Jim and I spent a good hour today up on the ladder removing the bedroom ceiling fan. I was able to get one of the 3 problem screws out, he got a 2nd one out, but the 3rd still wouldn’t budge. I climbed back up and sliced a deeper groove into it with my dremmel tool, allowing Jim to finally muscle it out of the ceiling. So far so good!
Then we worked together to disconnect the fan from the ceiling. With my Little Giant ladder set up like an A-frame, we could both stand near the top. I balanced the fan on my shoulder while he disconnected the wire nuts and pulled apart the spliced wires. I got the job of holding up the fan because he’s a LOT taller than me [6’2 vs. 5’5½], and even on the top rung of the ladder [well, the topmost rung they deem “safe”] I can barely reach the wires. I had to stand on my tiptoes, with my arm fully extended, just to reach the ceiling screws with the screwdriver! [and the electric drill… and the dremmel tool…] Meh.
Then we pondered how in the world to proceed, in terms of getting the replacement fan [aka girl cave fan] up there. Jim’s not comfortable enough with wiring, and I’m not tall enough to reach it, so we can’t use the A-frame ladder configuration. We’d have to extend it full length so I could get closer to the ceiling. As a test, we extended the ladder to 15′ and carefully maneuvered it so the feet were resting on the beam that runs down the center of our bedroom ceiling. It was a little on the “OMG is this actually safe???” side of things… I climbed up and was able to reach the wires, but the thought of me trying to haul a heavy fan up there, hold it steady, AND wire it to the ceiling? Virtually impossible.
Soooooo… at this point we’re considering buying new ceiling fans for the house and hiring our local electrician to install them for us. Or at least install the bedroom one. We can set up the A-frame ladder and work together to install the other 2 [girl cave & living room]. Those ceilings are low enough that I can easily reach the wiring, while Jim holds the fan.
I’m really digging the Minka-Aire F843 style. They have remote controls, no lights [you can order a separate light kit, but we don’t want lights on our fans], and can be installed on a sloped ceiling, which is what we’d need for the girl cave and bedroom. They come in 3 colors: distressed Koa wood [Koa is a tree endemic to the Hawaiian islands] which I think would look cool in the living room, white which would be great for the bedroom, and silver which I can spray-paint black for the girl cave.
Some projects, as much as you want them to be DIY, just aren’t feasible. *sigh*
LOVE those fans – Buy all three and have an electrician install them. Although Dad did almost all our DYI projects, there are times when it makes sense to call in the troops. This is one of them. Those fans are beautiful – Go for It!
I love them too – I love how small the motor part is. The motor is HUGE [and ugly] on our current fans. On most fans actually. But I was looking for fans with small motors, and the Minka-Aire ones blend the blades and motor together, which is even cooler looking!