How to Move a Ceiling Fan

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Things You'll Need

  • Stepladder

  • Variable speed drill

  • Philips head screw tip

  • Wire pliers

  • Electrical tape

Relocating ceiling fans does not have to be a feared task.

Moving a ceiling fan does not have to be a project feared by the do-it-yourself homeowner. Most ceiling fans connect to regular house wiring and have a black, white and green (or bare) wire to match that of the house. Ceiling fans with light fixtures have a blue wire separate from the rest for the light kit. However, it connects to the same black wire from the ceiling as the black wire from the fan does, so it is as simple to wire as a fan with no light.

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Step 1

Locate the breaker(s) that controls the flow of electricity to the ceiling fan and its new location and switch them to the off position. Place a stepladder under the ceiling fan. Remove the bulbs and globes to prevent breakage during the move.

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Step 2

Back the screws holding the canopy covering the electrical connections out far enough to free the canopy and reveal the wires. Locate the wire nuts holding the connections together. Remove electrical tape covering the wire nuts, if present. Check the connections with a voltmeter to be certain that the electricity is off.

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Step 3

Draw a diagram indicating the wire connections. Twist the wire nuts in a counter clockwise direction to remove them. Untwist the wires to all connections with a pair of wire pliers. Lift up on the down rod to free it from the mounting plate and set the ceiling fan aside.

Step 4

Remove the screws holding the mounting bracket to the ceiling. Move the stepladder to the new location for the ceiling fan. Secure the mounting bracket to the ceiling in the same manner it was at its previous location with a variable speed drill and a Philips head screw tip.

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Step 5

Hang the down rod of the ceiling fan in the mounting bracket. Insert the blue and black wires from the fan into the same wire nut with the black wire from the ceiling. Twist the wire nut until it is tight and wrap it with electrical tape. Connect the white wires in the same manner followed by the ground wires (sometimes green or bare).

Tip

Install a light fixture or cap the ends of the wires from the previous location of the ceiling fan with electrical tape and cover the opening in the ceiling with a cover plate.

Wrap all wire nut connections with electrical tape to cover the opening at the bottom.

Remove the ceiling fan blades to ease the removal and installation of the ceiling fan, if needed.

Warning

Do not stand on the top of a stepladder.

Never work with live electricity.

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