Norminn wrote:
jch wrote:

The house I just moved into has a tall (two story) front entrance
with a porch light suspended by a chain and hanging about 11ft off
the ground. It has three candelabra lights and two of them are
burnt out. My standard step ladder is too short and I have no way
to reach the fixture. The fixture is open at the bottom but only
about 5" in diameter and the bottom has a base that holds the light
sockets and looks as though it could swing freely within the overall
glass enclosure. Is there some trick to replacing the bulbs in
these fixtures? If not then what a poor design this is to require
such a tall step ladder to get to it. The bulbs are oriented
pointing up (ie base down) so I can't use a pole and attachment to
unscrew the bulbs from below. I've never had a porchlight like this
and wonder what the trick is.
If you plan to live there a long time, I think it would be a good idea
to have the fixture changed to
one you can use with a pole to change bulbs. The poles work nicely -
have used them at our condo.
Rather than a chain hanger, it could have tubing that keeps it a bit
more stable to make the pole
easier to use.

As for the flood light, I'd want that changed too ... some kind of
yard light with m.d.?

Yep. A motion detector replacement floodlight is what I want but can't
readily get to the existing floodlight 18ft up. It's crazy. At least I've
been able to replace the lights on the flood. The porchlight is a different
story. Can't access it at all unless I get the new ladder and except for
this one fixture, my 6ft ladder is quite adequate around the house for other
jobs. Seems ridiculous to have to buy a new ladder just to change a
porchlight bulb. This whole thing adds new meaning to the riddle "How many
people does it take to change a light bulb?". I appreciate all the
reponses. Thanks.