Lighting Installation and Controls on Chicago’s North Shore

What we hang

North Shore lighting jobs are usually the fixture you bought and the ceiling that was not ready for it. A dining chandelier on original plaster. Three pendants over an island. Recessed cans in a kitchen that still has the 1970s fluorescent. Outdoor sconces on a brick entry. We hang listed fixtures on proper boxes and leave the dimmer behaving.

• Dining and foyer fixtures, including heavy pieces that need a fan-rated or brace box
• Kitchen pendants, under-cabinet, and recessed lighting
• Lutron dimmers, occupancy, and whole-home lighting controls
• Porch, path, and garage lighting on outdoor-rated boxes

Lighting services, by type

Lighting is not a line at the bottom of a repair ticket. Here is how the jobs break down on a North Shore house.

• Interior fixtures — chandeliers, pendants, flush mounts, sconces, and the heavy dining piece that needs a brace box
• Recessed and under-cabinet — new cans in an existing ceiling, LED retrofits in old housings, and task lighting under the uppers
• Dimmers and controls — Lutron dimmers, keypads, occupancy sensors, and timers matched to the load
• Ceiling fans and exhaust fans — fan-rated boxes, a balanced hang, and a bath fan that actually vents outside
• Outdoor and landscape — porch, path, garage, and soffit lighting on GFCI-protected, outdoor-rated circuits
• Closets, stairs, and dark corners — the switch that was never in the right place and the hallway with no three-way

How a lighting visit runs

Most lighting jobs are one visit. The ones that are not — a new circuit, boxes in a finished plaster ceiling, a keypad system — get a schedule and a permit when the village wants one.

1. Send a photo of the fixture and the ceiling if you can, and tell us whether a box is already there.
2. We look at the box, the weight, the wiring, and the dimmer. If it is more than a hang, we say so.
3. You get one clear number for the hang, the box, the circuit, or the controls — whatever the room needs.
4. We install, match the dimmer to the load, program any Lutron keypads, and clean up.

Lutron Professional

We are Lutron Professional. That means the dimmer matches the load, the keypad is programmed, and the homeowner is not left with a strobing LED. Caseta and Radio Ra are both in play depending on the house. We do not sell a system the wiring cannot support.

Older plaster and newer drywall

Glencoe, Winnetka, and Kenilworth plaster does not want a fishing tape through the middle of a formal ceiling. We open where we have to, patch is a different trade if the opening is large, and we tell you that before we cut. Newer Northbrook drywall is simpler. Either way the box has to carry the fixture.

When it is more than a hang

A new island often needs a dedicated circuit. A dark hallway may need a three-way that was never there. Outdoor lighting that used to live on an extension cord needs a GFCI-protected circuit. That is still lighting — and it is electrical work that gets a permit when the village wants one.

Kitchens, baths, and the rooms that work hardest

Kitchen lighting is layers: recessed for the room, pendants over the island, under-cabinet for the counter, and a dimmer on each so the room can go from breakfast to dinner. Baths need a fixture rated for the shower, an exhaust fan that vents outside, and GFCI protection where the code wants it. On a remodel we sequence that work with the cabinets and tile so nothing gets fished through a finished wall later.

Permits for lighting work

Swapping a fixture on an existing box is not permitted work in most North Shore villages. A new circuit, new boxes in a finished ceiling, or outdoor wiring usually is. We pull the permit when the job calls for it and tell you which kind of job you have before we start.

What moves the number

A fixture on an existing box is a visit. A brace box in plaster, a new island circuit, or a Lutron keypad that has to be programmed is not. Fixture cost is yours if you already bought it. We price the hang, the box, and the dimmer — not a fake starting price that ignores the ceiling.