copper tape

twin wire

Why do we recommend the "twin wire" method over the "copper tape"?

Easier to install

Less to go wrong

Cheaper

Firstly you must decide upon the location of your lights and the routes the wires (on your lights) will take. Ideally, preparations should be made before other tasks such as wallpapering and flooring are undertaken. This will avoid causing damage to your decorations through installing the lighting later.

Once these planning decisions have been made you are ready to go and buy some or all of your equipment. Because of the individual nature of "twin wire" the only necessary items required for you to begin are the transformer and power strip ­ and presumably at least one light.

Now you must create the paths for your wiring.

If, for example you are fitting a ceiling light then you must decide on where you want to position it.

To find the centre of a room simply draw a diagonal line from one opposing corner to another and then repeat between the other two corners. Where the lines cross is the centre of the room.

For a ceiling light you must now drill two holes - one through the ceiling above where you want to hang the light and the second out through the back wall of the house where you want the wire to exit. This will obviously be dependant on the route, which you have chosen for your wires to run.

I would always recommend running wires across a floor rather than a ceiling because it is easier to hide wires under a floor covering rather than one for a ceiling.

The holes should be drilled using a drill bit with a slightly greater diameter than the wire - remember the smaller the holes the neater the job.

Wall lights are best positioned on the rear wall of the house. This will save the need to groove walls etc. With a wall light you will only need to drill one hole (the exit hole). This (unlike all the other wiring jobs) is best done after the wallpaper has been hung. Where wires are to run across a floor the neatest possible job will be achieved by laying the wire in a groove This groove can usually be created by simply cutting a V-shape in the floor with a sharp chisel or knife. Always ensure that the groove is smooth - to avoid sharp edges damaging the wires.

never bury the wires on a permanent basis with filler etc. - while the lights are usually reliable you may need to carry out maintenance or even replace at some time.

Never secure flooring permanently. If you are using carpet or flooring papers, attach these to a piece of thin card, i.e. from a cereal box. This can then be fixed in place by double sided tape - which can then easily be removed if required.

However, if you are doing the work on a previously constructed house you must make the best use of the tools and space available

It is OK to drill angled holes for your wires (i.e. when using a large drill this may be easier) provided the angle is in the direction of the wire run.

Again with the exit hole at the rear, the closer to the floor you drill the hole the neater the job will be, i.e. use the floor as the exit route by angling the drill ­ see diagram.

Obviously with a table lamp the wire will trail from the lamp as it is designed to do with this type of light. We recommend that the wire is trailed to exit from the nearest point on the back wall and as low down to the floor as desired.

N.B. skirting boards may influence what is the best exit point for the wire.

For a flat roof house we would recommend the use of wall lights

A sloped roof can accommodate ceiling lights. It is always best to use lights on a chain because the chain is not affected by the slope of the roof and therefore the light will hang correctly. A fixed light will poke out at an angle. Drill your hole out onto the back of the roof and then make a groove down the roof for your wire to lay in. Your roofing material will then hide the wire neatly.

Always make sure that no glue goes into the groove where it would fix the wire in position. You should always try to keep wires free to run - in case they ever need to be removed.

To power your lights you will need a transformer and you should get this before you install any lights (this will allow you to test individual lights before installing them).

Always remember the number of bulbs and not the number of lights determines the transformer power required.

The normal rule of thumb is as follows:

1 to 36

You should bear in mind that a 6 room house with a single tulip lamp in each room adds up to 6 bulbs (and will only require a 1 amp transformer) however a 5 arm chandelier in each room totals 30 bulbs and therefore requires a transformer rated at 2 amps. Adding Glowell fires and possibly Xmas tree lights further increases the demand on the transformer. If you use a 2 amp transformer you should use 2 powerstrips and balance the bulb load evenly over the two. Clearly for a standard 6 room house with average lighting, a 1 or 2 amp transformer will be sufficient, however if further capacity is required, please call one of our shops and we can advise you.

Now that the route has been prepared and the equipment bought you can install your light(s).

It is always best to test your lights before installing them to make sure they work ­ simply connect the transformer to the powerstrip and plug in the light.

If a light comes with a plug attached it is easily removable.

Most lights come with a 24inch (60cms) length of wire with a plug attached. The first step is to remove the plug, which can be done quite easily. Simply pull out the 2 pins with a pair of tweezers or small pliers. Do not pull the pins out with your teeth - as dental bills can greatly increase the cost of your lighting. Then, holding the plug, pull gently on the wire - this will remove the plug. You can now feed the wire through the holes (in the ceiling and rear wall) and if necessary lay it in the groove.

Once you have the wire routed through to the back of your house you can now refit the plug. This is done by first feeding the twin wire through the central hole in the plug. Then one wire is placed into each of the two holes on the other side of the plug - first ensuring that the end of the wire is bared to ensure a good contact. Push the brass pins back - one in each hole.