Weekend Project: Installing a ceiling fan

It was my first time so I was a neRd about it and took pictures and some video once I was done. The main thing I was trying to avoid during this process was electrocuting myself. So before I did anything, I went to my basement and turned the electricity off in my bedroom. After that, it was just a fun Saturday morning project. Check it out.

Here's how the light looked before I started anything:
Plain, simple, served it's purpose.

The first step was to take this thing down. I was a little nervous about this because I didn't know how this thing was installed and if the proper harness would be in place for me to put up the ceiling fan, but luckily, it was. Here's how it looked as I was taking it down:


And here it is looking like a UFO on my floor:

Playing the role of makeshift electrician-ceiling-fan-installer-person, I had the parts to the ceiling fan scattered across my bed and the rest of my room.

The fan blades:

The motor:

The housing and light shades:

The bracket that holds the motor in place and the light fixture:

The first thing I had to do was put up the bracket that holds the ceiling fan's motor. This was pretty straight-forward since the bracket for the light I had up previously was mounted in pretty much the same way that this bracket needed to be mounted. So all I had to do was screw it into place.

From there, I had to install the motor and make an attempt at ensuring that it was level. I didn't do this so well, but it's not a big deal to go back and fix according to the instructional manual (yes, I read more than just blogs). At this point I also had to do the electrical wiring which I was a little nervous about. But I remembered a few things from my electrical engineering labs in college that helped me through that part. And of course, with no electricity on I didn't have to worry about killing myself with no one there to dial 9-1-1. Though at one point I did consider dialing 9-1- on my cellphone just in case. I figured I could muster up enough strength post electrical shock to dial the last 1 and scream and yell via speakerphone. Shrewd, I know.



The next step was to screw the fan housing onto the mounting bracket. This was pretty easy as well. I also screwed a couple of the fan blade brackets to the actual fan blades and put them up as well. That was actually one of the more tricky steps of this entire process because it was hard lining up the fan blades with the screw holes.


The next step was to install the light fixture to the ceiling fan. To do this, I had to take off the cap at the bottom of the fan and replace it with the light fixture. Part of this process was making the proper wire connections but this time it was made easy by the fact that the harnesses were already color-coded and you just snapped the connections together and that was it.



Once that was done, all the wires were tucked-in and the light-fixture screwed into place.

From there all I had to do was screw in the lightbulbs and lightshades I was done...

VOILA!

After this I cut my electricity back on and flipped the switch (note the cranking azz lil Wayne track in the background)...

All-in-all it took me about an hour or so to do and I am very satisfied with the results. As I said level, I didn't level the ceiling fan as good as I should have so that'll be a quick project for another Saturday morning sometime soon. But it operates nicely and it adds a touch of class/sophistication to my room. Mission accomplished!

P.S. - I am willing to perform ceiling fan installs for $40 a whop. Holla at me baby!