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I just closed on my new house on 5/3. Am very happy with it but would like to make a few updates this summer (more next year after I live in the house awhile!).
I would like to add ceiling fans in several places as follows:
- in 2 bedrooms on the 2nd floor that currently have ceiling light fixtures (would replace them with fans/lights) -- these 2 bedrooms are part of an addition. I assume these rooms would be relatively easy to add ceiling fans to since there is already electric in the ceiling. There is attic space right above.
- in 3 bedrooms on the 2nd floor that currently do NOT have ceiling light fixtures (they have a switched outlet). There is attic access right above, but I do understand that these would be more difficult, since there is no electric anything in the ceiling right now.
- in the living room on the 1st floor. I understand this would be quite complicated and will involve some patching of walls/ceiling. The electrician is being quite discouraging because it's complicated and he's relatively new to the business (although fully licensed/bonded/etc. and not an apprentice). This is definitely one that will wait until next year, but I want to get some idea of what is involved. The living room is 13'6" by 23'6" and of course I would want the ceiling fan centered (there is a fireplace centered on an exterior wall so the ceiling fan would be in line with that). The master bedroom is directly above the living room; the original space was 13'6" by 25' (the extra 1'6" is for the overhang on the front of the house) but part of it was closed in to make a dressing area that is 13'6" by ~8' deep, so the master bedroom itself is 13'6" by ~16'6" (allowing 6" for the walls to the dressing area). The electrician said it would be relatively straightforward to add a ceiling fan below the dressing-room wall, but I vetoed that immediately as it would be in a VERY odd place in the living room (I was a little appalled that he would even suggest this). I am thinking of calling in a different, more experienced electrician to see what he/she thinks, but am wondering if anyone out in CD land has any tips?
- in a screened porch that has its own ceiling & roof and electrical outlets on each of its 4 walls. The current electrician is telling me this would be really complicated too but I can't figure out why. The screened porch is right off the living room. There is a full basement directly below the main part of the house with the electrical box maybe 30' from the living room/porch shared wall.
I am trying to get a ballpark idea of how long the above projects would take. I would buy all the ceiling fans myself (most if not all would be flush-mount, and each would be sized to fit the particular room).
Any ideas/tips/comments? Thanks in advance!
Last edited by karen_in_nh_2012; 06-01-2012 at 01:43 PM..
Sounds like you have most of it down pretty well. Even though there are ceiling fixtures in each room, you might have to install stronger brackets to hold the fans. You might have issues with circuit load, but that is unlikely as the fans draw very little power. Some switch issues, especailly if you want variable speed and/or dimmers, may also arise.
How long? It is very hard to say. I would GUESS maybe a half day each for the rooms with existing fixtures AND attic access. For the rooms which will require burrowing through the walls/and or ceiling, it could be a full day each.
The bottom line is that you can pretty much do anything which you wish. The more challenging stuff involves tearing up plaster/sheetrock, etc., and electricians are relctant to get involved in that sort of thing because of the issue of 'where does my job end and the job of the plasterer/painter begin?"
An experienced electrician will not be put off by the challenge, although may be reluctant to get too involved if you sound like a whacko (you don't), because tearing open walls is 'sensitive' stuff.
Just a wild thought: Contact "Ask this old Hous" and see if they want to do a demonstration project. I'll bet you are not the only one with this sort of challenge.
Ted Bear, thanks for the info! I had thought in terms of electrician's fees maybe $200-$300 each for the "easy" ones (i.e., the rooms where there already are ceiling lights), $400-500 each for the 2nd floor rooms that don't currently have ceiling fixtures, and then I had no idea about the others like the living room, which I know is the most complicated. I was hoping those figures were OVER-estimating so I wouldn't get any rude surprises. It's good to know I may not be TOO far off.
I actually subscribe to This Old House but never would have thought to contact them. :-) I did find some info on their web site (after a google search) but it was about installing a ceiling fan where there was already a light -- not starting from scratch, as unfortunately will need to be done in all my rooms but 2.
I had wondered if the "younger" electrician was concerned about opening up walls/the ceiling. I told him I had good workers who could patch so I wasn't concerned about those things, but he is still reluctant. I think I will call another electrician or two to have them take a look at the living room at least. (lol, I don't think I'm a whacko!)
Luckily only a few rooms are priority for this year, so I won't be breaking the bank yet!
