Need help with hanging a HEAVY chandelier?

Question

It has a plug on it (not wiring to go into a light fixture).

I don't want to put it in an existing light fixture (one because they are not "centered" in my dining room.

I have cheap dry wall walls (I call paper mache)

It weighs 35ish 40 lbs and I'm worried about it crashing down.

how do I install in between two recessed lights. Do I drill hole in ceiling or something and get some sort of anchor??? help!

I have an option of also hanging it in a corner of the living room and running an extension cord down the wall.

electricians out there??

Answer 1

40 pounds is too much weight to hang on your ceiling dry wall, no matter what type [ie "paper mache"]. You must find a ceiling beam, either with a standard "stud finder" tool [readily available at hardware/home improvement stores], or one of the many other methods. These include shining a flashlight across the surface with all other lights out to look for the telltale "bumps" which indicate where the drywall screws are....or....tapping with your knuckle or a light hammer and listening for a "thud" sound [indicating a beam] rather than a hollow sound indicating no beam [this takes some experiance]....or.drill a series of SMALL holes in a row 1 1/2" apart until you hit a beam - then spackle the holes  [a "Patch Stick" made by DAP is an excellent way to fill such holes], etc. Then you can just install a s***w eye or s***w hook [hardware store] and hang on that. You can conceal the hook with a small canopy from a lighting store or home store.

Answer 2

They make these "things" for installing ceiling fans.  What it does is connects and bites into the two studs in the ceiling.  The weight of the fan now lies on the wood studs and not just a gang box with screws. Just to make sure that this is going to hold, hang on to it  until it seems that it is going to hold the chandelier. These are typically around $10.00 at any home improvement store.  Make a hole in your ceiling to fit this thing into, install your chandelier, than patch the hole with drywall tape and joint compound, prime it and paint to match the ceiling.  Your done and saved alot of money buy not having an electrician come and do this.

Answer 3

Get an electrician to do this, better safe than sorry!