It will only take a minute!!!!

[ambenz]

Honey, can you change the light bulb above the front porch door????
It will only take you a minute!
I think we all heard those famous last words, it's never good.
I kind of already knew what I was getting myself into since the last time I changed the bulb, 4 years ago.
So I get my step ladder, a screwdriver, and a new light bulb and proceeded with the task, after all, happy wife, happy life...right????
No sooner I unscrew the lens cover, the un-replaceable 10" square glass lens plate "Jumps" out of its frame and shadders on the concrete below!
This is already not going good.
Well, I got the camera after cleaning up all the glass and figured I document the rest.

So the whole housing is a rusty mess however the socket was in fair condition.
The whole shabang needs replacing.

So I went from one store to another and spent 1/2 day looking for the same size housing....forgetaboutit!
All I seen was a 8" housing so that means making a filler piece...*Sigh*
I couldn't even find a replacement lens for the old one...
So I came back home and decided to spruce up the existing housing until I get a free weekend to replace the old one.
I cleaned up the rust....

I cut a piece of plexiglass and painted everything, including the inside housing.
And now, it's good until I can get time to install a new one.

I was hoping to do it this weekend but now I have a sinus infection and feel like sh*t!
So next time you hear those famous word, "Oh Honey..." RUN!!!!!!

 

[_Dock_]

Temporary fix? I would call that good to go, looks better than it would with a new fixture and patched siding.

 

[AndrewV]

I call it good.
My opinoin, keep it as is.


Now, lets talk about the work bench

 

[justsam]

Hope you replaced bulb with LED or CFL. Not sure the plex would like incandescent heat.

I think we have all had those "just a minute" jobs that take all day! Good recovery!

 

[C96]

I was hoping to do it this weekend but now I have a sinus infection and feel like sh*t!

Probably from wire brushing the lead paint…Lol

Agree on the heat issue with the Plexiglass. Good job on the repair though, now wifeys happy and that’s a great thing!

 

[southalabama]

It's restored.

Next project.

 

[shawhite]

Looks repaired to me too. Great save

 

[dlcwent]

Thanks for the laugh. I always dread "it'll only take a minute" stories. We must all have one.

A couple of weeks ago I was going to replace a couple of rotten cedar shingles around one of our exterior doors. That should have only taken an hour or so. Right!!!! Anyway after cutting part of the deck off so I could get to the rotten sill under the door. It was on its way to having those "couple" of rotten shingles replaced. So went my weekend. Now My deck looks like **** until I replace the patch job with new decking. Oh boy another weekend gone for this "only take a minute" job.

 

[nine4gmc]

CFL's get hot too since the ballast is built in. Be careful with either bulb on that plexi, you may want to find a piece of bathroom etched glass for a temp replacement. Job looks great though, bet the missus is happy

 

[n8n]

I have done similar... my last house had a small porch over the front door and the light there was similarly messed up, ended up having to redo that as the old 1940's vintage fixture was shallow enough that the door didn't hit it, but anything new that I could get would... (wasn't recessed like yours but surface mount)

I hope the new owners of that place appreciate all the little things like that that I did...

next time you run into this situation, consider setting up an electrolytic derust tank, will make your life a lot easier!

 

[raddksn]

Buddy of mine (electrian) his wife says porch light is out, he says it's not the bulb the whole fixture is shot and he will get to it soon. This goes on for couple months, one day he comes home from work she has a new fixture and for him to install it. He gets the ladder and goes to work, goes to remove the bulb and finds it was just loose. Now he's stuck can't just tighten bulb NOW HE HAS TO CHANGE THE WHOLE THING!!!

Just thought I would share that with everyone!

 

[nine4gmc]

Buddy of mine (electrian) his wife says porch light is out, he says it's not the bulb the whole fixture is shot and he will get to it soon. This goes on for couple months, one day he comes home from work she has a new fixture and for him to install it. He gets the ladder and goes to work, goes to remove the bulb and finds it was just loose. Now he's stuck can't just tighten bulb NOW HE HAS TO CHANGE THE WHOLE THING!!!

Just thought I would share that with everyone!

I'd have tightened the bulb, told her I repaired the wiring and to take back the new fixture, "look at the money I saved you honey"

 

[dlcwent]

I'd have tightened the bulb, told her I repaired the wiring and to take back the new fixture, "look at the money I saved you honey"

Good plan, face saved

 

[bczygan]

The bad news?.............

While you were futzing around with that task..........

SHE THOUGHT UP 10 MORE THINGS FOR YOU TO DO!

