Installing wall lights

[pete01]

Surely you shouldn't be able to lift a light fitting off the wall, it's rubbish

 

[sparkwright]

Surely you shouldn't be able to lift a light fitting off the wall, it's rubbish

It's antique, what can you do?

 

[morqthana]

Agree with Harry just need a stronger bracket than the flimsy picture hanger .

They are far from flimsy. When was the last time you saw a painting which weighed less than one of those lights?

 

[pete01]

It's antique, what can you do?

Dunno screw and decorative cap?

 

[securespark]

How is that earth tag attached?

 

[pete01]

It looks brazed or soldered or summat

 

[securespark]

I would fit an architrave box in the wall in place of existing stuff. Then drill the fitting and screw through to attach the fitting to the recessed box.

 

[foxhole]

They are far from flimsy. When was the last time you saw a painting which weighed less than one of those lights?

You could pull those straight off the wall changing the bulb .

 

[morqthana]

That would be a failure of the screw, not the hook.

 

[ericmark]

Lots of old wall lights were simply 'hooked' onto a nail or screw.

I would have called it a spigot, it was quite a substantial fitting, it did need to take the weight of the oil in the lamp. I used conduit boxes for my wall lamps, but not with a conduit hole, as that would result is screws at 45 degrees, and I wanted screws horizontal, and the lamp screwed directly into the conduit box.

To mount the ones shown, one would need some sort of backplate, a letter box blanking plate, or a coat hanger backplate.

 

[blup]

As said slotted brass screw or screw and decorative cap. Be careful When changing the bulbs.

 

[morqthana]

A possible solution, which depends on personal taste, room decor, skills or access to someone with skills, but wooden "backplates" could be made, the lights permanently fixed to them, and the wooden plates hung on the wall via keyhole slots on the back.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

but wooden "backplates"

Pattress! When I installed our three wall lights, I thought they would look odd without them, so I turned some up, to match, in the lathe. Making a recess in the back, for the connectors, polished up they look great.

 

[morqthana]

Pattress!

Is that what they're called. Thanks.

When I installed our three wall lights, I thought they would look odd without them, so I turned some up, to match, in the lathe. Making a recess in the back, for the connectors, polished up they look great.

Yup. They can be made of almost any wood, to match the room, stained/finished to the style of the room. They could be rectangular, oval, triangular, shield-shaped...

The edges could be just eased, or moulded. If moulded, a finish option could be a nice chalk paint and gold leaf (or Dutch metal) applied to the edges.

The world's your lobster.

And could be done without a lathe - if you were an OK woodworker you could cut them with a jigsaw or bandsaw, and do the edges with a router.

Or if you can't DIY, try tracking down a hobbyist via woodwoorking forums, the nearest Men's Shed, U3A, sticking a card in the newsagent's window...

 

[FrodoOne]

A possible solution, which depends on personal taste, room decor, skills or access to someone with skills, but wooden "backplates" could be made, the lights permanently fixed to them, and the wooden plates hung on the wall via keyhole slots on the back.

They can be made of almost any wood, to match the room, stained/finished to the style of the room. They could be rectangular, oval, triangular, shield-shaped...

The edges could be just eased, or moulded. If moulded, a finish option could be a nice chalk paint and gold leaf (or Dutch metal) applied to the edges.

The world's your lobster.

And could be done without a lathe - if you were an OK woodworker you could cut them with a jigsaw or bandsaw, and do the edges with a router.

Or if you can't DIY, try tracking down a hobbyist via woodwoorking forums, the nearest Men's Shed, U3A, sticking a card in the newsagent's window...

If a Wooden Backplate is made
the fitting could be modified so that it is securely affixed to the "backplate", without the need for any visible screw holes.

To do this,
since the fitting is hollow at the rear,
it would be possible to use "Epoxy Resin Putty" to position suitable threaded Nuts at the top and bottom -
with space behind for a screw to extend in to that void.
(https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quicksteel-6002-QuikSteel-Epoxy-Putty/dp/B001JTWZOK/ref=sr_1_32?crid=2V885BN7A4HBU&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.1mfU_U877zqWKamXvjJ54a01nvzmDRBZL7s7jlVkij-yV7w2IEIjAwk2MWPkKARFczvI3eLeF33YtY583HA0nW3I66lqOVP9o6yjTjb9WsmaXle4RD-jcX6MQb6rrVY1cwlAYLpNY5jA9bAhaW8bNcCq69ve5oijL0ondyA00OExQaKyIYtra0eMfb_AHS6MYGHAxMAwZHKvb0q7rLbBgBgOmk6c3zNTMNKN1tEbEWnI_Wtz_IqVcMOqtXMciijScGNjpkCD8erDvHds19OyLo27RVFZUI7B0x7NSq6AYos.s38IHTYLep3fEzx1CQhNGXzCUgHT63Hir-mseGoPrBM&dib_tag=se&keywords=epoxy+resin+putty&qid=1751174828&sprefix=epoxy+resin+putty,aps,391&sr=8-32 - or similar.)

Matching screws of suitable length could then be inserted through countersunk holes in the rear of the backplate.


In practice the best way to do this would be to
drill two holes in the correct positions in the backplate, (top and bottom)
cover the backplate with "Cling-Film",
insert the screws and (finger) tighten the nuts onto the backplate (and Cling-Film)
leaving some of each screw projecting through the nuts.
(It may be a good idea to place a washer under under the Cling-Film under each nut
but
not use this washer later.)

Wet the tips of the screws (with water) - but not the nuts,
mix the epoxy resin putty,
place "blobs" of the putty over each nut and screw tip
and press the fitting down over these "blobs" - so that the EP Putty "blobs" are squeezed against the hollow back of the fitting.

Wait about two minuets (not more) and carefully unscrew the screws from the backplate.
(The Cling-Film will prevent the ER Putty from sticking to the backplate
but
the nuts now should be embedded in the ER Putty.)

After the ER Putty is set (over 15 minutes)
is should be possible to mount the fitting on the backplate,
using the screws through the embedded nuts.