- 1). Mark the outline of a remodeling switch box on the wall where you intend to install the switch. Outline the back of the box, making sure that the lip of the box will fit over the drywall when the hole is cut. Cut it out with a drywall saw.
- 2). Work in the attic if there is room to do so. Drill a hole in the top plate of the wall directly over the switch and drill another hole over the light, if it is a wall light.
- 3). Feed the electrical wires from the service panel and the light fixture through the hole over the switch and pull them out of the hole you made in the drywall for the switch box. Feed the wire to the light fixture through the hole over the fixture or directly to the light, if it is ceiling light. Pull enough from each wiring location so that you will have about 8 inches of slack to work with.
- 4). Staple the wire to the top plate of the walls and to the rafter next to a ceiling light fixture.
- 5). Feed the wire in through the basement or crawl space if there is no room to work in the attic. Make a hole in the floor through the bottom plate of the wall for the wires to the switch and the light fixture. Feed the wires in directly or use fish tape, which is a spring-loaded metal wire designed for pulling electrical cable.
- 6). Feed the fish tape up through the hole in the floor and have a friend pull the end out of the hole for the switch box. Attach the cable to the fish tape with electrical tape and pull the wire back through to the basement. Feed it up to the light fixture and service panel in the same way. If you are connecting a wall light, make another hole in the floor for the end of the wire that goes to the light. Staple the wire to the floor joists.
- 7). Cut out some small sections of drywall from the ceiling and wall and pull the wire in stages if you are connecting a ceiling light. These holes should be close together and near the top plate of the wall.
- 8). Feed the wires through the holes in the back of the switch box and attach the box to the drywall by hooking the screws onto the drywall edges and tightening them.
- 9). Connect the wires to the switch by removing about 6 inches of sheathing with a utility knife and removing 1/2 inch of insulation from all the black and white wires with a wire splicing tool. Connect the black wires to the brass nuts on the switch and the ground wires to the green nuts. Twist the white wires together and cap them with a twist-on wire connector.
- 10
Make the connections at the panel and light fixture, turn on the breaker and test the light.
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