I live in an ancient apartment building, and the burnt-out lightbulb in my mini-kitchen area is covered by a small textured glass panel that seems to be held in place by the material around it. I try to push, slide, etc…it won’t budge. Maintenance is useless around here and takes forever to help out…
Should be able to just push up on the glass, tilt and angle the glass out of the square.
It appears from the picture that there is paint on the edge of the glass fixture…maybe the glass is stuck to the metal frame by the dried paint. If so, maybe being a bit more aggressive with it can loosen it up.
I’ve run across a few of these. Sometimes they are held up by spring clips. Sometimes they are hinged on one side. There may be a screw buried in the paint on the other side. Usually the entire thing comes open (glass plus the trim around it). You don’t usually pop the glass out to replace them, at least not in the ones that I have dealt with.
i agree that is most often spring clips. sometimes hinged on one side.
a flat screwdriver tip can help gently pry down. if it’s hinged then the hinged side will not move, so try all sides. if there is a clip(s) on all four sides you need to pry each side down a bit and hold the opposing side from going back up. these springs can be fairly strong.
having two people is good. one only to put both their hands under the glass and metal to catch it when it comes loose. the other people to do the prying. once it starts coming away you might see where the springs (flat leaf springs) are.
Yep. I have some just like that. A “V” shaped spring clip on two sides with a 90 degree angle at the top of the “V” that fits into holes. Just pull down and the 90 degree angle will stop it at about an inch or so. Then you pinch the “V” together to release it.
Bingo! That was exactly the case here. They sure were tough to squeeze together at first, but I managed to lower it just enough to replace the bulb without breaking anything. Thank you guys so much!
Looks to me like the bezel is painted into place with the ceiling. I’d start by running a utility knife blade between the bezel and ceiling to cut through the paint and then taking a good look.
I thought the rule was, if it’s behind a panel (usually florescent lights) it’s maintenance responsibility to change it out? (Same would be true for vaulted ceilings)
It can be challenging figuring out how to get into some light fixtures. I have a bathroom light/fan vent that the lens frame is hinged and flips down. No indication at all which side to pull on. Theres four possible choices. I usually end up tugging on at least two sides before figuring out which side works.
Never saw one like the OP ran into with spring clips. I never would have figured that out. Didn’t realize such a thing existed.
