How hard is it to install a ceiling fan to replace an existing light fixture? I’ve bought the fans, and I’d like to get them up in the bedrooms. The problem is, right now, those bedrooms aren’t really in any shape I’d like a stranger to see. Is this something I can do myself if I’m careful, or do I really need to get an electrician to do it? I’m not exactly Ms Handyman, but I do know which end of a screwdriver is up, so to speak. I’ve put furniture together, and I learned some things from my dad and a high school shop class. Will a basic knowledge of tools do it?
The main thing to do before starting is to verify that the ceiling box that the fan/light(S) will be fed from is securely fastened to the framing. Do you have access to the box from above,i.e.,attic or crawl space? The best situation is a metal box attached to bars that bridge the joists.
Installation of the fan itself is no big deal,assuming some knowledge of house wiring and an ability to work in contorted positions-unless you enlist some help.
With ceiling fans you’ll want someone to hold it while you attach the wiring. The work itself isn’t very difficult - having enough hands is the hard part.
I put in four ceiling fans unassisted when I was 14. It’s not hard. What was a little tricky was that all our wiring was put in by a colorblind electrician - I shit you not. It was all black and white solid wiring - no reds or yellows or anything else. I just made note of which wires went to which spots on the light I was taking out and made the same connections to the ceiling fans. They’ve worked fine ever since.
Not always, many new fans have hangers that you can use to hold the fan (sans the blades, those go on last) housing up close to the box so you can make your splices.
OP, wiring a fan for the first time isn’t something you should do without either seeing it done or helping someone do it first.
Several things need to be considered and the most important is making sure the power is off for all the wires in the box. You may have a hot and a switch leg in the wiring of the box without realising it. Also, even if you have the switch off there might be a load on the neutral wire if it’s splice though the box and you could get zapped there too.
Best bet is to turn off the breaker and then check that it kills all the wires in the box.
Then you need to make sure the ceiling box is suitable for a fan installation. The box should be secured to a joist or a hanger suitable for fans. You may not know how it’s supported just by looking from below, you may need to get up in the attic.
One of the things I check for is to push up on the box, hard, and see how much it flexes. You want minimal flex, the box should be very stiff. I would also shy away from plastic boxes unless they have provisions for mounting a fan, not just the typical screw holes, but additional mounting supports.
You also need to know how you’re going to control the fan;
Just need a hot and you’ll use the pull chains?
One switch for the lights and the fans?
Two switches, one for the light and one for the fan?
Other, such as a remote?
Install the light kit (if it has one) and the blades after you’ve mounted the fan motor housing. Don’t try to build the whole unit on the ground and then think you can wire it up in the air as one unit, it is extremely challenging this way and not recommended.
Got news for you, most home wiring is only black and white. You might see a red every now and then, but 90 percent of the wiring in a house will be black and white.
Unless the house is piped in conduit, then you can pull any color wires you feel like. But if your house was piped your electrician was VERY ambitious.
Sometimes basements are piped, but you wouldn’t be installing a ceiling fan in a basement.
Pre-made cables like romex and BX were made with white and black wires already in them and a red wire would be visible if there was a second hot wire in the cable, again pre-made in such a way.
There is no access from above. But as I consider the age of things here, I’m thinking maybe I should get somebody who knows what he’s doing. We do have a guy who did a couple of other lights for us, so I guess that’s what I’ll do. He’s not that expensive, and then I’d not have to worry about whether I did it right. Oh, well, I’ll just have to change the job list priorities a bit.
I’ve installed lots of fans. The only thing to worry about is vibration. If you can attach it to a stud it will be fine. Just be sure to attact it with 3 or more screws. If between studs, then you need a cross brace, which I don’t recommend to beginners - you may end up with an ugly patched ceiling.
Really. Huh. Then I’m baffled as to why the instructions had pretty pictures of colored wires and told you to match 'em to the pretty colored wires on the ceiling fan. Mom said our wiring was just FUBARed, cited known colorblind electrician, and I just assumed she was right.
'Cause in the perfect world you would have a three wire cable coming into the ceilling box (black red and white wires) and the fan has three colors (usually, if you have a light kit installed) which would be white, blue (light kit) and black (fan motor). That’s at least four different colors there (white, blue, red, and black) hence the confusion. But at least you aren’t loosing your mind.
