The two electrical switches that make this setup possible have finally arrived and can be installed. One is a smart switch that is hardwired in the wall and the other is a remote that’s wirelessly connected to the hardwired wall switch. The left photo shows the new hardwired switch wired up and hanging out of the wall with all its color-coded wiring connections explained below:
- The white wire is the neutral.
- The black wire is the hot feed to the switch.
- The red wire feeds the light fixture.
- The green wire is a ground.
- The blue wire is not used in this application so it gets capped.
The right photo is the remote powered by a battery that
has an estimated 10-year life. Its
height and width fit into a regular switch plate cover and is very thin so it can be
mounted on rather than in a wall. More on that in a bit.
Here are a couple of photos showing how the hardwired
switch looks when installed. Also, the
light’s back has been temporarily attached to its permanent location on the
wall.
Here the top photo is looking from the back of the new
remote switch set in the new wall switch plate.
In the red ellipse, while a little hard to see, there is a gap between
the back of the switch and the bottom of the ruler which is set on the switch
plate edges that will go against the wall.
The bottom photo is a closer view.
Installing the remote switch next to the existing switch
that controls the existing garage lights is next and there are a few steps to add the remote switch. The photo on the left is the existing switch and the photo on the right has its switch plate removed.
Next in the left photo the pilot holes have been drilled for the screws (blue arrows) that will go into the mounting slots then the remote switch gets screwed to the wall. In this case the switch’s mounting screws hit a stud otherwise I would have used a drywall anchor for mounting. The right photo shows the cover plate attached to the switches with its four, color matched screws. I may change out the existing ivory light switch later to match the new white switch so both match.
To paint the back panel, it’s set on painter’s triangles
that are on a lazy susan. This allows
me to spin it around making it easy to get all the edges. It took three coats with some sanding after
the first and second coats to smooth and flatten them. Here is the completed back panel after the
third coat. Getting a nice flat, smooth
surface with a little sheen ended up being harder than I thought. The first test was to take a sample and give
it a spray coat of shellac to act as a sealer. That's followed by spraying on a white paint top
coat using a rattle-can spray from one of the big box stores. The result was not good in that the pores in
the oak veneer were not painted so they showed up as the natural oak color. Multiple coats did little to improve the
coverage. It was as if the surface
tension of the paint would not allow the paint to flow into the pores leaving them
unpainted. Trying a second test without
the base coat of shellac gave the same unsatisfactory results. What ended up working required three coats of
a white eggshell water-based paint and primer enamel. The first coat sealed the surface and filled the pores but
required sanding since it had raised the grain and left a rough surface. The second coat only required a light sanding
and the third coat gave me what I wanted.
I debated between using glass or acrylic for the front,
side and top panels, as each have their advantages. When I checked my supply of stained glass
there was nothing that I wanted to use.
Checking local suppliers, the obscure type of glass was very expensive
and not quite what I had in mind.
Stained glass surprisingly was cheaper but still could not find what I
wanted. What I did find at Home Depot
were several different styles of 2’ x 4’ acrylic florescent light
diffusers. One of them with an embossed
“crackle” finish gave just the effect I wanted, highly translucent but not
transparent enough to clearly see the light bulbs inside the fixture. An added bonus was that the panel had some
chips and cracks along one edge so I got 40% off. When cutting thin sheets of plastic like this
there are some precautions, I take to prevent the sheet from chipping or
breaking. The main one being my choice
of blade. I use an 80 tooth High
Alternate Top Bevel (Hi-ATB) with a 2-degree hook angle that’s designed for cutting
plastic laminate and hardwood veneered plywood.
The second thing is to use a piece of heavy corrugated cardboard under
the plastic to back the cut up. The main
photo shows the first rough sizing cut and the inset is the setup for cutting
the pieces to final size.
After the paint has cured for a couple days the blue tape
on the back panel is removed to reveal the bare wood below that matches the
back side of the framework (left photo).
The plan was to glue and screw these two pieces together. However, by using acrylic for the lens in
lieu of glass the completed framework/lens assembly is very light so I am going
to attach them together using the four screws without glue. A plus is if any of the lenses are damaged, I
can take the back panel off to make repairs.
After cutting the acrylic pieces to size the sides and front get
attached with super glue. The top will
just set in place since it needs to be removed to change the top light
bulb. The frame can now be attached to
the back panel completing the fixture (right photo).
Last is to wire the fixture to the junction box and
attach it to the wall with a couple of expansion anchors. The left photo below is the installed light
turned on. Both the switches worked
exactly as planned. The right photo
shows how the light provides enough illumination to be able to walk through the
messy garage without banging into cars or other stuff.
After using the new light and switches for a bit I am really happy and wish I had done this earlier.
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