paddle fan R&R high work

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ishium 80439

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Denver foothills via the Horn of Africa
Just wanted a couple of opinions on this one:

HO calls and says he is moving. In his current home he has a fan that he wants moved into the new house. They are about 7 miles apart. Each house has ceilings that are about 20' (according to him). The current house will just a blank placed over the opening, the new house has a fan that must be taken down first. I figured 2 guys, 3 sections of 5' scaffolding, set up and break down twice, travel and the actual fixture install (assuming that the new location has a fan rated box). I gave him a ball park of abot $700 and he winced. I wasn't willing to back away from that (knowing that actual job conditions could have easily cost 2 guys an entire day and the price would need to have been adjusted up) but it was too rich for his blood.

Just wondering where some of you would have been. Thanks
 
Sounds like he is better off leaving the fan alone. BTW, I have found that HO are often wrong about how high the ceilings are. I bet a 12 foot step ladder would work. It is rare that I need more than that to hang a fan in a residence.
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Sounds like he is better off leaving the fan alone. BTW, I have found that HO are often wrong about how high the ceilings are. I bet a 12 foot step ladder would work. It is rare that I need more than that to hang a fan in a residence.
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Up here in the hills where people like to see how tall a room they can afford to heat we have many fans hung from ridgebeams that are in excess of 25-30ft.

We get good $$ to install/change fans, chandeliers, lamps, smoke alarm batteries etc. And we are real accustomed to wincing HOs. "$200 to changa a battery?", "yeah, unless it's a difficult one".
 
bkludecke said:
Up here in the hills where people like to see how tall a room they can afford to heat we have many fans hung from ridgebeams that are in excess of 25-30ft.


For some reason it seems that any new house built out here has some sort of requirement for tall ceilings. It's almost as if people think anything less than 12' is gauche. At some point people started equating ceiling height with opulence. All that I can think of is "Great, you've got a LR that you can grow a tree in, but don't you realize that could have been another BR on the 2nd floor?" I guess when you build a zillion tract homes from 2 floor plans you need something to make it dramatic.
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A 14 or 16' A frame ladder would be quicker if you have the room to get it in & set up. We got tired or renting and got one a long time ago. With 2 people they are no big deal. I would do it for $450. Can't imagine it would take much more then 2 hours unless other work had to be done or your waiting on the HO.

Around here a 12' A frame is a bit low. If you stood on the top and reached as far as you can... Not for me.
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
If anyone wanted me to stand on a conductive ladder, it would be at the scrap yard, cash in hand, by days end.

Electricians do NOT use metal ladders.
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Whoa! I have Little Giant alum ladders on all our service trucks. For the 95% of the work we do on non-energized systems this is a great ladder. When we work on energized equipment we not only avoid conductive ladders but a whole lot of proceedures and PPE come into play.
 
active1 said:
I would do it for $450. Can't imagine it would take much more then 2 hours unless other work had to be done or your waiting on the HO.
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A job like this I would have to figure I'm going to use up the day. There are unforeseens lurking around most of these jobs. From what I see ishium is giving a bid over the phone.

I like the $750.
 
I would look into the rental or borrowing of an a-frame. 2 men half a day, plus extra if new box needed to be installed. I still come out to minimum of $600.

Dennis Alwon said:
BTW, I have found that HO are often wrong about how high the ceilings are. I bet a 12 foot step ladder would work. It is rare that I need more than that to hang a fan in a residence.
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I had a GC ask me to replace some fixtures at a remodel and he said it was tall ceiling so we bought a 12' step. Got to the job and worked off my 4'. Good grief.
 
Definitely stay away from the scaffolding. Just rent/borrow a 16' ladder and the full day job turns into a half a day job with 2 men. I'd do it for $600 provided the new box can support the fan. If you do have to brace for a fan I'd go $675. With a ceiling height around that high I seriously doubt that the box up there isn't fan rated already though.
 
GilbeSpark said:
I've got a Little Giant 17 footer and it's great. How is the MXZ21 to set up? Is it much better than a standard 16' ladder?
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It's 11' folded up. I can set it up by myself up to 15', but over that it takes two people. Extended all the way, it is 21', so standing on the 19' rung, I can reach a 26' ceiling.
The "Skyscraper" series cannot be used as extension ladders, only as a-frames. The 21 is heavy (103 lbs), so moving it is a pain, best done with 2 people as well.
Biggest advantage over a standard 16' is you can use it on stairs, or facing up against the wall.
Biggest disadvantage: it's aluminum.

Pricey (826 clams) for a ladder, but it paid for itself the first two times I used it, so I consider it an investment.
 
so get the ladder and charge the same rate as the guy who uses the scaffolding...you were smart enough to invest in the right tools...get your dividend...
 
electricguy61 said:
You use an aluminum ladder for electrical work?
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For this size & type of ladder, they only make in aluminum. Fiberglass would be far too heavy. I am aware of 16 and 20' fiberglass stepladders, but they aren't as versatile as the Little Giants. For the most part, I'm working on de-energized circuits anyway.
 
REGULATIONS

Safety regulations promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establish specific requirements intended to prevent workers from positioning portable metal ladders where they might contact electrical conductors [29 CFR* 1926.450(a)(11) and 1926.951(c)(1)]. These regulations stipulate that "portable metal or conductive ladders shall not be used for electrical work or where they may contact electrical conductors." Other pertinent regulations require that "portable ladders in use shall be tied, blocked, or otherwise secured to prevent their being displaced" [29 CFR 1926.450(a)(10]. Additional OSHA regulations require employers to instruct each worker to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions [29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2)], and to provide prompt medical attention in case of serious injury [29 CFR 1926.50].
 
I think any time you need both hands to work, you shouldn't be on a ladder(OSHA).
Whenever we do high work like this we get the scaffolding. I guess with the little giant two guys can get up there, one on each side?

Still seems dicey. Why take such risks?
Get the scaffolding with the railings on the platform and go home in one piece.

I think $700 is a fair price if the box in the 2nd house is fan rated.
 
Naaa, you don't at all need scaffolding! Could you use it? Sure. But it's a COMPLETE waste of time. I've put up fixtures with higher ceilings than that and never even considered getting scaffolding.

A fiberglass ladder would be preferable, but it's not like you're working in any kind of exposed setting....this is a finished house. If the switch is off or better yet the circuit breaker is off then the ladder is not going to get energized.

Come on people, this isn't risky, it's hanging a ceiling fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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