Stretched ceiling can often be found in modern homes. This coating is easy to use and easy to care for. The only question that interests its owners concerns how to change a light bulb in a stretch ceiling. To do this, you need to know what types of light bulbs are, as well as have in your arsenal all the tools necessary for work. We will talk about this today.
Reasons for replacing a light bulb in a stretch ceiling
Modern designers unanimously believe that the stretch ceiling is one of the best inventions. It not only refreshes the room, but also serves as a decoration of the room. The advantage of this type of ceiling covering lies in the wide variety of lamps suitable for it. You can hang a classic chandelier, or you can stop at a fashionable LED strip. Some choose "scattered" in a chaotic manner lamps of differentsizes. Light fixture shapes may vary.
Stretch ceiling is a modern design solution that can decorate any interior. When choosing lighting, there is a lot of room for imagination - from a chandelier, LED strip to spotlights of various sizes and shapes.
The need to replace light bulbs in a stretch ceiling is determined by several factors:
- The lamp may break. Most often, cheap lighting fixtures fail. Therefore, it is better to spend money on a high-quality lamp once than to buy it once every three months. If the device is reliable, then it will not have to be changed often.
- When the design of the room changes, it is necessary to dismantle the old lighting fixtures. To save on new light bulbs, you can purchase special pads that are installed on spotlights. They change the appearance of lighting fixtures. If a chandelier is hanging in the room, then there is an opportunity to “play” with the shades. They can be replaced with new ones or decorate old ones.
- When a stretch ceiling changes completely, the lamps built into it inevitably change. Some mistakenly believe that you can leave the lamps while pulling the ceilings. This is impossible, since the stretch ceiling is an integral system, and the lamps are built into it.
How to change light bulbs in a stretch ceiling?
The solution to this problem is very important for those who started the repair. If the question arises, how to replace the light bulb in the tensionceiling, then you need to ask what are the rules for dismantling lamps. You need to find out what types of lamps exist, and how to handle each of them. With the right approach, you can avoid installation errors.
How to replace a halogen bulb?
When people are interested in how to change light bulbs in a stretch ceiling, not everyone understands which lamp suits him. When it turns out that halogen lamps are needed, then everything falls into place. Nowadays, this type of lighting is considered one of the best among the many acceptable options. Due to the high power, the light from such a lamp is considered very bright, but they quickly fail. When it becomes necessary to replace the device, you need to follow the instructions:
- The house needs to be turned off.
- In preparation for work, you need to wear cotton gloves. It is worth remembering that the body of the halogen mechanism has a high temperature. Do not touch the light bulb without special gloves.
- Having completed the preparatory work, you can unscrew the old light bulb. Gloves should be used when handling.
- Removing fasteners and changing bulb from old to new.
- The new lighting fixture needs to be fixed with fasteners.
- The body of this type of lamp should be no further than ten centimeters from the ceiling.
LED option
How to change the LED lamp in the stretch ceiling? It is believed that it is most profitable to install LED, as theyconsume little electricity. They also have a long service life. Such lamps are convenient and profitable, because they do not require large expenses.
When the "pill" burns out, people ask how to change the LED bulb in the stretch ceiling. This process will not take much time and effort, you just need to adhere to a certain algorithm of actions:
- We need to turn off the electricity in the apartment.
- Do not forget about an additional light source, especially in the evening. A flashlight will not be superfluous when working on replacing the lamp.
- First of all, the mounts from the last lamp are removed.
- It is necessary to remove the insulation from the wiring.
- Carefully disconnect the desired wires.
- You must first study the instructions that came with the new lamp.
- A new LED lamp is being installed in place of the old one.
- You should connect the necessary wires and fix the new light source. For this, special screws are taken.
According to stores, most people buy LED lamps for installation in false ceilings. Demand for them is constantly growing.
How to change the spotlight?
Before you change the light bulb in the stretch ceiling, you need to understand what type it belongs to. If you need to replace a spotlight, then painstaking work lies ahead. It requires some training to install the desired type of lamps. To successfully complete the replacement, you should:
- Unscrew the box, disconnect all the wires, then you can get the old lamp.
- Before installing a new appliance, you need to disassemble the box. First you need to disconnect the wires that match in color.
- It is better to prepare special pliers in advance to help close the wires with caps.
- When you managed to place all the wires in the box according to the instructions, you can start installing the light bulbs.
- Often, before changing a light bulb in a stretch ceiling spot, people do not look at the power of the new device. It is important that it is not more than indicated in the instructions. The lamp must be firmly fixed.
- When the work is completed, you need to turn on the voltage breaker.
What safety precautions should be taken when replacing a spotlight with a new one?
Safety precautions should be observed when working with spotlights. It is important to turn off the electricity before starting work on replacing lamps. In order not to spoil the ceiling and not to injure your own fingers, the lamp should be taken only by the springs. In this case, it will be quite easy to unscrew the spotlight from its previous location.
Why can't you cut the ceiling sheet around the lamp when replacing it?
Often people think that before changing a light bulb in a stretch ceiling, you can cut the canvas around the lamp. Few people know that such actions are dangerous to human he alth and life. After such work, the ceilingthe coating will be almost impossible to repair. If you mix it up and accidentally hit another wire, you can get a strong electric shock.
If you cut the canvas, you will need a lamp of a larger diameter, and the size of spotlights initially involves small devices. When a light fixture is under warranty, improper replacement will automatically void the warranty.
With the wrong approach to this type of work, it is easy to spoil the entire stretch ceiling and you will have to make a new one. If a person is not sure that he will be able to do a quality job, then it is better to offer a professional electrician to change the light bulb in the stretch ceiling.
How to remove an old chandelier from a stretch ceiling?
Often there are such lamps that cannot be changed if the chandelier is not removed from the ceiling. To make a replacement, you need:
- Remove the chandelier from the hook and then gradually disconnect all the wires.
- When the chandelier has a cruciform bar, it will be more problematic to remove it. The first step is to separate the lamps from the shades and decorative elements. After that, it is permissible to disconnect the fasteners and wires.
- It is worth remembering that with stretch ceilings in an apartment it is better not to purchase flat chandeliers that are installed horizontally to the ceiling. If they have incandescent lamps, the ceiling coating may melt. Then you have to change all the stretch ceilings.
Expert Tips
Before you remove the light bulb on the stretch ceiling, you should check if the electricity is turned off in the apartment. If there are mirror elements in the ceiling, then the lamps should be changed with extreme caution.
In order for the lighting to be uniform throughout the room, it is better to choose fixtures with the same power. Such measures will increase the life of the lamp. All work should be carried out only with gloves.
Don't chase high power fixtures. For stretch ceilings, the best option would be a power of 35 watts.
