It's two different lamps tho; if you look at the fasteners (and surrounding details) you can see the hack job is done differently on each. I think something else may be going on here.
I understand what you're saying but if you look at the backgrounds they are the same in both pictures. If it was on the other side it would be oriented differently.
Didn't notice, you are correct. Just looked at the post cap. I'm not the only one who missed it so I feel good about that anyway. I wish I could be there on some of these questions to scope out the situation in person. But there is still something wrong with those fixtures.
It's more likely to me that it is simply tilted or bending due to strain and gravity, possibly from incorrect installation rather than a piece that didn't come flat. That's a long lever arm pulling down from the top.
At a minimum the top where the force is pulling from should be flush to the surface, rather than the bottom. That suggests it's not tightened up there or tightened to the surface at all. If the top is flush and the bottom still doesn't make contact, I'd be more inclined to say there is a problem.
This is installed incorrectly. Not saying it’s not bent but try installing it correctly first. The nut should be on the inside and the black “cap” gets tightened to the nut.
OP, more specifically, there should be all thread with 2 nuts, used jam nut style, you use them to set the all thread to the correct length for your power box and siding depth so that the acorn nut (black one) has just enough to tighten the fixture to the wall without bottoming out.
Exactly.
Said another way, the plate that you installed on the junction box, has two threaded rods that stick out perpendicular to the wall. The length of these rods, can be adjusted in and out by twisting them. When the correct length is established, the black decorative cap nuts will hold the fixture perfectly on the wall. The four normal nuts (2 per side) are used to hold the rods in place so they no longer spin in or out of the backplate.
Yours are too long, so the fixture isn't held tight. If you locate the too short, they won't poke through the fixture enough for the nuts to grab. It's a little bit of trial and error.
You can cut the threaded rod, or possibly screw it further into the electrical box. Another option is to go buy a shorter rod, but it is unlikely that the correct hardware wasn't provided with the fixture.
I switched out an exterior light at my house and the way the electrical box was situated I couldn’t use the screw the new light came with and had to get a shorter one. Probably pretty rare, but it does happen. Luckily it’s like a $1.50 fix
And when those suck as they tend to do? Is that not why we’re here; to help each other out? Go back to bed and try waking up on the other side. Maybe you can DIY a less condescending attitude.
Instructions have gotten so so bad the past several years. Half the time I’m able to get a vague idea from them, then have to just figure the rest out. Also no company other than IKEA should be allowed to make instructions with only pictures.
It looks like your mounting bolts are installed incorrectly too. The nut goes on the inside once you set the proper depth of the bolt on the bracket that attaches to your box. They hold the bolt from coming out/in as you screw on the cap. You set the depth of the bolt so the cap perfectly snugs the fixture tight against the wall.
Doesn’t fix the bent fixture though.
Those screws are adjustable. Just take the bracket off, loosen them up, then put the bracket on and adjust till about an eight of an inch is sticking out of the light. Then take the light back off, use those nuts to counter tighten onto the bracket, then you can put the light back on and put the cap nuts back on.
https://preview.redd.it/0o42hez1dkrc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=347978ebb99ad8bdded13698c2908be8843081ae
To specify, it'd look a little something like this when adjusted (length varies depending on how far out it needs to be).
I've been through the same thing as OP before, building display lights at work, and I've had plenty of guests ask about it, so I understand. Not everyone has built over 500 lights in the span of 10 years lol
True, but plenty people on here like to take shots at people asking questions rather than help out or shut up. It gets old real fast for a DIY subreddit that’s meant for people to help other people.
Electrician here, you need to adjust the bracket screws back or cut them if they can’t go back.
The grey nut goes inside the fixture on the screws to stop it from spinning when you ever try to take it off again (have also been known to just toss those lol).
You want the screws to just stick out past the fixture the depth of those black nuts. Then the trick is to push on the base of the fixture against that siding block and crank the nuts with fingers and then release the fixture, the flex or the siding will really tighten them up when you release the pressure.