You are WAY OVER for the 'easy ones' -- typically an honest electrician will be able to knock out a light-fixture to ceiling fan install in less than an hour and NO electrician gets even $200/hr...
The reason the electrician is reluctant to start opening up walls is that he has to worry about more than just patching. Odds are he will have to avoid things like ductwork, plumbing, other electrical runs, maybe some structural blocking. Makes the jobs MUCH slower, requiring a lot more drilling, a lot more chances for something to go horribly wrong and just a lot more chance of client dissatisfaction. Even with the BEST tools (like an inspection camera to shove into the existing walls, metal / stud detectors, extra long drill bits etc) the odds are your living room could take a full day and still look kind of like a war zone before the drywall guys come in. Most electricians, regardless of age / experience do not like to leave a home looking like that, thus many would suggest trying to get by without the fan or perhaps locating it in an area where access from above is easier. If you really do guys that are superb dry wall patchers it might be a good idea to have one of them present when the electrician is there to ease tensions...
Chet, I hope you are right! I hate huge surprise bills so I try to overestimate whenever possible.
This first summer in the new house, I am just going to use a window air conditioner in the living room (and other first-floor rooms, as needed) and see how much my electric bill is; the ceiling fans for the first floor won't be added until next year. But I would like one in the master bedroom (2nd floor) this summer, as well as 2-3 of the other bedrooms (or maybe all, just to get them DONE) -- the 2nd floor feels 5-10 degrees warmer than the first. I'd lived in a ranch house for so long that I'd forgotten about that.
If you have a local fan/lighting store, they may offer free or low-cost installation. For one of our houses we went this route and they charged only $35 or $45 to send their man out to install, regardless of how many fans he put up during that one visit, IF there were pre-existing ceiling fixtures. (I think it was $35, but it may have been $45.)
He came with his own ladder and tools, took the fans out of their boxes and assembled them, changed the boxes in the ceiling where necessary, and installed the fans. He did 3 for us at the time. It probably would have taken my husband an entire day to do all 3, including a trip to the hardware store. It took the installer about 2.5 hours to get it all done. What a steal for the price we paid!
CheyDee, thanks for the tip! What a great deal you got. Alas, a lot of the mom-and-pop-type stores have been taken over by larger chains, even in my out-in-the-boonies location. And unfortunately, only 2 of the 7-8 rooms I want to put a ceiling fan in currently have ceiling light fixtures.
I had two fans installed at 2 different times. The first time it was $95.00 and that included new wiring to a switch box. The second was a basic ceiling install, flush mount, for $75.00. Both included a heavy duty support bar.
After watching them I installed 2 more by myself. No problem.
Most dealers have installers or can refer you to an installer where you can get a quote and possibly save you some time and grief. Plus you'll get a warranty.
Ted Bear, thanks for the info! I had thought in terms of electrician's fees maybe $200-$300 each for the "easy" ones (i.e., the rooms where there already are ceiling lights), $400-500 each for the 2nd floor rooms that don't currently have ceiling fixtures, and then I had no idea about the others like the living room, which I know is the most complicated. I was hoping those figures were OVER-estimating so I wouldn't get any rude surprises. It's good to know I may not be TOO far off.
I actually subscribe to This Old House but never would have thought to contact them. :-) I did find some info on their web site (after a google search) but it was about installing a ceiling fan where there was already a light -- not starting from scratch, as unfortunately will need to be done in all my rooms but 2.
I had wondered if the "younger" electrician was concerned about opening up walls/the ceiling. I told him I had good workers who could patch so I wasn't concerned about those things, but he is still reluctant. I think I will call another electrician or two to have them take a look at the living room at least. (lol, I don't think I'm a whacko!)
Luckily only a few rooms are priority for this year, so I won't be breaking the bank yet!
a friend of mine is an electrician, and installing a ceiling fan alone is typically about $100-$150 (depending on your location, their rates may vary a bit). doing the wiring is a bit more complicated, and would add to it. I'd say $150 for the easy ones is reasonable, while the others ones really depend on how long it takes him to run the wires, plus copper is expensive right now, but i think $70-$100/hr is about normal for an electrician's time.
Bradykp, why $150 for the easy ones? That's 3 hours for my electrician ($50 an hour). Chet indicated that those ones -- replacing a light fixture with a ceiling fan -- should only take an hour, which actually sounded reasonable. I understand that new bracing may be required, but all the wires are THERE so why would it take 3 hours?
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