Let there be light... and nice new ceiling fans, too

The final step in our basement refresh was to install two ceiling fans and a new light fixture. These replaced some ancient ceramic lightbulb holders and really made a difference in the look and feel of the basement. In this first picture, you can see one of the fans already installed in the background. I'll walk through installing the second fan, and just show off what the room looks like with everything installed.

Installing a ceiling fan is really easy these days. First, identify where it's going to hang, then remove the fixture. These wires showed some signs of wear, so I took off the old tape and re-taped them. 

Next I unpacked the fan. Everything that's needed is included, except a screwdriver. We got these fans from Lowes for $20 on sale. Can't beat that, even though the light fixtures are pretty ugly.

The bracket attaches to the electrical box with a pair of long machine screws. The wires are pulled through the center of the bracket.










The fan motor hangs from a hook on the bracket, which makes the wiring much easier. Match each wire from the fan with the same color wire from the bracket, put on some wire nuts, and that's it.

Once the connections are made, screw the motor housing onto the bracket. A cover then slides up and over the motor to hide the bracket and all the wiring.




Then it's time to attach the fan blades. It's a two step process; first screw the blade holders onto the blade, then screw the whole assembly onto the motor housing.










Another housing then slides up around the light fixture to support the glass light cover. I had already installed the bulb here too, so I could test it out.


Success! The fan worked and the light was bright.

Like I said, a simple project, but getting this air movement in the basement made a big difference.