Help me install my ceiling fan wiring!

[Pir0San]

Alright guys, here's an off topic project for everyone. I just bought a ceiling fan from Lowe's yesterday, and I want to install it in the middle of my room. The problem with the idea is that my bedroom did not already come equipped with a light fixture in the ceiling, so I will need to run the wiring to the fan itself. I want to be able to control the power going to the whole fan by my light switch in the wall, which turns off power to an outlet that is just a few feet away from the switch itself. It sounds really easy: get in the attic, mount the fan (which was pretty easy), find a junction box for the light switch/wall outlet, splice the fan wires in using rollomax, and voila, a light! Well, the hard part is that I am unable to locate a junction box in the attic. It seems as if the wiring for the outlets just drop straight down through the top of the wall, through the wall, and to the power outlet. The only problem with that though is that the wiring needs to go to the switch first before it goes to the outlet, and I cannot seem to find this wire. I could be wrong, it might be there, but I had to climb out of the attic since I was itching profusely and could not breathe.

So, has anyone else ever wired a ceiling fan to a wall outlet? If you have, please help! I just have to find a way to possibly connect the wiring to the outlet itself, without destroying my walls.

[zbane]

When I first saw the heading for this thread, I envisioned a ceiling fan in a Z. I was thinking "how would that work?"

Are you certain that the wiring is in the attic? Some electricians send all the wiring through the crawlspace or basement, perhaps that is where your junction box is.

If not, it's probably stuck somewhere in your insulation.

You could also try dropping the fan wires down from the attic to the wall switch, and do the wire splicing at the switch. Many homes have some slack wire there, though not all do, and you can work with that slack. All you would need to do is figure out which wires are bringing wire into the switch, but the switch itself should be marked with that info.

BEFORE YOU DO ANY CUTTING OR MESSING ABOUT, TURN OF THE BREAKER FOR THE HOUSE!! (otherwise you'll be PirOstunned)

[Pir0San]

When I first saw the heading for this thread, I envisioned a ceiling fan in a Z. I was thinking "how would that work?"

hahaha, I didn't even think about it being construed as that. I wonder if that would be a ricer mod...

Unfortunately, we don't have a basement, so all of the wiring is in the attic. I don't visibly see a junction box in the attic, so I'll have to climb up there and see if I can find one. My other idea is to drill a hole right above my electrical outlet in the attic, through the top 2x4 that finishes off my wall, and slide the rollomax through the wall and down to my power outlet, which is controlled by my light switch.

I'll just have to climb up there and investigate again, but I could have swore that I didn't see any junction box up there! I just wasn't sure that there would be a junction box for my light switch/power outlet since I don't have a pre-existing light fixture in the ceiling.

Damn lazy home builders.

[rtaylor]

You don't have to have a wall switch. Lowes sells a remote control unit that gets wired to the fan and hides inside the top cover. Just run hot wires to the box in the ceiling, wire in the remote control receiver, and then you control the fan with the remote control. The remote control also comes with a wall mountable bracket to hold the remote control. You have to temporarily wire the fan first to ensure that the fan is switched on to the highest possible fan speed, then leave it on that setting. Then turn the power off with the fan at the highest setting, disconnect the wires, wire in the remote sender, turn the power back on and voila...

[sblake01]

I just did one of those! Sure beats having to get out of be to turn the fan on or off.

[zbane]

I wonder if that would be a ricer mod...

.

Yeah, that would be the nu-skool "chop top" :stupid:

[Pir0San]

You don't have to have a wall switch. Lowes sells a remote control unit that gets wired to the fan and hides inside the top cover. Just run hot wires to the box in the ceiling, wire in the remote control receiver, and then you control the fan with the remote control. The remote control also comes with a wall mountable bracket to hold the remote control. You have to temporarily wire the fan first to ensure that the fan is switched on to the highest possible fan speed, then leave it on that setting. Then turn the power off with the fan at the highest setting, disconnect the wires, wire in the remote sender, turn the power back on and voila...

I was thinking about that, and I may decide to go that route, if my dad and I can't figure out how to get the wire physically between the wall and wire it to the outlet.

[EScanlon]

The wire going TO the switch from the attic is probably all you'll find up there. That's because the switch in the wall is controlling the wall plug, and as such the wiring for the plug would have to come directly from the switch.

That means that the wires in your attic are continuous, and are the power feed to the switch...as such, no junction box is required or necessary. (remember the name of the JUNCTION box says it all. No junction, no box.)

That being said, you will need to splice into the wire going to the switch and install a junction box so that your splice is covered/insulated. Match the size /style of the Romex wire (i.e. 3 wire/12 gauge or 2 wire/14 gauge) and then route your new wire to the fan mount junction box. (You DID brace it to the ceiling joists didn't you?).

Now this will give you a pure power wiring to the fan's mount.

Now, if you wanted to add a switch to the existing switch box to control the fan: Route a Romex to the box, and wire one half of a dual switch for a single gang box, (the other switch on that dual will replace your present single switch for single gang box) with both of the power wires (black AND white), one on each pole of the switch. Go ahead and ground the switch with both ground wires.

At the junction box in the attic, break the power connection TO the fan by disconnecting the WHITE (this is the "Hot" wire, the Black is the Neutral and the Bare is Ground) wire from the power source connections you made earlier.

Now you'll have two switches in the wall. One operates the fan, the other operates the wall outlet.

One note, if you're planning on getting one of those remote controls for the fan, check the instructions for it FIRST. You might find that it will require 3 wire Romex and if you've run 2 wire...

FWIW

E

[a7dz]

Snip ...At the junction box in the attic, break the power connection TO the fan by disconnecting the WHITE (this is the "Hot" wire, the Black is the Neutral and the Bare is Ground) wire from the power source connections you made earlier.snip...

E. are you sure? I have always seen the hot as black or red and the neutral is white. Ground is either green or bare copper.

[Pir0San]

no offense E, but I think you might be mixed up. My dad used to do commercial wiring back in the day, and he says that black is always your power, white is your common, and green or copper is your earth.

[Pir0San]

thanks to everyone and their responces. I knew how to wire the light, but I needed ideas as to how to get the wires down in the wall. I finally came up with the idea to just drill a hole in the very top 2x4 on the inner wall in the attic, and run the romax down through my hole and to my power plug. Because the romax can snag and bend, I came up with the idea of using collapsible tent poles to feed the romax in, by taping the end of the romax to the end of the tent pole. I got up in the attic, my dad was down at the socket, and after a few minutes of moving it around, we got the tent pole/romax idea to work!

Here's a pic of our fine work.

[EScanlon]

I was referencing OLD memory, and just glanced at an old wiring schematic, so it just goes to show that even memory can play tricks on you.

E

http://www.indepthinfo.com/wire-switch/light-switch.shtml