Chandelier and statement light installation
Heavy statement fittings hung safely, from the ceiling fixing up.
In short
Fitting a chandelier is mostly a question of weight and what is above the ceiling. A standard plasterboard ceiling rose is rated for a few kilograms; a multi-arm chandelier can be fifteen or more, and it has to be fixed to a joist or to timber noggins put in specially, never to the plasterboard itself. Beyond that it is drop height, whether the ceiling is high enough to sit one at all, and whether the switching and any dimming suit a fitting with that many lamps in it.
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A chandelier is the one light in a house that people notice from the doorway, and it is also the one most likely to be hung off something that will not hold it. The fitting itself is usually the easy part. Everything worth thinking about happens before it goes up.
What decides whether a chandelier will work
This is what we look at before ordering anything. We supply the fittings as well as installing them, so you can leave the sourcing to us: tell us the look you are after and we will find something that works in your room. If you have already bought something, send us a photo or a link and we will tell you what it needs.
The single most important number, and the one most product pages bury. Anything over about 5kg needs fixing into timber rather than into a plasterboard ceiling. We check it against your ceiling before anything is ordered, which is the whole reason nothing arrives that will not go up.
Most chandeliers have an adjustable drop, but there is a minimum. Over a table you want the bottom of it roughly 75 to 85cm above the surface; anywhere people walk, high enough that nobody meets it. In a room with a standard 2.4m ceiling a long-drop fitting will not work.
A twelve-arm fitting is twelve lamps to change. Check they are a type you can still buy easily, and whether they are included. If you want it dimmed, they all need to be dimmable and all the same.
Ceiling roses are rarely in the middle of the room, and almost never in the middle of a room that has been extended or knocked through. Moving the point is straightforward with the ceiling open and more involved once it is finished.
A fitting hung over a stairwell has to be installable and, more to the point, cleanable and re-lampable afterwards. That usually decides the drop more than the look does.
What fitting one involves
Look at the ceiling first
We check what is above the plasterboard, find the joists, and work out whether the existing point is fixed to anything that will take the weight. This is the part that decides whether it is a straightforward job.
Make the fixing good
Where there is nothing solid in the right place, timber noggins go in between the joists so the fitting is hung off structure rather than off a sheet of plasterboard.
Position and drop
The fitting is set at the height it should sit at, checked from where people will actually stand and sit rather than from up a ladder.
Wire, hang and test
Connected, hung, levelled, and the circuit tested. If it is going on a dimmer, the dimmer is matched to the lamps so it does not buzz or flicker.
Got a fitting in mind?
Send a photo of it and of the room to 07557 448945 on WhatsApp. You will get a straight answer on whether it will work where you want it.
Frequently asked questions
How heavy a chandelier can a normal ceiling take?
A plasterboard ceiling with a standard rose is good for only a few kilograms. Past that the fitting needs to be fixed into a joist, or into noggins put in between the joists specially. There is no single number that covers every ceiling, which is why it is worth asking before ordering rather than after.
Can you move the ceiling point to where I want it?
Usually. How involved it is depends on what is above: with a floor above and boards that lift, it is straightforward, and on a top-floor ceiling with loft access it is easier still. Where neither applies it can mean lifting or opening a small section of ceiling, which is worth knowing before you decide.
How high should it hang over a dining table?
As a rule of thumb the bottom of the fitting sits about 75 to 85cm above the table. Lower feels intimate but gets in the way of seeing across; higher stops lighting the table properly. It is worth holding it at a couple of heights before fixing.
Can a chandelier go on a dimmer?
Yes, provided every lamp in it is dimmable and they are all the same type. The usual problem is a fitting sold with non-dimmable LED lamps, or a mix, on an old dimmer designed for filament bulbs. A trailing-edge dimmer rated for the load fixes most of it.
Having the work done
This page is about choosing a fitting. For the installation itself, including new circuits, switching and dimming, see lighting and LED installations. We cover Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire — see areas we cover.
Held by Stephen Sparham. Every job that needs one is tested and certificated. More about our qualifications