[donaldball]

I'm installing a few ceiling fans for my in-laws. I've done at least a dozen over the course of my life, and I swear, each time, I discover a new snafu.

This isn't as bad as last time, when I took down the primary light in my girlfriend's living room and discovered no box, just a couple of drywall screws loosely holding it in place. This time, there are boxes, two 4" round plastic, one 4" octagonal metal, but I can't seem to find any screws or nails attaching them to the joists. It is a little hard to see, since they all sport an interior coating of ceiling paint and texture (thanks, lazy painter!), but I've felt all around, I can't find any screw or nail heads.

I've yanked on them a little bit, thinking maybe they were just being held up with sticky foam tape and friction, but no dice so far. Any suggestions?

 

[sirsparksalot]

You need to have a fan-rated box. They sell them at Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

You don't want to hang a fan on a plastic box, even if nailed to the stud, imo.

 

[Security101]

That's also probably what you're pulling on too... :yes:

Jim

 

[sirsparksalot]

That's also probably what you're pulling on too... :yes:

Jim

Possible on the steel box, but if I could, I would go into the attic to make sure.

 

[donaldball]

I am yanking on these boxes so I can replace them with properly supported fan-rated boxes. I'm just embarrassed to find that I can't figure out what's attaching the old boxes!

One of the boxes has attic access, so I'm going to poke around from above and see what's going on. I just thought I'd also check here and see if there are any non-obvious attachment mechanisms of which I should be aware? I've never seen a box that wasn't screwed or nailed into something.

 

[McSteve]

If they're standard nail-on boxes, the nails are on the outside of the box, not visible from inside.

 

[donaldball]

If they're standard nail-on boxes, the nails are on the outside of the box, not visible from inside.

Thanks. How would I go about removing the boxes if this is the case?

 

[McSteve]

With square boxes nailed to a stud/joist, you can usually get a hacksaw blade in between the box and stud and cut the nails. The same principle applies to round boxes, but you might have to cut through some sheetrock to reach the nails. Here's an example of what you're probably dealing with, so you can visualize the situation: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

If you don't have attic access, you'll still have to find an old-work fan-rated box to replace it with, something like this, maybe: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[rjniles]

Thanks. How would I go about removing the boxes if this is the case?

Take a hammer and a small flat bar, drive the box up into the attic and use the bar to lever out the nails. If you have no attic access you will need a fan box that you can install from below.

See this: http://homerepair.about.com/od/electricalrepair/ss/elec_box_ltg_5.htm