Barnwood Inspired Light Fixture: Assembling

After I weathered my boards it was time to assemble.  Remember the vintage/country style lights that would replace my fan in the dining room? Awww ya!  Well before I got too excited I knew they needed to hang from something….preferably something that would cover the giant hole left from the fan and would add extra interest.  We started out by cutting the 2 1x4’s and the 1 1x12 boards into 5 pieces.  2 pieces were 3.5 inches wide by 42 inches long, 2 pieces were 3.5 inches wide by 12.5 inches long, and one was 11.5 inches by 41.5 inches.  Then I assembled a box that looked pretty much like this:

I drilled pocket screw holes to connect each corner together to make the frame and then inset the 11.5 by 41.5 inch board into the middle like so.   

Since we would be looking at the narrow end we made it so only the 12.5 inch board would be showing to minimize the amount of seams and overlap you see.     

Next we drilled two evenly spaced holes into the light box with a 4 inch hole saw.  Before drilling the holes we held the lights up to the ceiling in the approximate places we wanted.  Then judging from the size of the box we measured and cut! Next we inserted two round 4 inch light boxes into the holes so we could safely wire our light fixtures when the time came. 

The boxes actually fit pretty nicely into the holes and sat pretty flush!  The blue from the light boxes and the surrounding fit will be covered up by the light fixtures when we attach them to the box. 

The light boxes were secured in with two braces for each light that were screwed to the inside of the box.  Next step: stain those bad boys and install!

But first it’s time for a Budget Break Down:

2 1x4: $11.96

1 1x12: $9.12

2 light boxes: $6.00

Screws: already had!

Grand Total: $27.08