Let there be light

It's been a productive weekend so far. We finally found a paint color we both liked, and the living room, stair well and hallway are now all done. My other project for the weekend was the installation of three canister lights in the hallway, to replace the depressing wall sconce that gave inadequate light.

I should not be surprised, after 30-something years of house ownership, that this DIY project did not go to plan. For a start, our attic area is about 110 degrees today; even with the attic fan running, the heat made it feel like I was working in an oven.

Then of course, everywhere I needed to get to in the confined space required the contortions of a gymnast. It was rather like playing Twister on your own. There are a few loose boards scattered around the space, and of course every time I put weight on one, it up-ended and threatened to dump me through the ceiling.

Placing the lights and cutting the holes in the ceiling wasn't too bad though, except that the middle one had to be placed under a tangle of existing wiring, that had been inexpertly nailed to another board. To get to the location for that light, I had to reroute some of the existing wires, and then saw away that board to expose the part of the ceiling that needed to be removed.

Even so, the wiring hookup wasn't too traumatic. We now have three halogen mini-spots downt the center of the hallway, giving an even and pleasant light to our once-gloomy walkway.

No more projects today!