Greater Lansing

Ceiling fan installation and replacement

Whether this is an hour or half a day is decided by the box in the ceiling, not by the fan. A standard lighting box holds a couple of pounds hanging still; a fan weighs up to fifty and shakes every minute it runs, so it needs a box marked for fan support and fixed to framing. Swapping an existing fan is usually the quick version. Putting one where a light used to be often is not.

What is actually wrong

A light fixture hangs still and weighs a couple of pounds. A fan weighs fifteen to fifty and shakes every minute it runs. The electrical box has to be rated for that, marked as suitable for fan support, and fixed to framing rather than to the ceiling board. A standard box is not, and a fan hung off one works perfectly until the day it does not.

This is the single thing worth checking before anything else, and it is why replacing an existing fan is usually straightforward while putting a fan where a light used to be often is not. One is a swap. The other may need the box changed, which means getting above the ceiling or opening it.

Ceiling height and slope decide the rest. A flush mount for a low ceiling, a downrod for a high one, and a slope-capable canopy for anything vaulted. Hanging a standard canopy on a pitched ceiling is how a fan ends up wobbling and chewing its own mount.

Balance is the part people live with and should not have to. A wobble is almost always blade imbalance or a loose canopy, and it is fixable in minutes with a balancing kit — not something to accept because the fan is new.

Where this stops

When it is not a handyman job

This is at the top of the page rather than the bottom because getting it wrong costs you a wasted visit. Insured, and no contractor license is claimed or implied — the Michigan residential builder license is not held.

No electrical license is held. This is fixture work on an existing switched circuit. A new circuit, a new switch drop, a new box where no supply exists, anything in the panel — licensed electrician, named on the quote and referred out.
Aluminum wiring or anything that looks like knob-and-tube is stopped and referred, not worked around.
A fan will not be hung off a box that is not rated for one, at any price. It is the whole reason this page exists.
The fan is yours to choose. We will say if the span suits the room and whether the ceiling can carry the drop, but we do not warrant somebody else hardware.
No attic or gable fan work on this page — that is ventilation rather than a room fan and it lives on its own service page.

The work itself

What actually gets done

Checking the existing box first and saying plainly whether it is fan-rated, because that answer changes the job before anything is bought.

A fan-rated box fitted where the existing one is not — braced between joists or screwed to framing, not held by the ceiling board.

Old fan or light fixture taken down and disposed of.

New fan assembled and hung on an existing switched circuit, flush, on a downrod, or on a slope canopy to suit the ceiling.

Blades balanced and the canopy tightened so it runs without wobble.

Pull chains, remote receivers and wall controls fitted where the fan comes with them.

A fan taken out and a plain fixture or a blanking plate put back, which is a request we get as often as the other way round.

This work sits inside General Repairs, which carries the invoiced price bands for the trade with the sample size printed beside every figure.

Before you call anybody

Doing it yourself, and when that stops being the right call

Reasons to handle it in-house

A like-for-like swap onto an existing fan-rated box, on an existing switch, is within reach of a confident DIYer with the power off and a second person to take the weight.
The instructions that come with a modern fan are decent, and the hardest part is physical rather than technical.
A wobble is usually a balancing kit and twenty minutes. Nobody needs to be called out for that, and the kit comes in the box.
Taking an old fan down and putting a plain fixture back is genuinely simple, and it is worth knowing you can.

Reasons to bring somebody in

The box is the whole safety question and it is the thing hardest to judge from below. If it is not marked for fan support it has to be changed, and changing it from underneath without wrecking the ceiling is the skill.
Holding thirty pounds of fan over your head at the top of a ladder while finding three small screws is a two-person job and the main way people get hurt doing this.
Where there is no fan there now, the honest answer is often that part of this is a licensed electrician job. Knowing which part before you start is worth something.
A vaulted ceiling changes the ladder, the canopy and the downrod all at once, and it is where DIY attempts most often stop halfway.

What it costs

There is no price list for this, and here is what actually decides the number.

The same three words describe a twenty-minute job and a two-day one. Rather than publish a figure that is wrong for one of them, here is what moves it — so you can work out roughly which end of it you are at before anybody comes out.

Whether the existing box is fan-rated. A straight swap onto a rated box is the quick version; changing the box is the job.

Whether there is already a fan or light there at all. A new position means a new box, and getting a supply to it is licensed electrical work.

Ceiling height and pitch — a vaulted ceiling means a downrod, a slope canopy and working off a taller ladder.