 

[ambenz]

Thanks for the tip on the hot bulb and plexi, I told her to be sure to not leave the light on until I get a new fixture or a LED bulb. I have a CFL in it now. Someone mentioned a loose bulb...that was actually my problem also, the bulb didn't burn out!
I suppose it was beckoning us for a little love...LOL! Figures!!!!!
I am thinking the fix is good too, in the meantime I can leisurely search for a 10" square fixture. BTW, I used dielectric grease on the socket threads...good tip for those bulbs that fuse to those outdoor sockets.
Now, the wife just told me the vacuum bag is full and it's lacking suction.
How much you wanna bet The vacuum will be tore apart, the belt is trash and the motor vents are clogged?!?!? But, it will only take a minute!!!! ARGGGGGG!!!!!!

 

[socbum]

You might find a replacement piece of glass by going to a stained glass supply store. They will also be able to cut the glass to the exact dimensions.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

A name it should have
give it a name; you could
ya give it a name:
and call it GOOD

 

[C96]

Another thought would be to install a surface mount fixture directly over your existing

 

[gs8212]

You're crazy if u change that. It looks great. Let it ride and in a week she'll forget it and never notice it again.

 

[mjeff87]

My "it'll take a minute story"......wife and I were living in a rental house about 7 years ago. Kitchen had crappy lighting and she wanted a small piece of track lighting put up on the ceiling with a couple adjustable can lights to illuminate dark areas. No problem, track has 4 screwholes to mount to ceiling, and I was replacing a crappy flourescent fixture so I wanted to mount the track oriented to cover up the old screw holes (makes sense, looks good, saves me some work). Wife puts the kibosh on that and insists I mount it 90 degrees perpendicular. Yes dear. Mark the holes and start drilling to install screw anchors. Fourth and last hole does not drill as easily as the others, and instead of stopping and assessing the situation, gave the drill a little push. Little curls of black plastic start coming off the bit. WTF? Pull the bit out and water starts dripping out of the hole. Next step, cut a 6"x6" section of ceiling out to see what I hit, ended up being the drain line for the bathroom above the kitchen. I couldn't have drilled any more into the center of it than I did, even if there was no ceiling there at all. Redneck-repaired the drain, reinstalled cut-out piece of drywall and mudded it in. (I hate drywall patching/finishing, BTW).

Day 2: Finish drywall repair, drywall dust EVERYWHERE. Spend afternoon cleaning kitchen. Go to Lowe's to get some paint matched to paint repair, get a quart mixed using a color chip obtained when sawing out drywall above. Fancy computer analysis, whiz bang gizmo gives a paint code to mix the tints needed....get home and brush it on and it's not even close.

Day 3: Back to Lowe's, repeat above and super computer spits out a different paint code. Get it home, closer but not right. Drink beer for the rest of the day and forget about the damn ceiling.

Day 4: Lowe's once again, another tint, this one's too light (the other two were both too dark). Say screw it, get an empty container and dump all three paints into it and mix it up. Success (mostly)! But....now I've got a new patch of paint right in the middle of a ceiling that has 15 year old paint on it, sticks out like a sore thumb from a mile away. Back to beer.

Day 5: Take my second day off of work, repaint entire kitchen ceiling. Contemplate divorce, but end up drinking more beer.

Wife and I laugh like crazy about it now, but at the time it wasn't very funny.

We ended up building the new house we're in now, and I learned ALOT from that incident. I spent every day after work during the build at the new place with a digital camera, taking pictures of EVERYTHING (HVAC runs, plumbing, wiring, gas lines, etc) while it was being built. Now when SWMBO wants a nail or screw put into a wall or ceiling, I can see what's behind the drywall before I start drilling.

Jeff

 

[G_P]

Replace the plexi with some frosted glass and leave it. Maybe take the old fixture out and clean up the rust inside and repaint it white. Having a reflective surface inside the fixture will increase the light output.

 

[BFBOB]

Honey, will you change the porch light? It'll only take a minute.
Sure, Babe. No sweat, don't even need a ladder.
Reached in, ZAP stung by several irate wasps. Went for the wasp&hornet killer, held the can up and noticed my hand looked kind of funny. Within another few minutes my whole arm was swollen up. Took some antihistimines, stretched out on the floor in front of an AC vent with ice bag and iced (non alcoholic!!) drink, called it a day.
Swelling went down in a couple of hours, but damn, did it itch!

 

[ambenz]

I love these "It will just take a minute" stories, a lot to learn and laugh with.....keep em coming!!!!!