Electrical box extension - ceiling fan

5 years ago

Hello. I am currently renovating my sitting room. It has a plain drywall ceiling with a ceiling fan in the center. I am going to apply 1/4"-thick tongue-and-groove wood planks to the ceiling.

My plan is to apply the planks directly to the drywall and finish nail through the drywall into the joists above, and NOT to run furring strips on the ceiling first. It's a slanted ceiling, 8' at its lowest point, so I don't want to drop the height any more than I absolutely have to.

This option means I would have to drop the ceiling fan about 1/4" to match the new ceiling level. Not talking the downrod, but lowering the actual fixture and the flange that sits against the ceiling.

I've looked at a lot of electrical box extenders, but I can't figure out what is a suitable option to accomplish this. I didn't see anything 1/4" depth, but I think various companies manufacture 1/2" depths, and that would be ok (I can place trim around the sliver of exposed box). I know there are 1.5" options, but like I said, I don't want to drop the ceiling that much. If the 1.5" box extension is my only option, then I'd have to run furring strips on the drywall and then the planks.

Can anyone provide a link to a specific extender I should buy for this? Does it need to be fan-rated if you're only screwing *through* the extender and into the fan-rated box that's already in the ceiling? How does this work? And a link to instructions on installing it? I've found a million tutorials on ceiling fan installation, but none on extending the box. I'm honestly baffled, because I know this is a popular thing to do.

Thank you in advance.

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Comments (4)

cat_ky
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Some ceiling boxes are adjustable. You might look at yours and see if they can be adjusted down 1/4 of inch. Yes it should be fan rated.
wdccruise
5 years ago
How about cutting the planks around he fan flange so it can continue to rest against the drywall?
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Bruce in Northern Virginia
5 years ago
I think you are overthinking the task, and I recommend you actually buy one of these extenders that matches your box size, and see how it works.

The directions state that you can extend the box "up to 1.5", but that is just the maximum. Basically, you just slide it into the existing box and then use the screws to adjust the depth. The boxes are also made of trimmable plastic, so you can cut some off if they don't fit right. You do want to ensure the old box in the ceiling is a metal fan-rated box, and the screws/bolts you use to support the fan bracket are also properly rated.

Most newer fans allow you to bolt the hanging bracket in place to ensure its mounted right, hang the fan assembly on the bracket, connect electrical, and then finally slide up the trim piece.

Bruce
wdccruise
5 years ago
@Bruce in Northern Virginia: "Most newer fans allow you to bolt the hanging bracket in place to ensure its mounted right..."

Ah, that's right. I just installed two new fans, one from Modern Fan and one from Fanimation. Both had brackets that attached to the ceiling electrical box. There was no requirement that the brackets rest against the ceiling drywall, just that the screws were long enough reach the electrical box. So in your case, the screws would have to be long enough to attach the bracket through the planks and drywall to the electrical box.