Ceinling Fan is Gone

[in2dadark]

I removed a ceiliing fan in a room that it should never have been in. The ceiling is too low in that room for such a hefty fan;And it made a huge difference. Now the ceiling looks high and the room bigger.

Anyway, there was no electrical box for that fan. The romex just ran through the drywall. The new light fixture I installed talked about attaching it to the box, blah, blah, blah.

I was able to install it just fine without a box as the ceiling fan had been. Is this going to bite me in the ass later? Do I REALLY need a box for that? I know, I know ...code. but beyond that?

I snugged everything up real good and pushed the romex part up in the ceiling so the only thing extending down is the seperated wires from the romex. I'm thinking, this is how it would be anyway, if there was a box. TIA

[DerbyDad03]

Thanks for the detailed explanation of how the fan (and now the light) was hung without a box.

"I snugged everything up real good"

What exactly does that mean?

[Joe]

For a lot of fun, Google 'Electrical house fires' and read a few pages of the results. Or tap the archives of your local newspaper and you may even find some hilarious pictures of people standing in their yard watching their world go up in flames. The saying is trite but true, "Stuff Happens". You really don't want to be a contributor. do you?

Joe

[RBM]

Of course it's not the proper way of installing it, but how safe it is has more to do with the type of fixture you installed. You really don't want loose wire splices floating in or on combustible materials. Since there was a fan hanging there, I'll assume that there is a beam behind the sheetrock. You can buy a box called a pancake, which is only 1/2" deep, and cut out the drywall, screw it to the beam, then properly mount the fixture to it.

[SteveB]

Cap the ends of the wires with wire nuts, or cut it off and wrap with electrician's tape and call it good. It is a good thing that you ask, and be sure. Boxes are to aid mounting, add strength, and protect the end connections somewhat. Now that you don't have that, a box would be redundant. I WOULD buy one of those switch protectors that keep the old switch in the OFF position since you are not using it. No sense having hot wires up there if not being used.

Steve

[Robert]

You're reading comprehension is extremely poor. You get an F. Please Re-Read the OP's message and let us know what part you missed. This is your homework assignment for the weekend. If you find the mistake, you will get a better grade.

Robert

[Robert]

A box is required by code. Inspectors will jump all over you if they find this, and if you ever have a fire, you may not collect on your insurance as a result of this. It's not that hard to add a box. There are boxes made with all sorts of brackets attached to them for situations like this. Find one that will mount in your ceiling. I cant see your ceiling or I'd suggest what to use. The person that mentioned the pancake box (1/2 inch thick), is one good option, providing there is as joist near the hole to attach to.

Robert

[C & E]

Don't screw around for the sake of a $3 box and an hour of time. The *ss you save may be your family's!! No flame - just a serious concern.

[SteveB]

FOAD. WGAS?

[ahedge]

Pray, how? Let's see, what could go wrong?

1) Someone, may be you, working on another part of that ceiling yanks those wires out of the fixture; 2) Later on someone tries to turn the light on in that room but the door bell rings and the person leaves the room in haste to answer the call. 3) Luckily the subsequent fire did not make any victims because nobody was at home. The last occupant was picked up by a friend to go shopping just before the fire started. 4) The reasons for the fire are under investigation.

So to say it with a movie line: "Do you feel lucky today, punk?"

Put a box up there, for pete's sake. Just because someone else before you did a sloppy job ...

[Phisherman]

Sometimes the light fixture (or fan box) itself serves as the electrical box, as with many wall/suface mount bathroom light fixtures. The code says that connections must be made inside an enclosure that is accessible. If the ends of Romex wire are not within an enclosure, not only is it out of code but also not safe. Honestly, not sure if shoving excess wire (no ends) up inside a ceiling is okay.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, You're lucky that fan did not fall on some ones head or cause a fire.

[Red Green]

DerbyDad03 wrote in news:bd39be83-1617-45a8-a3f2- [e-mail]:

Duct tape and tie wraps. What did you think it meant?!