Do not use a tool on those black nuts. I used a nut driver once and basically it’s easy to tighten them up with a tool to the point the black tip snaps off as the screw feeds through.
It looks installed incorrectly and it looks like it’s bent. But also, you need to probably trim down those bolts so you can tighten the nuts all the way so it sits tight against the siding
Yes, 100% this, nobody else here realizes that every residential electrician has a bolt cutter on either their wire strippers or elsewhere to cut these #8 bolts down to size
It looks like I'm not the only one having the problem with these. 4.5 stars on Amazon isn't enough I guess. Most of the pictures for the five-star reviews are showing the other model with the square base.
https://preview.redd.it/aj36h4vnsjrc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=614f57dfffb6ce628f82f651249e9df5fc53acec
That's the biggest issue with Amazon reviews, they can edit what the product they are selling into something that already had good reviews. It's ridiculous. Always sort by most recent reviews.
I reported to Amazon Customer Service (via chat) about a seller that pulled that review switcharoo bullshit and they told me to “reach out directly to the seller”. I was so pissed.
It’s the camera lense causing it to appear as such. See how it’s curved on the bottom as well as the top?
OP — you install the studs into the box, seat the lock nut against the surface of the box inside — behind the face of the light fixture. It’s a bit tricky but you want to leave just enough of the stud protruding that seats the fixture further back, and install the brown cap nuts on top.
Repeat, there should be no visible chrome or plated stud showing after the fixture and cap screws are installed.only the brown cap nuts hold the fixture in place.
Edit: someone got you pictures below. Disregard. 👍
Since it may just be a trick of the light and shadows, it’s worth asking - is there an electrical box behind the light? If so, you may want to check and see if you can push the wires in, or if there’s more wire than you need. See if you can fold things in ways to flatten the wires in ways that don’t bunch up and take up space.
Honestly stop buying cheap crappy fixtures on the internet. Go to a local store and buy them. They cost more money because they aren’t cheap and disposable.
Yeah but they're easier to bring back and explain why you're bringing them back.
The store keeps track of the amount of defective product they have to send back to the supplier.
At a certain point they won't order those anymore.
>The store keeps track of the amount of defective product they have to send back to the supplier.
Incorrect, we just chuck them in the trash, and our buyers don't give a shit how many we defect. Case point: we carry an integrated LED outdoor light that has an abnormally high defect rate due to the driver burning up. We've carried it for the past 8 years despite my best efforts to sabotage it's sales by steering people away from it. The reason we still sell it: lucratively high profit margins on it.
You did what I did once. The mounting bolt needs to be adjusted. However, you may have tightened the bolt so much now that you bent the frame of the lamp.
Again, I’ve been there. Take your lamp to the nearest Dad…I mean local mom and pop hardware store and I guarantee some will show you how to mount it.
Hang in there!
The siding bends. So u wont get it flat. U should have a piece of AZEK trim behind the fixture or they make
these...
Siding Mounting Kit, Black Outdoor Light Mounting Block with Built-in Box, Siding Mounting Plate for 1/2 inch Lap Double and 4 inch Siding https://a.co/d/5CBtViK
I honestly can't tell if they are plastic or cast iron. Either way, not the ideal material for the job. And the placement of the boltholes is weird too.
Looks like someone tried to hang from it or pulled down on it and bent it and the mounting screws.
Maybe you can take it off and bent it straight again but really I think you need a new one.
Would likely need to see how the backing plate for the electric fixture is attached, because that could be all weebly-wobbly for all we know. Siding in itself (and possibly insulation under that) isn't typically strong enough to support something like that on its own.
I've ran into this before. Remove the light and pull on the studs. Chances are that cross bracket is a POS and bends from the weight of the fixture. If that is the case, replace it with a plate like this: [https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Mounting-Diameter-Crossbar-Chandelier/dp/B08TGGZM21](https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Mounting-Diameter-Crossbar-Chandelier/dp/B08TGGZM21)
The light base doesn't look flat. The piece it is connected to looks flat. To me, the light looks like a problem and should have been returned.
