So I was going to remove a flush mounted ceiling light with a ceiling fan in my bedroom. I live in a townhouse in Alexandria, VA that was built in the mid 50s, I believe 1954.

I have never seen a box like this in my life. It appears to be attached by two metal bars that are nailed into the top on and bottom of the attic beams. I have included pictures for reference (too big to attach). Sorry for the fuzzyness as I was balancing on the beams. If I push down on it it moves so I assume it won't hold the fan properly. I have a slide ceiling support I plan on using to replace it that will (after double checking) cover the distance of 22" between beams.

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The problem I have is I'm unsure of how to remove this box since it appears to be nailed into the bottom of the beam which is obviously covered by the sheet rock (which looks fairly modern compared to the rest in the attic). Do I have to knock a hole into my ceiling where the beam is to pull out the nail or whatever it has supporting it?

Just an FYI, the nail on top isn't even driven all the way down as well, you can push down on the metal arm and it has some movement on the nail.

Any other ideas or concepts? If you are interested in the wiring I posted that in a separate section since that is also a nightmare.

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...ml#post2288123

 

You don't attach pictures you insert. Use a program like IRFanview (free) to crop the pictures and reduce the width to about 800 pixels or less. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/li...-pictures.html

 

I can't seem to edit my post to change the pictures to embedded. Anyone have any ideas to help with this problem though? Thanks.

 

You may have to cut the box supports with a Sawzall or hacksaw blade and bend out of the way. To help limit SPAM post editing is limited to 3 hours.

 

Hey I live in Alexandria too (maybe same neighborhood, the wiring looks identical) and have the same ceiling boxes in my house. I was just curious how your installation went? Did you install a new box? Any tips?

 

Pswift, Cslice hasn't been on the forums since July of last year. I doubt you will get answer. If you need help please start your own thread.