Lighting installation for New York apartments and houses

The fixture is the part you pick. The box, the support, the switch and the wire behind it decide whether it looks right and stays up. In older buildings those details are rarely ready for a modern fixture.

We check the box rating and the ceiling type before you buy, add supports for heavy fixtures, and run new feeds for sconces and track where there's no wire today.

Chandeliers and large pendants can weigh far more than an ordinary ceiling box is rated to hold. We check the weight on the spec sheet, replace the box with one rated for it or add a brace to the joists, and set the drop so the fixture sits at the right height over a table or in a stairwell. Multi-pendant runs over an island are laid out from the counter plan so they're centered on the work surface, not on whatever box was there before.

Track and monorail systems let you aim light at art, counters or shelving, and they're a practical way to light a long room from a single feed. Line-voltage track connects straight to the circuit; low-voltage rail needs a transformer that has to be accessible and sized for the heads. We mount the track to solid backing, plan the feed point so the cord or canopy is hidden, and set up dimming that's compatible with the heads you've chosen, which avoids flicker and hum later.

Sconces and picture lights usually need a box where there's no wire today, which in plaster or brick means careful fishing. We find the route from the nearest switch or circuit, cut a clean opening at the right height, and set the box flush so the fixture sits tight to the wall. Hardwired picture lights get a slim box or a recessed junction behind the frame. Where hardwiring isn't possible, we'll tell you plainly rather than leave a cord hanging down the wall.

Swapping an old fixture sounds simple until the box turns out to be loose, overfilled or feeding three other circuits. We open it up, check the wiring and the connections, and replace the box when it isn't rated or secured for the new fixture. Old cloth-insulated fixture wire that crumbles when it's moved is replaced back to a sound point. The new fixture goes up level and tight to the ceiling, and the old one can be removed or kept for another room.