My house is about 83 years old and there is about 1/2" of plaster covering some small wood slats. The wires come through two holes drilled in the wood. The existing fixture basically was held in place with anchors in the plaster and possibly even was screwed right into the wood slats. The instructions for the new fixture state to fasten to the electrical box...... but there isn't one. Can anyone help??
2006-09-04 10:50:05 · 6 answers · asked by Stu 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
My house is about 83 years old and there is about 1/2" of plaster covering some small wood slats. The wires come through two holes drilled in the wood. The existing fixture basically was held in place with anchors in the plaster and possibly even was screwed right into the wood slats. The instructions for the new fixture (not a ceiling fan, just a plain old 3-socket fixture) state to fasten to the electrical box...... but there isn't one. Can anyone help??
2006-09-04 11:15:09 · update #1
Its totally against code to have a fixture connected without a box, but its not the end of the world. If you can confidently secure the fan, it needs a lot of support!! Keep the connection in the canopy of the fan and that will work fine. I do stress that this is against code, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
2006-09-04 11:00:26 · answer #1 · answered by Brendan R 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Install Ceiling Light Without Box
2017-01-17 08:59:38 · answer #2 · answered by benware 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everybody seems to be giving you advise on mounting a ceiling fan. Since you are just mounting a light fixture you can buy a very shallow electrical box (1/2" deep) at home depot. you can screw this to the ceiling , hitting the wood strips (lathe) is best. You first have to knock out a hole for the wire, and pull the wire through. Voila ..you have an electrical box to mount to. If the screws don't feel secure enough use some toggle bolts.
2006-09-04 17:10:04 · answer #3 · answered by jdris52@flash.net 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
How can I mount a ceiling light fixture without an electrical box?
My house is about 83 years old and there is about 1/2" of plaster covering some small wood slats. The wires come through two holes drilled in the wood. The existing fixture basically was held in place with anchors in the plaster and possibly even was screwed right into the wood slats. The...
2015-08-20 15:57:57 · answer #4 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have lath and plaster ceiling (and probably walls)...also unless your wiring has been upgraded you probably have knob and tube single wire circuitry.(you might want to consider running a new romex wire from your breaker box if that is the case...)
The best way to do it would be to go into the attic space (do you have attic space???) and install an electrical box, run wires to the box then mount the fan to the new box. they make boxes for existing structure that will mount between two of your ceiling joist..there is probably a rod that came with your new fan that you will have to make a hole for into the ceiling and mount the rod to your new box, then the fan to the rod, the electical would run though the rod to your fan....
I don't know how handy you are, but if you can't handle that, you might want to contact a carpenter/contractor.
The pain in the butt about plaster is if you start messing with it, it could (and probably will) break loose from the lath and your ceiling will be on the floor, then you have the option of knocking it all down and putting up fresh drywall, so handle it with care.
best wishes
2006-09-04 11:07:04 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even though your second answer is correct your main concern is the vibration that will happen if the bracket attached to the ceiling is not secured well...if you don't wish to use a properly secured Metal box (highly recommended for cieling fans) use a 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 and secure it between the rafters screw both ends to each rafter then drill a hole big enough it run the wire through..then secure the mounting bracket to the cieling with screws that will go into the wood....this will secure the bracket from vibration.....
2006-09-04 11:09:54 · answer #6 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have knob and tube wiring in your house.Never ever make any electrical splices that are not in an electrical box(big fire hazard and against all codes).If you don't know basic wiring, best bet in this situation is to get a professional.With knob and tube wiring you should probably start thinking about investing in electrical updating. With knob and tube wiring you never know. Could be ok for another 83yrs. or problems tomorrow. Good luck
2006-09-04 11:04:16 · answer #7 · answered by steven a 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
three possibilities here. First and probably best is spacer kit ($15 at Wal-mart that goes between rafters and has box built in). Next option is to put a box on the nearest rafter and splice the existing wiring into that box. Last and worst; do a splice without a box.
2006-09-04 10:57:43 · answer #8 · answered by sethsdadiam 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy a pancake box. Attach the cables to the box through the knockouts and clamp the cable in. Secure the box to the ceiling and plaster the hole, paint and hang fixture.
2006-09-06 15:45:14 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