Saying goodbye isn’t easy—unless you’re talking to those old recessed lights in your ceiling! Looking to rethink the lighting of a space and need to make some space for a new fixture? Step one to any lighting makeover will be to learn how to remove a light fixture. In this guide, we’ll explain how to safely remove the housing for old recessed light fixtures in just seven steps.
Prepping To Remove Old Recessed Light Housing
As with any electrical project, step one to removing your light’s housing is to shut off the power to the fixture. Head to your circuit breaker, and turn off the appropriate switches so that no power is supplied to the fixture(s) you’ll be removing. You can cover these switches with painter’s tape to make sure no one switches them on by accident. You should also confirm that the power is off with your non-contact voltage tester before touching anything.
The other necessary prep step is to consider what you’ll be doing with the space that your recessed lighting is currently using. If you want to use the existing space for another fixture, you can have a look at guides that teach you how to change recessed lighting to a chandelier, pendant, or other fixture type.
Remove the Old Bulb and Light Trim
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With the power safely off, go ahead and remove the old light bulb from your recessed fixture as you normally would—simply turn it counterclockwise, remove it, and safely set it aside.
With the bulb out of your way, you’ll now turn your attention to the fixture’s light trim. The exact steps may vary depending on your fixture, but this is generally done by gently prying the trim away from the ceiling (try using a flathead screwdriver or putty knife for this). Don’t pry too hard with a tool—pull it straight down by hand when disengaging the clips. Set the loose light trim aside with the bulb.
This step may vary depending on whether you’re working with a remodel light or a new construction light.
Remodel (Old-Work) Lights
This type of light is attached directly to your ceiling’s drywall, making it quite easy to remove. They usually have a spring-loaded clip inside—simply pry the metal clips open in order to remove the housing.
New Construction Light
Most new construction lights are attached to wooden joists in the ceiling—you might need to get into your attic in order to remove this type of housing.
With the housing disconnected, it should now be freely hanging from the ceiling by the wires. Double-check that these are off with your circuit tester. Next, you’ll grab the small electrical box attached to the light and open it up by either flipping a clip open or unscrewing the door.
Inside the box, you should see plastic wire nuts connecting the wires from the light to the wires from your home circuit. Unscrew these plastic connectors (counterclockwise) to disconnect the wires. There will also be a retaining ring on the cable clamp—unscrew this as well, then pull out all light wires. If you don’t plan to use this fixture again, you can always skip this step and simply snip the wires with your wire cutters. You should now have the housing completely disconnected—set it aside.
Tuck Wires Into the Old-Work Box and Terminate Them
Photo: Aleksandr Potashev / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images
Push your house-circuit wires into your old-work electrical box. If you snipped the wires in the last step, don’t forget to use your cable ripper to remove 3 or 4 inches of cable sheathing and paper. Do not strip the wires down to bare copper, as this will become an electrical or fire hazard.
To make sure the loose ends of your wires aren’t a hazard when power is on, you’ll need to terminate them. This is a simple process of screwing each wire end into its own plastic wire nut. Make sure you only use one wire nut per wire—don’t combine them. When this is done, make sure the connectors are securely on with your electrical tape.
Tuck the old-work box back into the ceiling, and use your drill or screwdriver to secure it to the attachment wings on the box. This will usually be a simple matter of inserting 2 or 4 screws.
Install the Cover Blank Plate
With the cables rendered safe and tucked into the box in the ceiling, all that’s left is to cover the box with your non-metallic blank plate. Use your screwdriver for this step to make sure you don’t over-rotate the screws by accident.
If you power other fixtures or devices using the circuit you’ve been working with, it’s now safe to flip the power back on. If you’re not using the circuit, you could always leave it switched off to guarantee safety.
Paint Over the Blank Plate
Photo: sima / Adobe Stock
Lastly, you just need to paint over the blank plate to make it disappear into your ceiling! We recommend finding an exact match for your ceiling paint if possible for a more finished look—or else you could take this opportunity to repaint the ceiling with a fresh coat!
DIY vs. Hiring a Pro
This is a fairly simple and inexpensive project to tackle yourself. Assuming you have the tools and just a little bit of knowledge (bonus points if you have experience in skills such as how to remove can lights), this is a totally approachable project.
If you’re not feeling confident about working with electrical fixtures, it’s never a bad idea to work with a local light fixture company. The average cost to remove an old recessed light fixture can range between $100 and $400 per light for labor and supplies. Your lighting expert can safely remove old fixtures and even provide useful guidance, such as where to place recessed light in the living room or kitchen.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s possible to remove a new construction recessed light without getting into your attic, though it’s a bigger job. You’ll need to identify the joist locations using a stud finder, then cut a square hole in the drywall of your ceiling to remove the fasteners holding the fixture. After removing the light, you’ll have to patch and paint the ceiling again.
Between the relatively simple process and the lower cost of installing recessed lighting yourself, it’s not a bad idea to DIY this project. It will take a little reading on electrical safety and how to properly wire your new recessed fixture, but it’s fairly easy to install a new fixture in just a couple of hours if you have the right tools and supplies on hand. But, if you’re not familiar with lighting installation, hiring a professional can give you peace of mind and ensure the job is done right.
Lyle is a writer with a special focus on home improvement, mortgages and financing, and legal services. Whether it’s a DIY reno or a tricky tax clause, Lyle loves breaking down tough topics into useful guides for the everyday.
Lyle is a writer with a special focus on home improvement, mortgages and financing, and legal services. Whether it’s a DIY reno or a tricky tax clause, Lyle loves breaking down tough topics into useful guides for the everyday.
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