DIY Doctor

Complete Guide to Lighting and Lighting Installation, Including DIY How To Projects and Videos

Welcome to our DIY Lighting Projects page. Here we are confident you will be able to find the answer to most of your main electrical wiring and light fitting questions. Each project is presented as an instructional guide or case study, complete with easy-to-follow diagrams and videos. The projects are targeted at the most common lighting–related questions we get here at DIY Doctor, such as how to wire light fittings or install spotlights, but if you don't find a related project to solve your problem, don't forget to try our very–active advice forum.

  • Why do my Light Bulbs Keep Blowing and How to Stop Them

    Electrical - blowing light bulbs - The reasons why lightbulbs keep blowing, the major one being cheaper bulbs. The elements in cheap bulbs are much thinner and any surge of power breaks them

  • Wiring an Exterior Wall Light

    Electrical - exterior wall light wiring - How to wire an outside wall light to provide feature lighting or to add additional security lights for your home, garden or outdoor area

  • Fitting Plinth Lights

    Electrical - kitchen unit lighting - How to fit plinth lights and information about installing lights in kitchen units. Wire in your own LED plinth lights.

  • Wiring in Wall Lights

    Electrical - wall light wiring - How to wire in wall lights safely and easily. Information on how to wire lights and switches and add a new wall light

  • Wiring a Ceiling Rose

    Electrical - wiring a ceiling rose - How to correctly wire up a ceiling rose, test all the relevant wires and also wire in a light switch correctly so that the light turns on and off when it is supposed to - Includes wiring diagram

  • Electrical Lighting Circuit

    Light circuit - How to wire an electrical lighting circuit safely. Guidance on fitting domestic lighting circuits in your home

  • Choosing and Fitting an Exterior Wall Light or (PIR) Sensor Security Light

    Lighting - choosing and fitting exterior lights - Advice on choosing the right type of outdoor light or sensor light and how to go about fitting it

  • How Fluorescent Tube Lighting Works

    Lighting - fluorescent tube lighting - What is fluorescent tube lighting and how to connect a fluorescent tube fitting, fluorescent strip lighting, strip lighting

  • Guide to Bathroom Lighting

    Lighting - guide to bathroom lighting - Information on bathroom lighting and the different types available to help you plan your lighting to suit your needs

  • How to Build a Ceiling Light Box to Improve and Update your Kitchen Lighting

    Lighting - kitchen lighting - Kitchen lighting improvements; how to build a ceiling light box in your kitchen. Guide to making lighting improvements in your kitchen safely

  • LED Lighting

    Lighting - led lighting - Find out all about LED lighting, how it works, different colours available, how they can save on your energy bills and how to change your existing lighting and bulbs to LED bulbs

  • Low Voltage Lighting

    Lighting - low voltage - How to wire low voltage lighting

  • Wiring and Replacing a Light Fitting

    Lighting - replacing a light fitting - In this how to guide we show how to wire up and replace a light fitting in your home and how to stay safe while doing so including clear easy to follow pictures

  • How to Install Lighting Under Kitchen Units and Fit Down-lights to Your Kitchen Cabinets

    Lighting - under unit kitchen lighting - How to install lighting and lights under kitchen units and cabinets. See how to lit up your work surfaces with spectacular downlights

Lighting in the home makes such a difference to the mood of different rooms and it is great to have knowledge about the way lights work and the best lighting to use in various situations. You can chose between LED lighting, Fluorescent lighting and low wattage or energy saving lighting to suit the area of the house and the tasks you will be undertaking in your home.

You can be creative with lighting in all rooms

You can be creative with lighting in all rooms

We have lots of lighting projects in the section from finding out why my bulbs blow so regularly to how to replace a light fitting.

There are so many choices in different light fittings, and you knew that already but you should also think about the other electrical fittings you can choose including wall plates for light switches, dimmer switches and sockets.

Don’t forget that exterior lights can help to improve security by deterring burglars. Outside lights also make it easier to find your door keys and get in the door in the winter months. Lighting can also make the approach to your house more welcoming when you are entertaining.

Lighting for gardens can extend the hours that your garden becomes a usable space in the summer and, even in the winter, well-placed lights can light up sculptural elements in your garden and give lasting pleasure throughout the seasons. You can even light up ponds and water features to enhance the sight of running water.

Obviously a lot of the lighting choices you make are personal choices and design led, but you can also find out answers to ‘how does my lighting work’ and we include lighting diagrams and explanations about your lighting circuit, so you can understand what is required to get the lighting effects you want in your home.

There are lighting control options that allow you to adjust the lighting in your home using your smartphone, or by using a remote control, so you can dim your lights from the comfort of your sofa while you get all smoochy on the sofa in front of the best new releases on TV or DVD.

Of course daylight is an important aspect of lighting and you can get sunlight into out of the way places using sun tunnels. You might also want to consider roof lanterns and skylights to give extra daylight where you have a single story or top floor room to refurbish or build.

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