Yeah, thanks for the tips and actually I've got a proper fan box. This one is on a bar that twists so you can slap a wrench on it and turn tilll it puts enough pressure to hold and I mean hold so you could swing on it. I used one of these in my town house, but there the joists ran the way I wanted. In any event your right that fishing across will be amazingly difficult, but I have one thing I want to try before I give up completely. There is a duct that runs perpendicular to the joists, so I might be able to work down to it and over. If not, I'm just going to make the necessary holes and patch. My wife is not a fan of painting, but tough, once it's done, she'll accept and like the results and will paint without much fuss. grin. This is a good experience actually cause I have a hallway that has no light at all and I can't figure out how this came to be. This hall area has two stairwells and how anyone could not have a light in that area is beyond me. So, we're going to put one in. The good thing is I have power behind a blank plate, so I suspect there could have been a light and it was removed for some other reason I can't quite fathom. There's nothing like coming behind someone and trying to figure out what they were doing. On Aug 7, 2009, at 10:49 PM, Bob Kennedy wrote:
> Unfortunately there is no easy fix when retro fitting electrical > lines. I've seen some different long drill bits like you have but I > don't know the diameter and that will be important since it has to > be larger than the 14 gauge you'll need to be running. > > One bit of good luck for you cutting the hole next to a joist. code > and good sense require you to mount the box either on a joist or to > a stud running crossways to the joist. You can't use a plastic box > with the wings that pop out behind drywall. At least not if you want > to hang a fan on it. > > Tell Mrs. my wife complained about the dust too but I think the best > idea is to use a hole saw big enough that you can fit your hand > through the hole. With a hole saw you can save the cut out, then > when you're ready to close up, cut some thin strips of plywood or > you can get larger if you have scrap. Cut the wood a couple inches > longer than the hole is round. Push the wood into the hole and > center it over the opening. Run a drywall screw through the drywall > and into each end of the wood. Now you can put a couple screws > through the cut out and screw it to the wood behind the opening. A > little tip to make this easier is to start a screw in the center. > This will come back out but it gives you a handle to hold the wood > while you drive the screws in. > > I just did this project during the spring. With any luck your hands > are smaller than mine and you won't have to use a 4 inch hole saw > like I did. Fishing the tape across gets pretty impossible after 2 > joists because you can't manipulate it after that point. The only > simple fix would be to try picking up power on a wall that runs > perpendicular to the joists so you could run up through the plates > at the top and into the bay where the fan will mount. > > The way it is, you might be able to cut a hole between every other > joist and see if you can feed the wire through. I stripped the wire > back so I could bend a hook in the bear wire and cut off the black > and white even with the insulation. That's so I didn't end up with a > big knot to try pulling through each hole. The hook is in case I was > only close. I had a wire coat hanger I could catch the other hook > with and show the way. > > When you get the wire run, you can use some joint compound to seal > the opening. There are all kinds of "textured" applicators. There > are rollers, sponges and things I probably don't even know about > now. I hate that kind of texture but it was popular for a while. I > had to make those repairs when I had younger kids. Somehow > "accidents" kept happening. "Daddy I was picking up the ball bat and > it went through the ceiling." Not the hardest repair you'll ever do, > especially when you finish running the wire. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Scott Howell > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 8:32 PM > Subject: [BlindHandyMan] installing a ceiling fan-the tricky part > > All, > > I have a minor problem, ok not a problem so much as I'm just trying > to find an easy way to do something that would be simple if I'd just > stop trying to make life difficult. > I cut a hole in the ceiling for the fan box and I should point out > there is no fan or light etc. so a new install from scratch. I also > have the added problem of fishing wire from where the switch is to the > center of the room and of course the joists have the absolute nerve to > be running perpendicular to the direction I need to go; damn builders > didn't bother to consult with me before putting the place together, > but ah well. Ok, so, yeah I could knock a hole every other joist and > bang a hole in each joist and I only need a hole large enough to fit > my hand in so I can fish the wire. Now because I'm such a clever > fool, I wasted my money and got one of those four foot rods with the > bit on the end, meant for drilling hole. Well first it seemed like a > fine idea, but controlling that sucker wasn't easy and I'm fairly sure > I piloted the bit under the duct that had the nerve to be in my way, > but then I hit something that took the drill out of my hands and smash > the hell out of my forearm. Now not to be out done by the drill, I > tried again and got beat up by the drill again, but since I lack the > good sense to stop, I did punch through to the other side, but I have > no idea where in hell I ended up. So far my wife hasn't found any > holes in the bedrooms upstairs and that must mean I made holes > generally in the right direction. However, because I do lack common > sense, I didn't realize that trying to pilot the fish tape through the > holes I made will be damn near impossible. So, I think the holes are > generally in line with each other, but has anyone any tips on driving > a fish tape um, well, ahuh blindly through the joists? I'm trying so > hard to avoid making anymore holes and trying to justify the cost of > the bit/rod deal. I mean it'll be useful in driving up the wall into > the whatever it's called up there, but seems I'd have to run the fish > tape up that way and not through the hole where the fan box will go. > Of course luck would have it that the hole I made is right against > the beam and I'm hoping it won't cause me a lot of problems. > Of course the real hoot to all this is if I end up making holes, I got > one of those ceilings with the popcorn stuff on it. Well it's more > like thick, sharp, knuckle-slashing popcorn stuff. So, patching the > holes and finding that stuff will be interesting, but I still have the > plug I cut out of the ceiling, so matching it shouldn't be to bad and > it'll be easier in the end to patch that then if it were all smooth. > See I'm trying to avoid making the lovely spouse unhappy with > additional destruction. She's not overly happy with the dust, but she > understands dust is a way of life in the construction business and > well I tried taping the shop vac to the drill and that sort of > worked. :) So, a little less dust. Well hey, any thoughts appreciated. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
