# Ceiling fan/Exposed Beams



## Mbrockman5 (Feb 25, 2013)

I'm buying my first house and get the keys on Sept. 11th. and I could use some advice for future reference. 

One of my living rooms has Vaulted Ceilings with Exposed Beams(but no attic) and a 52" ceiling fan mounted on a beam. 
but.... #1) The fan is not on the middle beam. And #2) it's towards the opposite end of the room that I plan on using(tv, couches, etc) 

I have 2 ideas... #1) I would like to buy a bigger, 72" fan and mount it on the center beam. -OR- #2) Buy an additional fan and mount it on the other end of the room(either on the same switch or a separate one). 

But since it's mounted on a beam, and there's no attic in that room, I'm not sure how to go about attempting this or if it's even possible. Any ideas?


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## Mbrockman5 (Feb 25, 2013)

To clarify: The next Beam to the left is the "Center Beam"......


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## Mbrockman5 (Feb 25, 2013)

Here's a closer picture....


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Hanging the fans isn't a problem but running the wire for it will be. I'm sure the top side of the beams were milled out to run a wire while the house was being built. Now the only way I see doing it is to cut a channel on the underside of the beam and put a thin piece of cedar over it to cover it up. You might see what your electrician says. They may have a creative way to get the wire there.


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## Steve M. (Jun 4, 2013)

To hide the wires, you could try routing a slot for the wire up the blind side of the beam as close to the ceiling as possible. (By "blind side" I mean whichever side is the one you view the least. From these pictures it appears that would be the side facing the patio doors)Then I'd drill a hole up from the bottom of the beam to meet the slot. Run the wires and then find a matching strip of wood to patch the slot. You'll have to snake the wire in the drywall up to meet the slot in the beam. That's about as hidden a method as I can think of this morning.
Enjoy the day!


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## Deanr (Jul 29, 2011)

I would leave the existing fan and find another to match and install it on the second beam over. If you remove this fan then you have more work trying to hide the hole. I would use wiremold to run wires from the existing fan to the new fan. You can paint the wiremold to match your tongue and groove ceiling as close as possible. You still have to figure out whether to run the wire through the beam or exterior on the new fan.

This way you keep the same switch and don't have to fool with the drywall. Not the cleanest of options but maybe the least painful. Depends if you can live with exposed wiremold.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I can easily forecast that there will be times when you only want one fan running. You will also want a way to vary the speed of the fan. To handle this situation I would use a remote to turn the second fan on and off and adjust speed. 

Agree that not removing first fan is best solution. Just add one fan.

George


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

I would live with the one in place for a while and then determine if changes have to be made, this is a situation where it is going to be difficult to make elegant changes.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

I agree with Frank... get moved in and see what you really want/need. I don't see a real elegant way of fixing/changing the setup. It could likely be done, but personally, I would need a lot more than a couple of pics to formulate a workable plan.:smile:


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

One problem I see is if you move it, how do you terminate the old wires? No box to do it in.
If you could get by with mounting the fan in between the 2 beams, you could mount a 1x6, 2x6 or what ever looks best, between 2 beams. Rout for the wires to go into a box on top of the 2x, where you can lengthen the wires to reach the new location.
Same wood as beams, might not look bad.


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## Deanr (Jul 29, 2011)

Or you could install a dual motor fan:

http://www.modernfanoutlet.com/fan-styles/double-fans.html/


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## Getting better (Dec 3, 2009)

What Steve said.


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