely depends on the chosen model of the light source.
Floor slabs and wiring
Concrete structures are canvases with hollow channels.
In these holes lay the cable for lighting. In new buildings, three-core grounding wires are provided. This feature does not allow for the installation option with a two-key switch, since, of course, it is possible to attach a chandelier to a concrete ceiling, but you will need to use a four-wire cable. For this process, it is best to contact a professional electrician. Or abandon the idea of a two-gang switch.
Light selection
The abundance of lighting devices sometimes makes it difficult to choose a light source. And besides, the market is flooded with many low-quality Chinese products. When choosing, you should take into account a number of nuances:
- Design. Most often, lighting is selected for it. It can be a set of ceiling lamp and sconce, or just a chandelier.
- From how many buttons you plan to connect. If there are only 2 wires on the ceiling at the installation site, then a 2-gang connection should not be considered. And accordingly, it is better not to purchase multi-track lamps. Otherwise, large electricity bills will come in the future. Otherwise, appropriate wiring will be required.
- Height of the ceiling. Massive chandeliers will look out of place in low rooms, and vice versa, on high ceilingsthe small lamp will get lost.
- Dimensions of the room. If the room is large, it is better to provide two sources of lighting. When zoning, both identical models and different ones can be used.
Given these features, you can choose the right type of lighting. In this case, it will not be difficult to connect the lamp, and it will ergonomically fit into the design.
Features of modern lamps
In our time, lighting is striking in its variety and options.
There are models with built-in fans, different lighting modes, remote control via remote control, using more lamps with 12W consumption. All these products can have additional connection blocks in their design. In such cases, the installation instructions are requested from the seller. And if you're not sure you can do it yourself, it's best to call an electrician who knows exactly how to hang a chandelier on a concrete ceiling.
Preparation and safety
There are several important points at this stage of work:
- Electricity is best done during daylight hours. This will make the job easier. No additional lighting in the form of flashlights is required, and, accordingly, an assistant.
- Prepare the instrument. These are: a drill or a hammer drill with the desired type of drill / drill, an indicator screwdriver, a regular screwdriver and a key for assembling a chandelier, a fastener, electrical tape, pliers.
- Before installation, turn off the electricity invisor.
- Remove old lighting, if any.
- Spread the ends of the wires. Connect electricity. Determine the phase and zero with an indicator screwdriver. When in contact with the bare end and pressing the button on the tool, the screwdriver lights up - phase, no - zero. Isolate the ends.
- Determine the location of the wiring in the ceiling space. Floor slabs have hollow channels, which are used for cable laying. For these works, a special electronic detector is used. Experienced owners always draw up or request a wiring diagram when doing electrical installation. In the future, this avoids many problems even with simple operations (such as “driving a nail into the wall”).
- Since hanging a chandelier on a concrete ceiling, by and large, is quite simple, but the process itself is unsafe, you should not forget about turning off the electricity from the shield at the time of dismantling, installing and connecting the chandelier. This will avoid the danger of electric shock.
Chandelier assembly
Depending on the complexity of the design, you may need instructions for assembling the lighting fixture.
The process can be difficult when you need to hang a chandelier on a two-button connection system. This installation allows you to further adjust the degree of illumination in the room by turning on all the lamps or some of them.
For this, a model with such connectivity is selected or the existing option is slightly modernized if:
- A two-wire wire to connect to the network comes out in the lighting fixture - it can be replaced with a three-wire one (phase, phase, zero).
- The lamp has a three-core cable, but one of the wires is designed for grounding (it has a yellow color with a green stripe). If the house is old, then grounding is usually not provided for chandeliers. Therefore, this wiring can be used to connect to the second phase.
If you need to hang a chandelier on a two-gang switch, then one group of horns is connected to the first phase, the second to the other.
Having assembled and prepared the lighting device, proceed to install the fastener. Consider all kinds.
Hook fasteners
Earlier, just such a mount was used for lamps. In such cases, after dismantling the old lighting, a new chandelier should be hung on the existing fasteners. If this type of fixation is not provided, then you should first purchase it. The market today allows you to choose the best option for any occasion. Here is a range of products:
- Hook with petals. This view is suitable if the hole has fallen into a void in the slab. When it is mounted, the petals open and securely fix the hook.
- Ceiling anchor, hook anchor, ring anchor. A drill corresponding to the diameter of the anchor is selected, a hole is made, fasteners are inserted, the element is tightened.
- Folding spring dowel with ring, rod, hook. A hole is drilled according to the diameter of the element, fasteners are inserted, twisted. ATIn this case, mortar plaster is sometimes used for greater reliability. The hole is filled with the mixture and then the dowel is installed. Time is given to set.
- Steel screw with ring, L-hook with plastic dowel. Mounted according to the previous option.
Since hanging a ceiling chandelier, as we already mentioned, can be done quickly enough, but the process itself is associated with the risk of electric shock, it is better to pre-insulate the wires coming out of the ceiling.
Hanging bracket fixture
The fixing bar and fasteners for it are included with the lamp.
But it is better to buy more powerful dowels. This will be a more reliable option, especially if you are not particularly sure that you know exactly how to hang a chandelier from a concrete ceiling. The hole for each hole is first marked with a pencil. It is drilled, dowels are inserted, a fixation bar is applied and fixed with self-tapping screws. Mortar can also be used in this fastening method for greater fastening strength. It is important to screw the bolts on it to fix the chandelier before fixing the bar. The cross bar is mounted in the same way.
Final stage
After installing the fastener, you can begin to consider the question "how to attach a chandelier to a concrete ceiling." To do this:
- Electricity is cut off in the panel.
- Removing the insulation from the wires of the ceiling cable.
- A terminal connection is made or withtwisting and tape.
- The chandelier is fixed on the fastener.
There are a number of features for each type of chandelier.
For models with fixation on the hook, the lamp is hung on it and the wires are connected. And then they are closed with a special decorative cap. Lighting with mounting on the bracket: the mounting cover from the lamp is fixed, the wires are connected, the lamp is attached to the cover. After installation, you should check the correct connection, turning on the keys one by one. If the circuit did not occur, it means that you managed to hang the chandelier correctly with your own hands.
Copper and aluminum cable
In old houses you can still find aluminum cable, and modern lamps are equipped with copper wires for connection. In such cases, the connection is made only using special terminals.
Otherwise, the installation will not meet fire safety standards. And this, in the end, can lead to sad consequences. So, we looked at how to properly hang a chandelier to a concrete ceiling with our own hands. The complexity of installation lies only in the discrepancy between the number of cores of the ceiling cable and the wire of the chandelier. These problems can be solved if there is self-confidence. But since working with electricity is fraught with he alth hazards, it is better to trust a professional.
