Pat,
Thanks for the (incredibly quick) reply.

OF COURSE I'm not under a closet... no self-respecting wife would let
her husband get off THAT easy :-

You did 2 things:
1) confirmed my fear that it's not going to be "easy"
2) added another option (wire-mold) that I'd not considered.

Well, at least this way I can say I've researched the options and then
let her decide.

Thanks again!
-dave


Pat wrote:
BallPeanScrewdriver wrote:
I "need" (as defined by wife, not me) to move a 1st floor light fixture
about 56 inches. OF COURSE it's across joists, and OF COURSE it's on
the 1st floor so I don't have access to it from above.

Is this as ugly a procedure as it seems like it must be, or are there
tools and/or techniques to make it less painful (primarily defined as
not messing up the ceiling byond the existing hold and the one I'll
need to make)? I am assuming I have to drill through all the joists
between the old and new locations, so some type of extended drill bit
seems like a bare minimum. But 20+ years of DIY home repair/remodel has
taught me others often know a "slick" way to do a given task, and I'm
hoping that's the case here (although the geometry and physics of the
problem certainly don't seem to leave much wiggle room for such a
solution).

Thanks in advance for your input!

-dave

Speaking of ugly, you could use wire-mold. Let your wife decide that
one.

Dependin on the "need", another option would be to cut a hole at some
point -- say in the middle -- do the work, and repair the sheetrock
when you're done.

Those chains with the wires, like you see on some lamps, is an option.

I don't imagine that you're lucky enough to be doing this over an
upstairs closet that you could take the floor out of.