Correct, that backplate looks bent up. It could be bent back, but worth it to just return it and get a new one
Nothing a hammer and a scrap piece of 2x4 can't fix.
Skip the 2x4 and give it some texture
They call it *patina*!
It almost looks like they might have been tightened too tightly
It's two different lamps tho; if you look at the fasteners (and surrounding details) you can see the hack job is done differently on each. I think something else may be going on here.
I understand what you're saying but if you look at the backgrounds they are the same in both pictures. If it was on the other side it would be oriented differently.
One background has a car, the other a tree and a house. Two fixtures.
Didn't notice, you are correct. Just looked at the post cap. I'm not the only one who missed it so I feel good about that anyway. I wish I could be there on some of these questions to scope out the situation in person. But there is still something wrong with those fixtures.
It's more likely to me that it is simply tilted or bending due to strain and gravity, possibly from incorrect installation rather than a piece that didn't come flat. That's a long lever arm pulling down from the top. At a minimum the top where the force is pulling from should be flush to the surface, rather than the bottom. That suggests it's not tightened up there or tightened to the surface at all. If the top is flush and the bottom still doesn't make contact, I'd be more inclined to say there is a problem.
He just installed it new, so it’s not gravity.
This is installed incorrectly. Not saying it’s not bent but try installing it correctly first. The nut should be on the inside and the black “cap” gets tightened to the nut.
OP, more specifically, there should be all thread with 2 nuts, used jam nut style, you use them to set the all thread to the correct length for your power box and siding depth so that the acorn nut (black one) has just enough to tighten the fixture to the wall without bottoming out.
Exactly. Said another way, the plate that you installed on the junction box, has two threaded rods that stick out perpendicular to the wall. The length of these rods, can be adjusted in and out by twisting them. When the correct length is established, the black decorative cap nuts will hold the fixture perfectly on the wall. The four normal nuts (2 per side) are used to hold the rods in place so they no longer spin in or out of the backplate. Yours are too long, so the fixture isn't held tight. If you locate the too short, they won't poke through the fixture enough for the nuts to grab. It's a little bit of trial and error.
If OP installs it that way, the back of light fixture will be off the wall. Those cap nuts only thread on so far, after all. Screws look too long.
You can cut the threaded rod, or possibly screw it further into the electrical box. Another option is to go buy a shorter rod, but it is unlikely that the correct hardware wasn't provided with the fixture.
I switched out an exterior light at my house and the way the electrical box was situated I couldn’t use the screw the new light came with and had to get a shorter one. Probably pretty rare, but it does happen. Luckily it’s like a $1.50 fix
Not that rare. Decent wire strippers have a threaded hole in them for cutting the screw shorter without messing up the threads.
Lol. Never change, r/diy
Haha honestly… I can only comment because I, myself, installed it incorrectly the first time. Gotta learn somehow!
[удалено]
And when those suck as they tend to do? Is that not why we’re here; to help each other out? Go back to bed and try waking up on the other side. Maybe you can DIY a less condescending attitude.
Instructions have gotten so so bad the past several years. Half the time I’m able to get a vague idea from them, then have to just figure the rest out. Also no company other than IKEA should be allowed to make instructions with only pictures.
I'm not taking advice from a cartoon dog.
Tbf, they *are* technically correct 😂
😂
It looks like your mounting bolts are installed incorrectly too. The nut goes on the inside once you set the proper depth of the bolt on the bracket that attaches to your box. They hold the bolt from coming out/in as you screw on the cap. You set the depth of the bolt so the cap perfectly snugs the fixture tight against the wall. Doesn’t fix the bent fixture though.
