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Advice on 1st major electrical project

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Jim Port 
#1 ·
Hi,

I will be installing 3 ceiling fans into three bedrooms in my house. Each bedroom has no existing overhead light fixture. I will also be installing a switch to control the fan and light separately. This is my first major (major for me) electrical project in my house and I want to make sure that I am doing everything right. I have planned out almost everything and have just a few questions for my own piece of mind.

Q1. I've drawn out my circuit plan and want to confirm it is electrically correct, is it? (* simply identifies that that box will not have a 14/2 leaving the box to continue downstream)


Q2. In Canada, I believe code says that the ground coming from the fan/light must go directly to a ground screw within the junction box, as must the hot wire supplying electricity to the box, and they must be separate ground screws. The fan-rated ceiling junction boxes I've found only have one ground screw installed but multiple screw-holes for other screws which are not required for mounting. I assume that I can just add another ground screw into one of these holes and use that, is this correct?

Q3. I will be installing the boxes into plaster ceilings and walls in a 50 year old house, what would be the best way of cutting the required holes without creating cracks in the plaster?

Thanks in advance
 
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#2 ·
#4 · (Edited)
It's brittle and cracks propagate. You can't chisel it. Maybe somebody makes a chemical that dissolves it. The material behind it snags cutting tools. You could get a holesaw but it is very expensive in that size. Abrading it is safe. You could also drill many small holes in a circular pattern using a masonry bit. You could probably stop a crack from propagating by drilling a hole at the end and then spackle it.

Probably it's easier to find out what won't work.
 
#5 ·
a 4" hole saw is not that big an investment with every thing your doing. you will need a good variable speed drill and go slow, when the blade gets to the lath it will want to grab. I would suggest drilling a small 1/4" pilot hole from attic side so you are missing ceiling joists with your box if you can figure center of room if not you may need to drill a small 1/8" hole from room side at fan location and push a wire thru to attic to see location. the small hole is an easy patch.
 
#6 ·
#8 ·
At the switch box you would splice the incoming and outgoing blacks to each other and add two short pigtails to feed each switch. The black and red would be the other side of each switch.

The whites would splice to all the other whites. all grounds together.

I can't answer about the one ground per screw.
 
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