help! heavy pendant shade - potential disaster?

[zeitgeist]

Hello all,

My name's Marie, I'm new here...

I have a new pendant lampshade with glass crystals on it. The fitting instructions say to remove the lampholder skirt, fit the lampshade, and then screw the lampholder skirt back on to attach it. So far so standard... but the lampshade weighs around 2 1/2 lbs (just over a kilo) - I weighed it in the kitchen scales.

Is that too heavy just to hang from the ceiling? There's a normal plastic ceiling rose, the cable comes out of it, and then there's a normal plastic lampholder. I don't want to fit the lampshade and then it comes crashing down on my head bringing a load of plaster with it

I'd be really grateful for advice...

 

[oharaf]

Mmmm, that is a touch heavy for your plasterboard? ceiling to carry.

You could lift the floor board above, fit a Noggin (piece of wood) which you can then screw into

 

[Steve]

It should be ok - provided the flex drop wire is correctly secured.

 

[Chri5]

It should be ok - provided the flex drop wire is correctly secured.

Unfortunately should and is are not the same things.

As mentioned by Oraraf the best thing to do would be to check the load baring potential by lifting the floor boards above the current fitting and checking how it's fixed.

If that's impossible due to a tiled or laminate floor (or even a flat roof) above then I'd suggest you remove the existing fitting screws and have a decent poke with a bradawl or fine flat blade screwdriver.

Poke and it goes straight though means the existing fitting is secured to the plasterboard.
Poke and hit hard, firm wood and either a nogin has already be fitted or better still, it's a joist.
People hang themselves from joists , so a 2.5kg will hold.

 

[plugwash]

Poke and hit hard, firm wood and either a nogin has already be fitted or better still, it's a joist.

we don't know that the original posters ceiling is plasterboard, if it's an older propety hitting wood could mean it is screwed to a lath.

 

[333rocky333]

I would worry more about the wire pulling out the ceiling rose than the ceiling giving way.

 

[Chri5]

Poke and hit hard, firm wood and either a nogin has already be fitted or better still, it's a joist.

we don't know that the original posters ceiling is plasterboard, if it's an older propety hitting wood could mean it is screwed to a lath.

Come on there's a heap of differnce between the feel of a lath and solid timber, when investigated with a decent bradawl or fine tipped flat blade.

Lath springs, or 1/4 inch in to the test you push straight through it.

 

[BS3036]

The usual way to test something like this (in real engineering) is to test what happens if you use a load twice as big as normal. Like a plastic bag full of kitchen weights. If it holds then go for it. If it falls onto the floor - well - time to think again.

 

[davelx]

If it falls onto the floor - well - time to think again.

And possibly repair a big hole in your ceiling

 

[securespark]

I would go with rocky here.

As long as there is a decent fixing (whether it be into board or lath or joist) using the correct fixings and the cord is correctly restrained in the rose, I would worry more about the effect of the weight on the flex.

However, from my trusty regs (using the 16th, I don't have the 17th with me), the following table springs forth:


CSA.............CCC.................Mass supported by cord (see 522-08-06)

0.5.................3.......................2 kg

0.75...............6.......................3 kg

1.00..............10......................5 kg

 

[BS3036]

If it falls onto the floor - well - time to think again.

And possibly repair a big hole in your ceiling

Seriously if you pull 2 rawlpugs out of a ceiling - the plasterboard will NOT come crashing down.

 

[davelx]

If it falls onto the floor - well - time to think again.

And possibly repair a big hole in your ceiling

Seriously if you pull 2 rawlpugs out of a ceiling - the plasterboard will NOT come crashing down.

No, but if they are cavity toggles? And I'm thinking lathe and plaster, not plasterboard, anyway.

 

[BS3036]

Well, maybe so. It doesn't look like we're going to find out though

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Let's hope Marie isn't lying unconscious on the floor having been struck a heavy blow to the head by a falling lampshade...

 

[BS3036]

...or worse still, a plastic bag full of kitchen weights!