Can lights are one of the easiest ways to give a room with a drop ceiling some light. Most can light fixtures mount to the ceiling grid. One benefit of can lights is that they offer you the ability to pick and choose where to place them. This means if you have a certain area of the room you wish to accent with light, install the can lights in that area closer together. Each can light style gives off light a little differently. Before you decide how many lights your room will need, purchase a fixture and bring it home. Wire it up and turn it on to see how much light it casts and how much the light spreads. Then, determine how many of those fixtures will be needed.
Instructions
1. Determine which ceiling tiles you will install can lights in. Remove those ceiling tiles from the ceiling grid by lifting them up, tilting them and then lowering them through the hole.
2. Lay a can light on a piece of cardboard and trace around the opening. Cut out the traced circle and use it for a template when you cut the holes in your ceiling tiles.
3. Flip the ceiling tiles upside down on a flat surface. Measure the length and width and divide by two to locate each tile's exact center.
4. Center the cardboard template over a ceiling tile's center mark. Cut the ceiling tile around the template with a utility knife. Repeat with the remaining ceiling tiles.
5. Adjust a can light's four sliding arms so the light is centered in the grid opening space and the tabs on the ends of the arms rest over the ceiling grid frame. Repeat with all the remaining can lights. Wire all the can lights together following the manufacturer's directions, then wire them to a power source.
6. Tilt a ceiling tile and lift it into the appropriate ceiling grid opening. Straighten out the tile and lower it onto the grid frame. The opening you cut in the tile should line up with the can light's opening.
7. Lift the can light cover's hooks into the can light's opening. Locate the two tabs in the can light's side and put the hooks over them to hold the cover in place. Screw a lightbulb into the can light.
Tags: ceiling tiles, ceiling grid, ceiling tile, grid frame, grid opening