If you want to install a new ceiling light fixture, you are going to need to hang a light box first. Some light boxes have expanding rods on either side that are nailed into the adjoining ceiling studs. Another type of box has angled holes for nailing the box directly into the stud.
The best option for installing a light box is to use a hanger bar. These bars expand between the studs, and the box is hung from the bar, allowing you to place the light fixture exactly where you want it.
Installing the Light Box
Step 1
Locate and mark where the light box is going to be. Center the box at this spot and draw an outline of it. This will allow you to cut a hole with the exact dimensions of the box.
Step 2
Use a box cutter to score the outline you have made. Drill a hole in the outline to give yourself a place to start sawing. Cut out the outline.
Step 3
Run a feed cable from your power source (e.g. main panel, junction box) to the hole you have just made. Leave the cable near the hole so you can reach it from the other side of the wall.
Step 4
Angle the hanger bar into the hole, and expand it to fit the space between the ceiling studs. Set the hanger bar at a depth where the open face of the light box will be flush with the drywall. Nail or screw the hanger bar into the studs on either side.
Step 5
Make sure the power is off, then run the feed cable through the light box before you install it. Secure the wire to the box with the conduit clamp.
Step 6
Screw the pipe nipple into the hanger bar and secure the light box with the nut.
Tips & Warnings
Scoring the drywall first makes for a cleaner cut.
Measure the depth of the light box and place the hanger rod at the same depth from the drywall.
Wear eye protection.
Make sure power to the feed cable is off.
Work only off of a UL approved ladder.