Knock three times

Replacing a ceiling fan in a new home is a relatively minor task that most people would be able to accomplish in a day. Replacing a ceiling fan in an old home with knob and tube wiring and no structural support for the previous fan, is another story altogether. We knew this was a job we would have to tackle pretty early into our homeownership for three reasons. The original fan was A} not attractive B} not operable and C} kind of falling out of the ceiling. My mom was kind enough to make the new fan our house warming gift and after debating a for few weeks we finally ordered one from Lowe's. We couldn't wait to finally have light in our bedroom so as soon as it arrived Steve got down to business.

The fact that we were going to have some problems was pretty obvious as soon as he took down the old fan. It was hanging from a hook twisted into the ceiling above. Seriously?! Seriously?! This made sense to the previous owners? Well needless to say, we had a little bit of a melt down. If the original fan wasn't supported by the structure, how do we hang the new one? The multiple, slightly panicked phone calls to friends and relatives ensued. Luckily for us, buddy Green came over with his tools and rescued us from ourselves.

After surveying the scene in the attic, Green and Steve were ready for action. To figure out where to hang the fan, the guys located the wiring, the joist it could hang from and cleverly double checked its location by drilling a small hole and poking a piece of wire through so we could all okay its new home. Next, they drilled two holes into the support beam so the fan would have a stable place to go, then screwed in the mounting bracket. Green took some drywall mud and patched the area not covered by the new fan motor. By this time is was pretty late and we were low on light, so Green went home only after making sure Steve could take it on his own from there the next day. In the morning we finished up and installed as directed.

*Note: Take the time to line everything up correctly {some mounting brackets have a notch in them that the fan must line up to; male and female parts, wink wink!} otherwise you will get intense wigglage, and no one likes that kind of male/female wiggling in their bedroom.