frizbeedog said:
Put a block in from above when you have access.
frizbeedog said:
I find myself using the Westinghouse Fanmaster Jr. box most of the time when I have access from above to replace an old light box. I will install a 2x4 block, if need be. I use the Westinghouse Fanmaster Jr. box to cut in fan boxes in old work too when no light existed before. The SmartBox Fan Box is good for when the old light box was nailed on the side of the ceiling joist, whether or not you have access from above. When there's no access from above, and the old light box was installed between two joists, I like the Reiker Super Fan Brace Box. It seems the sturdiest of all the spreader bar type I've tried. The Arlington MB8 is a lifesaver sometimes too. I keep one on the truck.
frizbeedog said:
I'm pretty sure they all come from the same OEM.
frizbeedog said:
Best and worst fans....ease of installation.
I dunno. They're all about the same after a while. Just be advised that most fans now take a candelabra based lamp, and I've run into many now that take a candelabra based
globe lamp only. The bent tip lamps are too long. Start stocking some candelabra based bent tip and globe lamps on your truck, since people always forget to buy them. Hunter fans are nice, but they present problems to the electrician he needs to look out for. They overhang any slope ceiling fan box quite a bit and look ugly. They're hard to use with a medallion. They also have these 4 rubber "bumpers" that clip into the mounting baseplate that hold the canopy off the ceiling a little bit, and is sometimes the source of a customer objection. If you tighten that baseplate to the box real nice, and the ceiling is drywall, you can poke those 4 rubber bumpers right up through the drywall.
frizbeedog said:
Drink plenty of water. Don't play in traffic.
frizbeedog said:
Hey, beats me Just use a fan rated box.
frizbeedog said:
....and I dare you to talk about manufactured homes.
Just realize that the trusses are often normally made of 2x2's. The existing light box is an old work type, most normally, installed in the area between two trusses. It will more than likely need blanked up and a fan box installed on the bottom of the nearest truss chord.