Lamp Repair

Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Repairing/Rewiring Old Lamps

Feb 2006

I was given two old glass desk lamps that were my great grandmother's. The wiring is old and frayed but I would like to use them. Does anyone have a recommendation on a lighting store that does this type of rewiring or an electrician who will do really small jobs like this? Thank you! Cindy

We took a vintage lamp to El Cerrito Lighting on San Pablo and they did a fabulous job -- it cost $40 to put in a new socket, run new wire and extend the chain (it's a hanging lamp). It did take a while tho' -- 3 weeks! (They said their guy quit and they had to find a new fellow to do the work, so maybe it would not normally take that long.) All Lit Up
I collect vintage lighting and take everything to Ruiz Antique Lighting in Alameda for rewiring. The owner, James Ruiz, does a great job at a reasonable price, and has also been wonderful at restoring fixtures that need TLC beyond the electrical -- refinishing, repair, reconfiguration, etc. The shop is at 2333 Clement Ave. (right off of Park Ave.), and is open Tues.-Sat. 10-6. The phone number is 510-769-6082, and the url is www.RuizLamp.com. They also have a lovely collection of antique lighting for sale. Good luck! Leah

Need to get table lamp rewired

Jan 2000

I'm looking for a good place (and not astronomically priced) to get a table lamp fixed. Most places have suggested I get a new lamp - I only need to have one of the two light bulb fixtures rewired. Any suggestions? Thanks. Pamela

El Cerrito Lighting in El Cerrito will fix some lamps but they are rather slow. Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley also fixes lamps but they have such a high demand for fixing antique lamps that they told me that the wait if they would be 6 months. There is a small store on mid-to -upper Solano Avenue in Berkeley(not Elaine Ensler Lighting) that has a lot of lamp shades which does rewiring reasonably. I don't recall the name of the store. Denise
To the person who wanted their lamp rewired: I recommend Crescent Electric, 2425 Telegraph, in Oakland (a few storefronts south of the old Sears building), 444-2966. They're really into making old lamps work again. The shop is filled with old lighting fixtures. They're honest and reasonably priced Fran
re lamp: Try Cal. Electric, 1139 E 12th, Oakland, 834-1050. They've fixed various things for me, and I think I did see someone bring in a lamp once. They're nice, professional, and reasonably priced. Linda
Sept 2004

I just had a lamp repaired at Sue Johnson Custom Lamps & Shades at 1745 Solano Avenue. It turned out all I needed was a new switch, which they fixed in about two minutes and very reasonably. Kathy