A fan is not a heavy light. It is a heavy light that moves, and the box holding it has to be rated for that. Hanging one from a standard light box is the single most common fault we find, and it is invisible from the room below.
wobble traced to mounting rather than blamed on the fan
existing switch checked for speed and direction control
The box
Ceiling fan installation needs a fan-rated box
Standard ceiling boxes are made to hold a static light. A fan adds weight and continuous vibration, and a fan-rated box is built for both, usually fixed to a brace spanning the joists.
Wobble is nearly always mounting rather than the fan. Before anyone balances blades, the mount is checked, because a rated box fixed properly removes most wobble on its own. Blade balancing after that is a small adjustment, not a rescue. Where the box has clearly been reused several times, an electrical safety inspection is worth the hour.
The switch is the part people forget to mention. Speed control and reverse need the right switch or a remote, and an existing single switch on a dimmer is actively wrong for a fan motor.
Where that has been done, it shows up as a hum, and it is a different problem from flickering lights even though it sounds similar. Changing the control is a switch installation rather than a fan job.
Fresh install
How it runs
Ceiling fan installation in Buffalo, four steps
Check what is holding it
Whether there is a box, and whether it is rated for a fan. A light box gets replaced with a braced fan-rated one rather than reused.
Confirm the switch
Speed and reverse need the right control. An existing dimmer on a fan motor is wrong and gets changed, not worked around.
Mount, wire and balance
Brace fitted, fan hung, wired, then run through every speed. Wobble is chased at the mount before anyone touches the blades.
Inspection where required
A like-for-like swap usually is not permitted work. A new position with a new circuit is, and we file it.
What it costs
A fan swap and a new ceiling fan installation differ
Swapping a fan where a rated box and the wiring already exist runs $150 to $500. Putting a fan where there has never been one, with no box and no wiring, is $400 to $1,000.
While the ceiling is open it is worth thinking about what else belongs up there. A fan and pot lights in one visit is one set of access and one set of patching, and if the existing fitting is coming down anyway, light fixture installation covers the alternative if a fan turns out not to be what the room wants.
If an installed fan has started making noise or has stopped responding to the switch, that is not this page. Ceiling fan repair covers what usually causes it.
$150 to $500 to replace one where a rated box already exists, $400 to $1,000 to create a position with no box or wiring, and up to $2,000 where it needs its own circuit. Access above the ceiling drives it. Example ranges, not quotes.
Not safely. Standard boxes are built for a static light; a fan adds weight and continuous vibration and needs a rated box on a brace. This is the most common fault we find and it is invisible from below.
Usually the mounting rather than the blades. We check the box and the brace first, because a proper mount removes most wobble before any balancing is needed.
Often a dimmer fitted to a fan motor, which is the wrong control for the job. A proper fan speed control or a remote fixes it.
Yes, with the right downrod and canopy for the pitch. Tell us the slope beforehand so the correct parts arrive with us.
Yes, but you lose separate control of the fan and the light unless a second wire is run or a remote is used. We say which applies before ordering, not afterwards.
Customer reviews
What Buffalo homeowners say about their ceiling fan installation