Those screws are adjustable. Just take the bracket off, loosen them up, then put the bracket on and adjust till about an eight of an inch is sticking out of the light. Then take the light back off, use those nuts to counter tighten onto the bracket, then you can put the light back on and put the cap nuts back on.
https://preview.redd.it/0o42hez1dkrc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=347978ebb99ad8bdded13698c2908be8843081ae To specify, it'd look a little something like this when adjusted (length varies depending on how far out it needs to be).
You’re what this sub needs more of. Good on you for taking the time to help and not shitting on OP.
I've been through the same thing as OP before, building display lights at work, and I've had plenty of guests ask about it, so I understand. Not everyone has built over 500 lights in the span of 10 years lol
True, but plenty people on here like to take shots at people asking questions rather than help out or shut up. It gets old real fast for a DIY subreddit that’s meant for people to help other people.
Electrician here, you need to adjust the bracket screws back or cut them if they can’t go back. The grey nut goes inside the fixture on the screws to stop it from spinning when you ever try to take it off again (have also been known to just toss those lol). You want the screws to just stick out past the fixture the depth of those black nuts. Then the trick is to push on the base of the fixture against that siding block and crank the nuts with fingers and then release the fixture, the flex or the siding will really tighten them up when you release the pressure. Do not use a tool on those black nuts. I used a nut driver once and basically it’s easy to tighten them up with a tool to the point the black tip snaps off as the screw feeds through.
Can confirm the extra nuts are a useless complication. Toss em!
It looks installed incorrectly and it looks like it’s bent. But also, you need to probably trim down those bolts so you can tighten the nuts all the way so it sits tight against the siding
Yes, 100% this, nobody else here realizes that every residential electrician has a bolt cutter on either their wire strippers or elsewhere to cut these #8 bolts down to size
To be fair, it took me longer than I care to admit to realize those holes in the strippers were threaded for cutting screws.
At least you realized it eventually, I don't know how many jmen I've had to tell
Don't buy plastic fixtures from Ali Express.
Looks cast or molded to me. It looks like I can see marks where it was cleaned up with a grinder.
Very kind. Very helpful. 👏
It was probably from Amazon and just someone drop shipping from alibaba
Curve your house to match the light.
It looks like I'm not the only one having the problem with these. 4.5 stars on Amazon isn't enough I guess. Most of the pictures for the five-star reviews are showing the other model with the square base. https://preview.redd.it/aj36h4vnsjrc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=614f57dfffb6ce628f82f651249e9df5fc53acec
That's the biggest issue with Amazon reviews, they can edit what the product they are selling into something that already had good reviews. It's ridiculous. Always sort by most recent reviews.
It's also common practice to pay for good reviews by having individuals buy it, leave a 5-star review, and reimburse the individual.
I reported to Amazon Customer Service (via chat) about a seller that pulled that review switcharoo bullshit and they told me to “reach out directly to the seller”. I was so pissed.
Almost like Amazon is a business that wants to make money buy getting a cut of sales on its market, rather than be a market that is fair to consumers.
And seek out the bad reviews or 3-star reviews; someone with a sense of nuance will tell you a lot about the product.
Fake reviews with real reviews being buried or deleted. Amazon is an actual dumpster fire when trying to get quality anything anymore.
I'm shocked that your JOYBEEQ brand plastic lights aren't good
You installed it wrong...
Reviews don't mean shit without real-world pictures. These look bent. Order different ones, return these ones when the new ones show up.
I mean, if you like your light curvy its okay.
You need to cut the screw to the correct length for your box. Outdoor lights actually aren't easy to install correctly. Hire an electrician.
That POS is so cheap that it bent from the UV light and temp gradient. Replace it ASAP.
It’s the camera lense causing it to appear as such. See how it’s curved on the bottom as well as the top? OP — you install the studs into the box, seat the lock nut against the surface of the box inside — behind the face of the light fixture. It’s a bit tricky but you want to leave just enough of the stud protruding that seats the fixture further back, and install the brown cap nuts on top. Repeat, there should be no visible chrome or plated stud showing after the fixture and cap screws are installed.only the brown cap nuts hold the fixture in place. Edit: someone got you pictures below. Disregard. 👍
The curve has nothing to do with the lens, if it did then there would be no straight lines on the siding.