How the fan is controlled. A pull-chain fan on an existing switch is simple; a separate wall control for fan and light may need wiring that is not there.

Access above the ceiling. A loft above makes a box change easy; a finished room above means working from below.

How to get a real number

Somebody comes out, looks at it properly, and you get a fixed price in writing with the work set out line by line and the exclusions written down as plainly as the inclusions. Coming out to do that is not charged for, and neither is working out what is wrong. If something is found once a wall or a floor is open, it is priced as a written change order and you decide before the work carries on rather than after it is billed. Materials are supplied at cost with the receipt attached, first-time customers get 10% off labor, and labor carries a one-year craftsmanship warranty.

If this is happening right now

What to do in the next five minutes, and what happens when you ring.

Before anybody arrives

Look at what is up there now. A fan being replaced usually means the box is already rated, which is the cheap version of this job.
Measure floor to ceiling. Under eight feet wants a flush mount; over nine wants a downrod, and the length depends on the height.
Say whether the ceiling is flat or sloped. A slope needs a canopy that can take the angle and it is not a part most fans include.
Measure the room. Blade span is set by the floor area, and a fan too small for the room moves air nobody feels.
If a fan is already there and wobbling, that is often a half-hour fix rather than a replacement. Worth asking before buying a new one.

Call the business line

(517) 505-7135

Answered Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 18:00. There is no out-of-hours line and this page is not going to invent one — outside those hours, leave a message with the address and what is happening, and it is picked up in the morning.

On the call you get asked what is happening, what else in the building is affected, and whether it is still getting worse. That is how it gets decided whether this is our job at all — and if it is not, you get told that on the phone rather than after somebody has driven out.

No trip charge
No call-out fee or minimum
No diagnostic fee
No charge for a return visit

True across all 84 written quotes this company has issued. Most contractors in this market charge to turn up.

Or send the details

When the right answer is not this company

You can smell gas: Leave the building and call the utility from outside. Not us, and not later.
Water you cannot stop: Your main shut-off first, then a licensed plumber. Every minute of this one costs money.
Sewage backing up, or several fixtures at once: A licensed plumber with a camera. That is the shared line, not a fixture, and a cable down one sink will not touch it.
Sparking, scorching or a burning smell at an outlet or a panel: Breaker off, and a licensed electrician. Electrical work here is repair and like-for-like replacement, and this is neither.
No heat, or heating and cooling equipment that has failed: A licensed mechanical contractor. That trade is not offered here at all, and knowing that in one phone call is worth more than a visit.

Questions people actually ask

Can you put a ceiling fan where my light fixture is?

Often yes, but it depends on the box behind the fixture rather than on the wiring. A standard lighting box is not rated to carry a fan — it holds a few pounds of static weight, and a fan adds mass plus constant vibration. If the existing box is not marked for fan support it has to be swapped for a rated one, braced between the joists. That is the honest first check on this job and it is the difference between an hour and half a day. Where there is a loft above it is easy; with a finished room above, more of the ceiling gets opened.

Why does my new ceiling fan wobble?

Almost always one of two things, and neither means the fan is faulty. Either the canopy or the downrod is not quite tight at the ceiling, or the blades are fractionally out of balance with each other. A balancing kit — the small clip and the stick-on weights that came in the box — fixes the second in about twenty minutes. A wobble is not something to live with, and it is not usually a reason to replace a fan that is otherwise fine.

Do you do the electrical as well?

Only as fixture work. Swapping or hanging a fan on an existing switched circuit is what this is. A new circuit, a new switch, a supply run to a position that has none, or anything inside the panel is licensed electrical work — no electrical license is held here, and that part is named on the quote and referred to an electrician rather than absorbed quietly.

Tell us what is up there now

Say whether there is already a fan there or a light fixture, because that one answer changes the price more than anything else. Measure floor to ceiling and say whether the ceiling is flat or sloped — under eight feet wants a flush mount, over nine wants a downrod, and a vaulted ceiling needs a slope canopy that most fans do not include. Measure the room too, because blade span is set by floor area and an undersized fan moves air nobody feels. If a fan is already up there and wobbling, say so before buying a new one: that is usually a balancing kit and twenty minutes rather than a replacement. This is fixture work on an existing switched circuit; a new circuit or a new box where there is no supply is licensed electrical work and gets named and referred rather than absorbed. Coming out to look is free.

Get a Free Quote Call (517) 505-7135