The Ceiling Fan September 5th, 2004
Last Friday, I put up an expensive ceiling fan. Well, not that expensive for the fan — a $90 Hunter, 52 inch, ceiling-hugger design with 5 blades — that I bought at Home Depot. The expense was in the hanging part.<br />
<br />
When I pulled down the old fan in my Den, I found that that there was not an electrical box above it. The previous owners had drilled a vertical hole through a 4" by 12" cedar ceiling beam (12" is the vertical dimension) and hung the fan on a hook. That wasn't going to work for this fan. It wasn't up to Code, either.<br />
<br />
So, I went to my local hardware store to buy a 4×4 half-height square junction box to install into the beam. I knew I was going to have to cut out a chunk of wood, and planned to do it by drilling a bunch of holes and a then using a hammer and chisel to clean out the area.<br />
<br />
At the store, I couldn't find the junction box, but asked another customer who was holding one. He pointed them out and we talked about our projects. I made a comment "thank goodness for power tools." He asked if I had a reciprocating saw.<br />
<br />
"No, but that's been on my wish list for a while," I said. <br />
<br />
He responded, "I bought a combination kit by Ryobi at Home Depot for about $200. It had a reciprocating saw, drill, flashlight, chainsaw and circular saw." He even mentioned that he used the recip. saw to trim the bushes in his yard and to cut roots when removing stumps. We talked a while longer, and then I bought my $0.99 junction box and went home.<br />
<br />
So, later that afternoon, I stopped at my local Home Depot. They didn't have that exact package (no chainsaw), but they had a combo package for $169 that had the recip. saw, circ. saw, drill, flashlight, two 18v batteries, charger and a case to hold it all. They also had a $269 (or so) package with a couple more items, but still no chainsaw — it was available separately. I got the $169 package. The only thing that was not included was a blade for the recip. saw. Fortunately, I had some in my tool box.<br />
<br />
The next day, I cut a notch in the beam with the reciprocating saw. Easy! Then, I drilled holes in the cedar beam for the lag bolts I used to mount the fan's mounting bracket, and screwed in the lag bolts using the drill and a socket set.<br />
<br />
Nice fan. Really moves the air on slow speed. QUIET! But, it cost me $90+$0.99+$169+tax. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.<br />
<br />