Last weekend when putting up the Christmas tree we noticed that some of the lights in the living room chandelier were flickering. I started working on it and noticed the electrical connections were in bad shape, and the chandelier actually had some bad parts that should get fixed.
So I did some research... you always see the home shows when they paint old chandeliers and update a room. I found some info on concerting ours to match the rest of our oil rubbed bronze fixtures we got for the curtains. I found parts to fix the electrical connections and decided, lets rehab this old chandelier, and better yet it will be a Daddy Daughter Decorating project as a gift for Heather for Christmas.
 Before |
I researched and found all the parts that I needed right here at my local Menards. We got Rustoleum Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint for $5 a can, all new candelabra sockets ($6 per pair), and new socket covers ($4 for 6). So in total I spent under $30 and I scored some wire, connectors and extra roll of electrical tape to round out project supplies.
This weekend Novali was here and we started the project. She was excited and really wanted to make it a surprise for Heather... but I think she would of noticed us sneaking around the house with a big chandelier so I told her it is the thought that counts and Heather will love it either way.
Saturday morning we popped off the chandelier, she held parts and handed me tools while we brought the light down. We took a break during the day and watch Toy Story 3 at IUSB and made time for shooting baskets (she is shooting now at 9.5 feet!).
In the afternoon it was back to work. She cleaned the chandelier while I figured out how we would wire up the new sockets and do the painting. Once it was cleaned and prepped for paint we hung it up in the basement. I got a little paint trigger so it would be easier for her to paint and she was a champ at painting and learning how to spray surfaces.
We did a few coats of paint and in between worked on the electrical connections. I explained electrical connections to her. We had to make pigtails that we would hook up to the new socket and twist wire connect the pigtails to the wires from the chandelier for each candelabra. She cut the wires to the right length and stripped them for me. I took the stripped wires and put the connectors on the end to clip into the socket bases. It was a nice little assembly line. Then she helped connect the wires to the socket bases.
We needed more paint at night so we had to wait until the morning to finish the electrical. After she went to bed I did some prep on the lights and cut the old socket bases out and prepped the wires to get connected.
In the morning we made quick work of the connectors. She screwed on the socket bases, then we put the twist connections on and taped them into the socket base. Then we slide the socket covers on and got ready to get her hug back up. We tested it and it all worked! So we got it mounted up, tossed a big Christmas bow on it and presented it to Heather... Merry Christmas!
 After |
So Novali really likes trying to help me do stuff... she even then wanted to help me change the wheels on Heather's car. I got her a set of snow tires on a used set of rims for a steal on craigslist. So I needed to swap out the wheels and it was cold out... but she toughed it out with me (well mostly) and helped get the wheels off and changed on the Jetta. Novali might be a good future crew for Team PLP... Now Heather and Lemon are rolling on some super grippy snow tires!
I posted more pictures and descriptions: Daddy Daughter Decorating (and pit crew)