This blog has been prompted by a lovely lady that I spoke to several times last week who is currently refurbishing business premises and had purchased several chandeliers and lanterns (not from King’s Chandelier Services Ltd as she did not find us until after her chandeliers were delivered and she realised she had a problem!). Whilst speaking to her we realised that the problem she was facing was a far more common issue than she or other clients realised and we were able to reassure her that she was not the only person to face these challenges when purchasing chandeliers.
When chandeliers are purchased from ourselves we will ensure that the client has chain that is sufficient to carry the weight of the chandelier together with a ceiling rose ceiling plate hook that is the correct weight loading capacity for the combined weight. If we are not installing the chandelier we will discuss with the client or their chandelier installer the components they require to ensure that they have everything required to install their chandelier, however not all chandelier suppliers offer this service and if you purchase from a private source it may only be the chandelier itself that is sold, not the chain and fixings.
We have found, as in the case of our client last week, not everyone is aware of what is required for the installation of a chandelier and so we thought a blog offering some guidance may be useful to potential (and existing) chandeliers owners.
When you decide that you wish to purchase a chandelier, lantern etc for your property there are the standard things you need to consider as you would for any lighting: is it suitable for the room and the rooms purpose, ensuring you purchase the right style and size – remember you also need to consider the depth of the chandelier and how low you wish this to hang in the room, if you have high ceilings you may want to have the chandelier hanging lower than in a standard room and if your property has low ceilings you need to take this into consideration as well.
Once you have chosen the style and size chandelier and make your final selection this is when you need to think about how you are installing the chandelier and what components you need.
The first thing you need to find out is the weight of your chandelier, a light weight chandelier is relatively easy to install but heavier chandeliers need more consideration. Are you going to install the chandelier yourself or have it professionally installed?
If you are using a professional company to install your chandelier you will need to discuss the components that you require and whether they are going to supply these for you or if you need to source these yourself.
Questions to ask yourself:-
- Does your chandelier come with existing chain? If yes is it the correct length for your requirements? chandelier chain
- If you chandelier does not come with chain or if you wish to extend the chain you need to know the weight of the chandelier. To work out which chandelier chain to purchase you need to remember that the chain needs to take its own weight as well as that of the chandelier so please if the chandelier weighs 19 kgs do not purchase a chain that has a maximum weight loading of 20kg go for a chandelier chain that takes somewhat more – better to be safe than sorry.
- Please note when choosing chandelier chain from King’s Chandelier Services Ltd we are concerned with the weight loading capability rather than how pretty it looks! chandelier chains
- Does your chandelier come with a ceiling rose and chandelier fixing hook? If yes remember to weight load test before you suspend your chandelier. If no again you need to know the weight before ordering, our chandelier ceiling roses and ceiling plate hooks detail their weight loading capabilities, if your chandelier is heavier than those please read our blog Frequently asked questions – installing my chandelier
- Does your chandelier come with a fixing hook or loop on the actual chandelier, if not you will need to determine the thread size of the threaded rod running through the centre of the chandelier. Dependant on the weight of the chandelier as to which components you would need to use for us to assist in choosing a part from our website we would recommend emailing us photos and details of weight etc to info@kingschandeliers.co.uk
- Finally one other item to consider, that is often over looked, does your chandelier need additional electrical cable. Many chandeliers are sold with minimal electrical cable and if you are having a considerable drop from the ceiling to the chandelier you may need to extend the electrical cable. We have a wide selection of 3 core and 2 core electrical cables suitable for chandeliers, lanterns and lights braided electrical cables
One final tip for this blog, as I get asked this regularly – how do I weigh my chandelier – if you can lift the chandelier weigh yourself and then weigh yourself holding the chandelier and take one away from the other and this will give you an estimated weight of your chandelier (dependant on how accurate your scales are); then add a bit onto the weight to allow for inaccuracies due to using domestic scales. If you cannot lift the chandelier we would assume you are using a professional chandelier installation company and they will have the equipment needed to weigh this on your behalf.
We hope you found this blog of interest and if you have any suggestions for future blogs please email us at contact us
King's Chandelier Services 