Classical Chandeliers

Many people ask, “How does my Chandelier come?” and ” Does it need Assembling?” . Well certainly with chandeliers from Classical Chandelier they come carefully packed with the arms and all delicate components taken off and individually wrapped. This is because a chandelier, being made of crystal and glass, is inherently fragile and consequently cannot be sent in an assembled form. This also means that the size of the packaging is minimised so as to keep delivery costs as low as possible.

When people fist open the box there keen anticipation can often turn into a mild form of panic when they see the array of delicate chandelier parts meticulously packed in the box and they wonder where to start. But do not panic. What does at first sight appear to be a most complex and intricate crystal jigsaw puzzle is actually quite achievable and is normally viewed as quite an interesting and rewarding task. But where do you start?

The first thing to do is to find the instructions which are an A4 sheet showing a diagrammatic representation of how to assemble your chandelier. This will clearly show the best process to assemble it in and most importantly which parts go where. The best thing to do then is to unwrap all the parts and lay them out, ideally on a table so you can see what you have and compare the parts with the instruction sheet.

Now you do need a strategy for the assembly and installation process.

• If your chandelier is small , say a single tier with 5 arms, and weighing under 10kg then you can find a place to hang the top part from and build the entire chandelier at ground level. From there you can simply climb your ladder or steps and hang on the hook on the ceiling and get the electrician to connect the electrics.
• If your chandelier is larger then unless you are a body builder who is nimble enough to climb steps with a 20kg delicate crystal chandelier then you will need another plan. The best way forward here is to hang the top part of the chandelier from the ceiling and to start assembling from there. Initially screwing the arms in place and then gradually building the chandelier and then hanging on the crystal trimmings. If the chandelier is 2 tier then you will need to assemble the top tier, get the electrician to make the intermediary connections, and then the lower tier and then get the electrician to make the final lower connections. This way you can work in harmony with the electrician to achieve a fabulous result

So now, with a little patience and care you are there. Your fabulous crystal chandelier is hanging in that perfect position just as planned and all you need to do now is to sit back and admire it.

It is clearly important that your Chandelier is fitted properly to the ceiling securely both for reasons of personal safety and also as it would normally be destroyed if it fell to the ground leaving a pile of broken crystal!!  If you are in any doubt then get a competent tradesman but there are a few guidelines here that may be of use.  In simple terms the chandelier just needs a hook to hang from but this needs to be of sufficient strength to hold the chandelier without bending and must not come loose from its mounting. So firstly select a good hook, which clearly will need to be larger for heavy chandeliers and if in doubt get one that is over designed so it won’t break or pull out. These are easily purchased from most DIY stores, hardware stores or builders merchants.

If a hook already exists in the ceiling it will need to be checked that it is appropriate for your chandelier because invariably chandeliers are much heavier than traditional light fitments due to the mass of the crystal.

The next step is to select where you want your chandelier to hang and then find a strong fitment point which is in the correct location. The majority of ceilings are either plaster board or lath and plaster for old buildings which is suspended from wooded ceiling joists. So you will need to locate a joist of sufficient strength to screw your hook into. If you can get to above the mounting point, say in the loft or by lifting a floorboard, then this is the best way to locate the joists. Alternatively you can start with an electronic joist detector, purchased from a merchant or DIY store,  to find the joists and then mark both sides. It is generally then good practise to put in a very small drill, say 1 or 1.5mm, to check that you have accurately found the joists.

Once located then take your hook and ideally drill a pilot hole of the correct diameter for the hook and screw it in to the correct depth in the centre of the joist. Then route the electrical cable down the side of the joist at a angle so it comes out close to the hook and you are ready to go.

Now sometimes it is not that simple because you need to hang your chandelier in a position between two joists to get the correct positioning in the room. In this case then it is necessary to fit a piece of bracing timber between the two joists from above in order to have a strong mounting  point for your hook. To put this in you will invariably need access from above and ensure that you securely attach the bracing timber at both ends.

So that’s all,  but before you hang your chandelier then check that the hook is strong often done by hanging from it or applying a force much higher than the chandelier weight.