Three hours to change a light fixture, what is wrong with me

I thought swapping out a dining room light would be a 30 minute job tops. Got the old one down fine, but the new bracket didn't line up with the junction box holes at all. Spent an hour driving to the hardware store for a different mounting plate, then another hour figuring out the wiring because the colors were faded. Then I dropped a screw into the drywall gap and had to fish it out with a magnet. Three hours total for something that should have been a quick swap. Has anyone else had a simple home project turn into a whole afternoon ordeal?

2 comments

2 Comments

ward.jamie2d ago

Three hours to change a light fixture" - look, I gotta gently push back on your title being wrong. You didn't change a light fixture in three hours. You changed it, fixed a mounting problem, drove to the store, and fished a screw out of a wall. That's like saying you spent three hours eating dinner when you also drove to the restaurant, waited for a table, and had to ask for a new fork. The actual swapping part probably took you 20 minutes once you had everything working. The rest was just the universe reminding you that nothing is ever simple in an old house. I've done the exact same thing with a ceiling fan and I refuse to feel bad about it.

logan2362d ago

Man, I feel your pain. Three hours for a light fixture? That's not on you, that's just how home projects go sometimes. I had a buddy spend half a Saturday trying to swap out a single outlet because the old box was crooked and the new one wouldn't sit right. By the time he was done, he had to patch a hole in the drywall and repaint. It's never just the one thing, you know?