How to Install Track Lighting

This HouseCall was to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a town famous for tobacco. Jim and Sabrina Campbell requested Ron's visit to help them with a lighting project. Sabrina is a hair stylist and a few years ago she and her husband built a beauty salon next to the house. Sabrina didn't like the feeling created by the bright, fluorescent lighting fixtures they had installed and decided to switch to track lighting. When Ron arrived, she sat him down in her chair and explained what she had in mind.

Click Here For a list of what you will need in order to complete this project.

1. Shut off the power:

• Always begin any electrical job by first turning off the power at the breaker panel. As a precaution, Ron recommends putting tape over the switch.

2. Remove old fixtures:

• Throw a few drop cloths over the cabinets and furniture and then start removing the old fluorescent fixtures. The plastic diffusers come off first, then the tubes are removed and finally the cover concealing the wiring.
• Untwist the wire connections and remove the screws holding the fixtures to the ceiling.

3. Plan the configuration of new fixtures:

• With the old fixtures down it's time to decide exactly where the new fixtures will go. A great advantage of track lighting is that it is very flexible and you can put it exactly where you want it. The disadvantage is that it's very directional, providing spots of light. Make sure that you are going to have light where you need it.
• Once you have identified where light will be needed the most, it is helpful to place blue masking tape on the ceiling to help visualize where to best locate the track. In this case a u-shaped pattern around the perimeter of the room seemed like it would work the best.

4. Electrical box:

• The power for the track will come from the wire that was used for the old lighting. In the Campbell salon, there should have been an electrical box where the wires came down from the ceiling but there wasn't. Ron needed to cut out a part of the ceiling and install one.

• Using a wallboard saw, Ron made a few exploratory cuts and discovered that the wires were right next to a ceiling joist. Using the new box as a template, Ron drew and then cut a hole in the wallboard, exposing the edge of the joist.
  

• Ron allowed Sabrina to thread the wire through the back of the box and set the box in the hole they had cut in the ceiling. Jim secured the box to the edge of the joist with screws.

5. Power adapter for track lighting:

• You can easily convert any ceiling box into an electrical source for track lighting with an adapter that screws on top of the junction box. Attach the wires coming from the ceiling to the terminals in the adapter and snap the cover into place.
• In general, track lighting should be installed between 18 and 24 inches from the wall. Remove the masking tape, make measurements, and snap a chalk line.

6. Install tracks:

• A typical track lighting system has three components: the track, which supports the light fixtures and conducts electricity, the light fixtures themselves and a variety of connectors that go into the end of each track section. These can include an L-shaped turn, a T-shaped and the adapter that allows you to attach the track to an existing ceiling box.
• The track typically comes in four and eight-foot lengths but can be cut to any length with a hacksaw.

• Plug the first piece of track into the ceiling adapter and then work your way around the room installing the longer sections. Align the track with the chalk line then mark the mounting holes by drilling a small hole.

• Enlarge the starter holes with a larger drill bit, so that it will accommodate a toggle bolt. A toggle is really a nut with folding wings. The wings are held together while the toggle is inserted into the hole in the ceiling. As the bolt is pushed upward, the toggle springs open inside the ceiling preventing the bolt from falling back out of the hole.
• Snap an end cap into the final sections and then tighten the toggle bolts, pulling the track snugly up against the ceiling.

7. Install fixtures:

• Put the lighting fixtures in place. Each fixture has a different section in the room to light. Some will provide work light, some illumination for reading, while others will wash a wall or highlight an object.