Replacing ceiling box - old work

I took down our old ceiling fan/light in our master bedroom today, intending to immediately put up our new ceiling fan/light. Well, the mounting bracket for the new one didn't fit the holes in the ceiling box. And the old one wasn't rated for ceiling fan use. Long story short, I tore the old box out of the ceiling and bought a new box (this one) - but now I can't get it secured to the joist all the way. I couldn't figure out how to pre-drill the holes given the small 4" hole - I can't get my drill up in the ceiling, and the holes in the bracket are a good 1" to 1.5" above the bottom of the ceiling. You can see in the pics below that I got them most of the way in on an angle, but they're getting stuck there and the heads are stripping. Any tips for getting this attached securely? Or is there some other type of old work box I can use that isn't such a pain to attach to the joist?

 

You have the wrong box to try working it from below. That box was meant for attic access. Here is the box you need to be using, and it will require a 4" hole. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Madison-Ele...Box/1000156825

 

I like the box Larry linked to.

I would also suggest using a nutdriver instead of a screwdriver.

 

Thank you both for the helpful tips and info! It doesn't appear that anyone carries that box locally so I'll have to order it. I'm not seeing anything else like it locally either. Just the one I already tried and the ones that stretch arms between the trusses. Since I'm right next to the truss though I'd like it to mount directly to the truss.

 

Your box was at Lowe's, so I linked to Lowe's, too. Maybe your store doesn't carry it, but I am sure it can be sent via company truck from another store free of charge. I note it isn't available, either, at my local store, but can be shipped to the store in 3 days.

 

The Madison Electric box arrived yesterday. I installed it last night using a nut driver. The hardest part was getting the cables into the box. The break-away openings in the box are quite small. It all worked out in the end though and our new fan/light is installed and looks beautiful! Thank you chandler and pcboss!

 

Glad we could help make it happen, and you got 'er done.