Since it may just be a trick of the light and shadows, it’s worth asking - is there an electrical box behind the light? If so, you may want to check and see if you can push the wires in, or if there’s more wire than you need. See if you can fold things in ways to flatten the wires in ways that don’t bunch up and take up space.
Honestly stop buying cheap crappy fixtures on the internet. Go to a local store and buy them. They cost more money because they aren’t cheap and disposable.
I can say with confidence that most big box stores have the same quality of lights as Amazon lol I've seen some shitty lights over the years.
Yeah but they're easier to bring back and explain why you're bringing them back. The store keeps track of the amount of defective product they have to send back to the supplier. At a certain point they won't order those anymore.
>The store keeps track of the amount of defective product they have to send back to the supplier. Incorrect, we just chuck them in the trash, and our buyers don't give a shit how many we defect. Case point: we carry an integrated LED outdoor light that has an abnormally high defect rate due to the driver burning up. We've carried it for the past 8 years despite my best efforts to sabotage it's sales by steering people away from it. The reason we still sell it: lucratively high profit margins on it.
I won't ask which store, but I know an Ace here that definitely keeps track because they don't have a ton of shelf space.
5 years ago, I'd agree with you. Now, I never know what I'm going to get off of Amazon.
Based on how poorly you did the fasteners in going to venture a guess that one of them is overtightened and it's warping the plastic
Nice try, that’s fondant. It’s all cake!
You did what I did once. The mounting bolt needs to be adjusted. However, you may have tightened the bolt so much now that you bent the frame of the lamp. Again, I’ve been there. Take your lamp to the nearest Dad…I mean local mom and pop hardware store and I guarantee some will show you how to mount it. Hang in there!
Whoever installed it didn’t know what they were doing. It’s bent. The nuts are all wrong.
Are those cast metal or plastic? They almost look deformed plastic from heat, either from the sun, or from transportation/storage before purchase.
Is it possible hat this was meant to go on siding (at an angle)? Because the base looks to be at an angle itself, or just bent.
It should have an instruction pamphlet on how to properly install the bracket the light attaches to.
The siding bends. So u wont get it flat. U should have a piece of AZEK trim behind the fixture or they make these... Siding Mounting Kit, Black Outdoor Light Mounting Block with Built-in Box, Siding Mounting Plate for 1/2 inch Lap Double and 4 inch Siding https://a.co/d/5CBtViK
Have you tried getting a new house?
Definitely a defect
Temu lights
TEEEEMMMMUUUUUUU!!!!! 🤬 🤬 🤬
I honestly can't tell if they are plastic or cast iron. Either way, not the ideal material for the job. And the placement of the boltholes is weird too.
Lmao
You need your house walls to be curved the same way the light is
Looks like someone tried to hang from it or pulled down on it and bent it and the mounting screws. Maybe you can take it off and bent it straight again but really I think you need a new one.
What color is your siding? Looks really nice.
You could be like the old owner of my house and just silicone the shit out of it...
The light appears designed for a curved wall or extremely poorly made. Return the light or get a new one.
Return them.
I would bend that part of the house to make it fit
Would likely need to see how the backing plate for the electric fixture is attached, because that could be all weebly-wobbly for all we know. Siding in itself (and possibly insulation under that) isn't typically strong enough to support something like that on its own.
Ask for refund due to defect. Buy a better quality product.
Bro
I've ran into this before. Remove the light and pull on the studs. Chances are that cross bracket is a POS and bends from the weight of the fixture. If that is the case, replace it with a plate like this: [https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Mounting-Diameter-Crossbar-Chandelier/dp/B08TGGZM21](https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Mounting-Diameter-Crossbar-Chandelier/dp/B08TGGZM21)
Caulk it.