New Ceiling Fan w/ Lights Install Help

Hi All,

Thanks in advance for reading and any suggestions you are able to provide. I would like to install a ceiling fan in my living room. Currently, there is no lighting fixture in the ceiling to remove and replace with a fan. I'm fine with crawling up into the attic and cutting a hole, mounting a box, etc. etc.

Where I need the help is with wiring. My living room has two entrance doorways (one from foyer, other from dinning room). Next to each doorway is a single light switch. Both switches are connected to a single outlet on the opposite side of the room. I'd like to ideally tap into the switches to turn on the lights for the fan.

How would you go about installing? I'd ideally like to have two switches, one for the lights, and the other for the fan motor, however, it is probably too redundant to duplicate both sets of switches on both doorways. Would I be better off choosing which doorway to have the switches at, and expanding the switch box to accomodate two switches?

I also have no idea how to wire this or get power to it. Can I run a wire from one of the outlets up through the wall and into the fan box in the attic?

Thanks so much!

 

Tell us the wires and how they are connected at both switches and the receptacle.

 

I will need to confirm once I am home, but if memory serves me, the outlet has a black wire on the bottom terminal and a white wire on the top. Both switches have white wires attached to both terminals.

 

I had a triple gang box in my LR that controlled hallway lights, the celing fan lights and a receptacle. I wired the receptable always hot and use that switch to control the fan blades (obviously had different wires running through it for that). In the bedrooms, I had 14-3 but only a single gang box so I installed a double switch which fits into a single slot to control both fan and lights. You might be able to pull of a mix of the two here.

 

Here is a link to a quick diagram I made in Paint to help show how everything is currently connected. Both switches control the same outlet.
Untitled.jpg picture by jbg420 - Photobucket

The large black wires are the bundles, and the brown wires are really white. Hope someone can make some sense of this. Wire nuts are labeled.

 

i would buy a fan light combo switch for your new install and you'll need to know what gauge your wiring is where you want to tie in for power.if its 14 gauge you'll need a roll of 14/3 it has 1 black 1 white 1 red 1 ground,if it's 12 gauge you'll get 12/3, it's called romex simpull if it's aluminum wiring i wouldn't mess with it because it's brittle and breaks real easy and needs to be coated etc etc, anyways just run your wire where ever it's easiest for you, like from an existing light switch box or socket outlet, adding a old work box for your new switch is easy if your connecting in to a wall socket,try to stay on inside walls so you'll have room to get to the top plate from the attic.turn off the circuit breaker and check it with a test light to make sure there's no power now,install new box above wall socket and run short piece of wire from outlet to new box,connect it up. black to black white to white ground to ground.in the new box you connect black wire from the new switch(hunter brand) to the incoming hot black wire you just ran,connect the red from your new three wire you installed for the fan to the red on the new switch,that will control the light kit, connect the black wire from your three wire to the blue wire on your switch,that will control the fan motor,then connect the white coming in to the white of your three wire connect ground from your three wire plus a a 6 inch piece of scrap ground wire to the ground coming in and connect the other end of that 6 inch piece of ground wire to your ground screw on your new switch,then at the other end connect the fan's blue wire to the red wire you installed,the fan's black wire to the black wire you installed white to white and ground to ground and your done hope that helps

 

jnjw2, I have no clue what you wrote in your post because there were no paragraphs or proper formatting. I do know the OP did not mark travelers and common on his diagram so there is no way to know what is correct.

jbgeye, we can't give you advice till you indicate which wires are common and which are travelers. No need to include grounds.