Ron's first stop in the lone star state was Houston. Diane Drake loved to relax in her back porch enjoying the sights and sounds of nature but during the summer months it was often just too hot for comfort. She asked Ron to come and help her install a ceiling fan. When Ron arrived, she showed him the location she had picked out, where a light fixture was currently installed. Ron agreed that it would be perfect and the two of them got to work.
Click Here For a list of what
you will need in order to complete this project.
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1. Remove existing light fixture:
- The first thing they needed to do was take down the old light fixture. Whenever working with electricity, Ron always makes sure to shut off the power first. As and added precautions, it is important to use a fiberglass or wooden ladder rather than metal.
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- With a rubber-handled screwdriver, Ron had Diane loosen the screws that held the old fixture in place and then removed it. Ron pointed out that it was important to replace the existing electrical box that was designed only to support the weight of a light, with a heavy-duty box, designed for the heavier weight of the ceiling fan.
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2. Install new bracket system:
- The new heavy-duty bracket system that they used was designed to be installed up through the existing hole to the inside of the ceiling. Ron created a mock up of the ceiling so that Diane would be able to understand how the installation worked since she wouldn't be able to see what she was doing.
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- Ron showed Diane how the heavy-duty bar should be positioned directly over the hole. He then rotated the bar so she could see how the bar expanded forcing the sharp points on either end to dig into the sides of the joist, which then held the bar firmly in place.
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- Next, they attached a bracket up and over the bar, again working from the bottom. After Diane had completed these steps she was much better prepared to do it on the real ceiling.
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- After putting the lock nuts onto the installed bracket they were then ready to install the new electrical box, which slipped right up from the bottom, through the existing hole and attached to the long bolts of the bracket piece.
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- The final step was to attach the fan mounting bracket to the new electrical box. It was this bracket that the fan was finally hung from. After the bracket system and electrical box was completely installed, they turned their attention to the fan itself.
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3. Fan assembly:
- The fan motor required some assembly before it could be hung from the bracket. They needed to lower the fan down from the ceiling about twelve inches to provide better air circulation, so they ran the wires through the extension piece and then attached it to the fan motor and secured it with a cotter pin.
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- Because this fan was installed outdoors, they needed to keep moisture from leaking into the motor so they installed a little rubber boot to serve as a moisture barrier. Next they added the top bracket cover, which would serve the cosmetic function of concealing the bracket and wires.
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- Finally, to the end of the pipe they attacked a little ball-like connector, which allowed the whole fan assembly to hang from the bracket they had installed. This connector was held securely in place with a little set screw and they were then ready to slip the ball into the bracket to hang the fan assembly in place.
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4. Wiring:
- Each fan is wired a little bit differently, but the general rule is to connect all wires of the same color together. They cut the wires to the necessary length and then stripped off the end of the insulation. Then they simply twisted the two wires together and covered them with a wire nut.
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- Once all of the wires were connected and covered, they were neatly tucked back up into the box and Diane slid the canopy up into place and tightened it with screws.
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5. Attach fan blades:
- The final step was to attach the fan blades to the motor assembly. Each fan blade was attached to the bottom of the motor assembly and held in place by two screws. Ron recommended leaving the first screw just a little loose so that they could have a little leeway to move the blade to position the second screw. The first screw was firmly tightened after the second screw was in place.
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RESULTS:
After the sun had gone down and the new fan spun a fresh breeze into the air, Diane's patio could not have been a more pleasant or comfortable place to relax! She never could have done it without Ron's help. |
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