01 - Overview
What We Actually Do
Install new fans, replace old ones, and fix the ones somebody else put up.
The installation is mostly about what is above the ceiling. We find the structure, fix to it, and where there is nothing suitable in the right place we fit a mounting block that spans the joists rather than moving the fan to wherever is convenient.
Then the wiring and the switching. Most fans want separate control of the fan and the light, and increasingly the fan has speed and direction control as well. That can be a wall plate, a remote, or both, and it is worth deciding before the fitting goes up because it changes what cable needs to be there.
We also do the unglamorous half of this work: rebalancing wobbling fans, replacing noisy motors, and re-fixing fans that were never mounted to anything solid.
The short version
- Fixed to a joist or a proper mounting block, not to plasterboard
- Separate switching for the fan and the light where you want it
- Speed and direction control, by wall plate, remote or both
- Outdoor and alfresco fans in fittings rated for the position
- Wobbling, noisy and badly-fixed existing fans put right
02 - What's included
Everything We Cover on the Job
New Installations
Into an existing light point or a new position, fixed to structure, wired and switched to suit how the room is used.
Mounting
A block spanning the joists where there is nothing suitable in the right place. This is the part that decides whether it wobbles in year three.
Switching and Controls
Separate fan and light control, speed and direction, by wall plate or remote. Decided before the fitting goes up, not after.
Replacing Old Fans
Out with the old, and a look at what it was mounted to while the ceiling is open. New fans are often heavier than what they replace.
Outdoor and Alfresco
Fans rated for outdoor or damp positions, on a protected circuit, which a standard indoor fan under a pergola is not.
Fixing Bad Installs
Wobble, noise, or a fan that has started to move on its mounting. Usually the fixing rather than the fan.
03 - Why it matters
Why the Fixing Matters More Than the Fan
Plasterboard is not a structural material. It holds a light fitting because a light fitting weighs very little and does not move. A ceiling fan weighs several kilograms and applies a rotating load to whatever it is attached to, continuously, for years.
The failure is rarely dramatic. It is a fan that develops a wobble, then a click, then a wobble that gets worse until somebody stops using it. By that point the fixing has usually damaged the ceiling around it as well.
The other requirement worth knowing is clearance. Blades have to sit a minimum distance from the floor and clear of surrounding surfaces, which occasionally rules out a position somebody has already decided on. Better to find that out before the fan is bought than after.
‘If a fan wobbles, nine times out of ten the fan is fine. It is what it is screwed to that is not.’
Peter, licensed electrician & owner
Sources AS/NZS 3000Energy Safe Victoria



