Build Your Own Barn Beam Light Fixture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 What You'll Need: DIY Lamp Parts List

• Cloth Covered Electrical Wire – Choose from a variety of colors and patterns to match your decor. We recommend SVT 18g (Round) for this project. 
• Light Sockets & Cord Grips – Select compatible sockets for your bulbs and shades if applicable. For more on the socket styles, check out this blog.
• Ceiling Canopy – A stylish canopy to cover the electrical box and support the cord drops.
• Steel Brackets – Secure the barn beam to the ceiling. We made our own in this video. It is not something that we sell.
• Junction Box – Safely house electrical connections. This would be purchased a local hardware store and is not a component that we provide.
• Light Bulbs – Choose bulbs that fit your desired ambiance. We would recommend an LED bulb when using multiple bulbs on one assembly.
• Wooden Beam – A reclaimed or new beam to serve as the fixture's base sourced in your local area.
• Mounting Hardware – Screws, anchors, and other necessary hardware for installation.
• Tools - You will also need to track down the following tools:
  • Drill
  • Welder
  • Router
  • Power Saw
  • Grinder
  • Adjustable Wrench
  • Metal Wire Brush
  • Standard Wire Stripper
  • Phillips and Flat Head Screwdrivers
  • Ruler
  • Socket Wrench
  • Toggle Anchors (if studs/joist mount is not an option)
  • Wire Nuts

Step-by-Step Assembly Guide

STEP 1: Use a thick wired brush to clean off the beam if you prefer to give it a more finished look with a wax paste finish.  This step is completely up to your personal preference.

STEP 2: Drill 15 holes in the junction box plate and insert our Male Metal Barrel Cord Grips with a 1/8 IPS lock nut.  We are wiring 14 pendants, the 15th hole is for your lead wire that will be wired to your ceiling's junction box and canopy.

STEP 3: Route out a section on the barn beam so the J Box can sit flush with the top of the beam, resulting in a cleaner look with the J Box hidden.

STEP 4: Wire your pendants using our Basic Black Sockets, DIY Lamp Wire, Socket Covers, Cord Grips and Color Cord 3000.  If you need additional information on this step, check out our other video How To Wire a Medium Base Basic Black Socket.  Then, strip the other end of the cloth covered wire to expose the conductor wires underneath and feed those wire through the J Box plate.  Secure the pendants in place using the Male Metal Barrel Cord Grip set screw.

STEP 5: Cut your steel brackets down to the appropriate length, you’ll need to assess the size of your beam to determine what size steel brackets you’ll have to cut. Then we welded the two brackets and took a grinder to them to smooth the corners and prep for primer and paint, which we chose a matte black, but of course painting the brackets is optional.  

STEP 6: Drill the appropriate holes on each of the smaller sides of the brackets.  The larger holes will be for the bolts that will be drilled directly into the wood.  The smaller holes will be for the screws or toggle anchors that will mount the fixture to your ceiling.

STEP 7: Now it’s time to get the beam secured to the ceiling!  Properly measure the distance from hole to hole and bracket to bracket and then drill the holes into the ceiling.  We are installing this fixture in our photo studio at our HQ, so we're using toggle anchors to mount it to the ceiling, but it is ALWAYS recommended that you use studs or joists, as they are more reliable for installing heavier fixtures.  If studs or joists are not an option, make sure you purchase toggle anchors that are rated above the weight of the fixture. Install the toggle anchors in the top of the brackets, then you’ll most likely need some more hands to get the beam lifted so you can insert the toggle anchors into the ceiling.  Once you feel that they’ve butterflied out, tighten the anchors up with a power drill.  The brackets and beam should be very secure, flush with the ceiling and not shift around on the ceiling.

STEP 8: Next, take the pendants and j box plate and mount it to the body of the junction box using the provided screws.

STEP 9: All that’s left at this point is to wrap the pendants and wire your lead wire to your ceiling canopy and junction box!  Wrapping the pendants is all about your personal preference.  Choose how you want your pendants to drop and how much overlap you want with your cloth covered electrical wire.  It may take some time or even a couple tries to get it wrapped exactly how you prefer.

STEP 10: Once you have your pendants wrapped around the beam, your final step is to wire the lead wire to your canopy and J Box.  You’ll see that we’re have a makeshift j box as this space is our photo studio, but you will be wiring your fixture to an actual junction box in your home’s ceiling.  The concept is all the same- your green ground wire will go to the J Box ground wire, which is going to be a bare copper wire more often than not.  Secure the wires with a wire nut and repeat this same step for your black positive and white negative wires.  Mount the canopy back to the canopy bracket using the canopy screws and if you’re using one of our single port canopies, tighten down the set screw to secure the cloth covered electrical wire.

If this project feels a bit intimidating, you’re not alone! Many of our customers have successfully partnered with a local electrician or general contractor to bring their vision to life. Another great option—especially if you're looking for a simpler, UL-rated solution—is to adapt the design into a custom chandelier with multiple pendant drops from a canopy. This alternative requires less hands-on electrical work and allows you to wrap and hang cords around any focal item you choose, from beams and branches to farm equipment and other creative structures.

Have questions about making your own light fixture? We’re always here to help! And if you've tackled your own barn beam project, we’d love to hear about it—share your experience with us and help inspire others in the maker community.