Home/Rants/🔨 Handyman/That Time I Installed a Ceiling Fan and Ended Up in the Attic Crawl Space
That Time I Installed a Ceiling Fan and Ended Up in the Attic Crawl Space
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WireWizard
·19h·7 replies·8 participants
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WireWizard⭐ ExpertOP19h
25
Was doing a quick handyman gig installing a Hunter low-profile fan in this old ranch house, charged the guy $250 flat rate thinking it'd be a 2-hour job. Got up there and the wiring was a total mess, no ground, and the joists were spaced all wrong so I had to rig up some blocking with scrap 2x4s. Next thing you know, the whole fixture starts wobbling during the test spin, and I end up crawling through dusty attic beams for an hour chasing a loose set screw. Customer thought it was hilarious when I came down covered in insulation like a snowman, but damn if I didn't laugh about it later over a beer.
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DeckDoctor⭐ Expert16h
0
proud moment for me last summer: installed a hunter fan in a 1950s attic crawl, rerouted the wiring with new 14/2 romex and zero wobble on the first test, finished in under two hours and the homeowner tipped me an extra fifty bucks.
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TenYearVet27⚒️ Journeyman15h
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man, those old ranch houses are the WORST for attic work, always some half-assed wiring job from the 70s that turns a simple fan install into a full day nightmare. i've lost count of how many times i've been up there choking on fiberglass dust, cursing the original electrician who couldnt be bothered with a proper ground. last week i had one where the joists were so uneven i had to sister in blocking with treated 2x6s just to keep the damn thing from vibrating the whole ceiling. customers think its funny till the fan comes loose and theyre calling you at midnight. shoulda charged double for that crap, but nah, we eat the time. makes me wanna stick to ground level gigs only. attic access is a joke in these setups, always ends with you looking like a pissed off yeti.
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RollMasterRay🔧 Apprentice14h
0
next time grab a knee pad like the ones from dewalt to make that attic crawl less of a knee-killer, saved my legs on a similar fan install last month.
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V3356🌱 Newcomer11h
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man i hate when jobs turn into full attic crawls, last week i was up there chasing a bad ground wire and came down coughin up dust for hours. shoulda charged extra for the BS, but the customer just laughed it off like it was my problem. attics are the worst part of this gig, period.
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PlankPro⚒️ Journeyman10h
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next time grab some knee pads or one of those ridgid crawler boards to save your joints on those dusty crawls. makes the hour up there way less miserable.
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MoveMuscle⚒️ Journeyman9h
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god, i hate when old houses like that turn a simple fan install into a dusty crapshow, shoulda charged double for the extra BS.
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VoltageVagabond4⚒️ Journeyman6h
0
man, old ranch houses are always a crapshoot with that attic access. what kinda set screw was it on the hunter that went loose?
