Let’s say you walk into your new home, and now that the previous-owner’s furniture has been removed, you walk right into a low-hanging chandelier. Okay, not fun! We don’t want to do that again. You need to get it up out of the way in order to avoid similar mishaps, but what’s the best way to go about it?
The quickest way to raise it, at least for now, would be with an “S” hook. Stick one end of the hook through a lower link in the chain and the other one end through a higher link, and, presto, you have a shorter chandelier. There’s no reason to worry that this will increase the weight or lessen the stability of the fixture. Since the light is firmly hooked to the junction box which is screwed into the ceiling joists, it doesn’t matter how high you raise the chandelier.
If you’re looking for a more permanent system and don’t really like the looks of the “S” hook and doubled chain, then you can try this. First of all, you’ll have to take the fixture down from the ceiling. Then put two screwdrivers, one from each side, into one of the links on the chain. Turn the screwdrivers towards each other. This should pop the link open so that you’ll be able to remove it from the chain.
To finish, open another link, hook it to the last closed link, and put the screwdrivers the opposite way into the open link, and turn to close. When you return the chandelier to the ceiling, you’ll need to pull excess cord into the ceiling plate.
Shortening the Chain of a New Chandelier
If you’re installing a new chandelier, you’ll want to make sure of the length of the chain before putting the fixture up. Instead of trying to pry the link apart, use two sets of pliers to twist the link sideways. Then you can remove the excess chain. The wire will need to be cut to at least a foot longer than the chain. You have to leave this extra so that you can weave it through the chain and have enough left to splice to the home’s wiring.
If, on the other hand, your chain is too short, is there a way of lengthening it? Yes, there is. You can buy decorative links to match your chain that can be inserted between two links in the chain to give you the additional length you need. These links are hinged at one end so that it’s easy to add a link to the chain. Of course, if the wire was cut too short, you may have to do some rewiring to make sure it’s long enough, because you can’t splice lamp cords and keep them up to safety standards.
Never get rid of a chandelier just because it’s too long or short. There are remedies for these problems. You’ve got to admit that buying a decorative link is a lot more cost effective than buying an entire new chandelier. You may end up getting many more years of use out of your fixture.
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