Light fixture installation in Toronto means working with ceilings that were built long before anyone thought about a heavy ceiling fan. I swap chandeliers, flush mounts, vanity lights and fans on circuits that already exist, from Victorian semis in Cabbagetown to condos on the waterfront.
I take the old fixture down carefully, check what the box is actually fastened to, and tell you straight if the mount needs changing before the new piece goes up. The price is agreed before I start.
Most homes below St Clair were plastered over lath, so the ceiling around the box is brittle and the old octagon box is often nailed to one joist with no ground wire. That matters for a fan: it needs a fan-rated box or a brace, not the light box that is there. Two-wire switch loops in these houses also rule out most smart switches, since they need a neutral. Downtown condos are the opposite problem: poured concrete, so the fixture stays where the box is.
Mon – Sat: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Sunday: By appointment
Before anything comes down I confirm the power is off at the breaker and dead at the terminals, then look at the box itself: how it is fastened, whether a ground is present, and what weight it was built to carry.
If a fan or a heavy chandelier is going up, a fan-rated box or a brace bar between the joists goes in first, fed through the existing hole so your ceiling stays intact and no patching is needed afterwards.
Conductors are stripped clean and joined with correctly sized connectors, the ground lead is fixed to the ground screw in the box, and the wiring is folded back so nothing is pinched when the canopy is drawn up tight.
Power back on, the fixture is run through every setting, dimmers get their low-end trim set with your bulbs in place, a fan is tested at all speeds and balanced if it moves, and the packaging leaves with me.
Height and access drive most of the cost here. A vanity light at chest height is straightforward work. A chandelier over an open stairwell needs staging, careful handling and more time on site. Adding a fan-rated box or a brace bar to a ceiling that never had one takes longer than hanging a fixture where the support is already correct. Quantity helps, since fixtures done in the same visit share a single setup. Fixtures and dimmers can be supplied by you or by me with receipts, and the price is agreed first.
Nothing starts before the price is agreed. Send a photo or two with your request and I can usually quote without a site visit.
Usually yes, but not straight onto the old box. Plaster and lath will not carry a spinning fan, so I open a small area, fit a fan-rated box braced to the framing, and make the plaster good around the canopy. If the framing above will not take a brace, I tell you before anything comes down and suggest a lighter fixture instead.
Tell me what needs fixing and get a free, no-obligation quote — I usually reply within one business day.