I hope someone can help. My wife and I have inherited a flat and have had some work done to clean up the place. When the contractor is done, he will leave nicely painted walls with about 18 inches of romex (electrical wire) sticking out of the ceiling. He assumes I can easily install a simple light fixture so the light bulb will turn on when I flip the switch. But getting there from a piece of exposed wire is more than I can handle. I have installed simple ceiling fixtures in my home and I expected to see a metal box with two wires. I am aware the electrical system is different in Europe, but that seems to be about all I know. Anyone living in Spain who can help me out? I am going over the Easter break and I had hoped to install a few fixtures myself. I want to be able to have injured myself on two continents! Thanks for your help/

Don't know if this will help terribly, but the website for Leroy Merlin (French hardware chain with many stores in Spain; like Home Depot or Loewe's here) has a sort of Q&A on their page:

http://www.leroymerlin.fr

I found several articles on lighting installation in a quick search. They also offer advice at their stores, as do most mom and pop hardware stores in Spain. You can buy the fixtures themselves at Leroy Merlin as well.

I find it odd that Romex would be used/acceptable for residential wiring. Maybe that's standard in Spain, but have you checked with an electrician to make sure?

At any rate, good luck.

Thanks Cooter. I was able to negotiate my way through a diagram of how to install recessed lighting at the Leroy Merlin website. It helped me a great deal to see how basic wiring should be done in Europe. It's good to know there's one (a leroy merlin) in Tarragona, which is about 30 kms from where I will be. I think what is sticking out of each ceiling is not romex but the cable with a 12 volt adapter for attaching a light bulb (cable ho3 VH 2f according to the Merlin website). Now I just have to figure out what is behind the plaster...