Ceiling fan
Adding a ceiling fan to a room can help significantly with air circulation. It may even help with your air-conditioning bill since you can set your thermostat a few degrees higher and still remain comfortable with the added air movement. If the room has a drop ceiling where you plan on installing your ceiling diffuser, the fan must be mounted properly to prevent damaging the ceiling. This involves using the correct electrical box and supporting it to the joists above.
Instructions
1. Remove the ceiling tile in the place you'll install the fan. Lift the tile straight up out of the grid, tilt it slightly one direction and lower it back down through the grid.
2. Trace the electrical box from the drop-ceiling mounting kit on the back of the ceiling tile where you want the fan to be positioned. Cut out the outline for the box with a jab saw.
3. Put the ceiling tile back into position by tilting it, lifting it through the grid, rotating it back horizontal and lowering it down into the grid. Remove an adjacent tile in the same fashion as you removed the first tile in Step 1.
4. Raise the electrical box (it most likely has support arms on it, too) into the ceiling space above the grid. Adjust the support arms as necessary so that they clip onto the grid and the box is centered with the hole you cut. When slid into place, the bottom of the box should be flush with the bottom of the ceiling tile.
5. Install the support chain that came with the dropped-ceiling mounting kit. Screw the hanging hook to a joist above the electrical box. Hang the chain on the hook and extend it down to the electrical box/support arms. Cut the chain as necessary with your bolt cutter to make it the correct length and attach it to the hook on the electrical box or support arms.
6. Install electrical wiring between the electrical box to your designated switch or circuit breaker. Wiring may need to be Romex, BX cable or in conduit depending on your local electrical code. Use the appropriate electrical connectors, depending on your method of installation. Connect the wiring to the switch or circuit breaker.
7. Put the ceiling tile you are working through back into place.
8. Strip the wires in the electrical box back 1/2 inch. Connect the black with a wire nut, the white wires together with a wire nut and the green wires together with a wire nut. One of each colored wires will come from the fan and the other will be from the new electrical wiring you installed in Step 6.
Tags: ceiling tile, support arms, together with, together with wire, wires together, wires together with