Ceiling fan installation options

[amdskip]

I want to install a ceiling fan in my living room and there is no existing light, etc. The room above it is a bedroom with no carpet so it's just a plywood subfloor. What would be my best option for installing the fan and running new wiring.

I was going to try taking up sections of subfloor but others have said drywall would be a better option. The drywall ceiling was freshly painted before I moved in so I was going to try avoid touching it.

 

[BigJ]

Ir's going to be a pain in the ass either way. Easiest option is to buy a swag kit and just plug the damn thing in.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Ir's going to be a pain in the ass either way. Easiest option is to buy a swag kit and just plug the damn thing in.

:thumbsup:

 

[0roo0roo]

swag kit?

yea i'm lookin into it too. damn area has no light fixture even so its gonna be fresh wiring

 

[Greenman]

It can be done with one small hole where the ceiling meets the wall. Find a good electrician and he'll be able to fix you up. If you're doing it yourself I can post instructions, but I don't feel like typing that much right now.

 

[tyanni]

seriously - hire a good electrician. We had one put our fan in, and there was also no power in the ceiling. He drilled a very small hole where the wall meets the ceiling, and snaked a wire down to an existing switch on the wall. Then he cut the hole in the middle of the ceiling for the fan and snaked the wires to the hole. Took about 2 hours of work, and cost about 200 bucks plus the fan. Once he patched the little hole, you could never tell any work was done.

Tim

 

[QED]

I don't see the big fuss... it really isn't that hard. You don't have to rip up the subfloor.

Easiest method is (like someone else suggested) is to use a swag kit, and power it by running wire across the ceiling and down a wall to an available outlet. You then cover the wire with a wire raceway.

For a cleaner look, you can run wire inside the ceiling from your proposed fan location along a joist to the spot where your wall and ceiling meet. If this happens to be right above a wall outlet, you're in luck! Put a small hole in the wall or in the ceiling near where the two meet, and navigate the wire from the ceiling into the wall. Punch out a hole in the wall for the light switch, run the wire down to it, and from there down to the outlet.

If there is no outlet in that spot, put a hole in the wall near the ceiling above the nearest outlet on that wall, and drill a small hole in the wall joist towards the joist with the fan wire.
Repeat until you can run the fan wire through the wall joists to get above the outlet.

You can get away with as few as 3 holes, only one of which will need patching: one in the ceiling for the fan, one in the wall for the new switch, and one in the wall near the ceiling.

 

[tyanni]

The big deal is that an improperly mounted fan can be (a) dangerous, or (b) annoying, since it vibrates so much. If he does the job right, then great. Otherwise, you end up calling in an electrician anyway to fix your mistakes.

 

[mobobuff]

Bah to the swag kit! Swag means sway and sag. You don't want any swaying and sagging.

Use the wire fishing method mentioned already. Read up on fishing romex and patching drywall. It's easier than you think.

 

[BigJ]

For ceiling fans, Home Depot sells a product by Westinghouse called a SafT Brace. It's a special bar + box for ceiling fans rated for heavier weights and vibrations.

Like everyone said, you can fish the romex through. Comparably it's a PITA, but it's the way to go if you don't want the swag kit.

0roo0roo, a swag kit is just some lamp cord with a male end (plug), a ceiling hook to support the wire, and chain. The kit is just a convenience.