Have you
ever seen a close up of the fan in Baby B's room? Well, this picture
doesn't do it justice. It's bad. You can see one of the lights is broken
off and hanging by a wire, but what you can't tell is that one of the
fan blades is super crooked. This apparently throws off the balance of
the fan and causes it to wobble so much that it threatens to rip itself
from the ceiling, even on the lowest setting. In summary, fan = useless
and light = dangerous. Time for it to go.
We've known since we moved in a year and a half ago that we would need to replace the fixture, but it wasn't until a couple 90 degree days hit this year that we realized how badly we really needed to get a working fan in there! So we headed out to Lowe's and picked out one of the cheapest light/fan combos available. There were no great deals or clearance sales this time, so we ended up paying a full $70 for this guy. Kind of a bummer. I think the lesson here is don't wait until you can't wait any longer! We bought it in a moment of desperation, but if we'd been on the lookout earlier this year we probably could have gotten one on sale.
For the record, the "five minute fan" part is how long it takes to put the blades on. Now how long it takes to get things all unwired and rewired. Anyway, we (meaning mostly my mom, the electrician extraordinaire) just followed the instructions in the box to install the new fan. We TURNED THE POWER OFF, which was the single most important step. Then we unscrewed the old fan from the ceiling and disconnected all the wires.
Which
left us this nice little hole. We were super relieved to find a
properly installed electrical box behind that hole (we were not so lucky
with the sink light in the kitchen).
Then we screwed the included plate into the electrical box.
Then
we connected the new wires (and used some electrical tape to make sure
things stay connected!) and secured the fan base to the plate (which you
can see in the next pic).
Next
up were the fan blades and while they pop in really easily, they do not
pop out easily. Did you notice anything a little off in the picture
below? It turns out most fans come with double sided blades so you can
choose which color you want to show. Oops. Fortunately N was able to pry
the reddish colored ones off and flip them over to the dark walnut
side, but next time we plan to save ourselves a little trouble and pay
attention when we put them on the first time.
Next
up was wiring in the light kit. How's that for a mess of wires? My mom
took care of this, but the box did include directions and I think they
design these so most people can do it themselves. So don't be
intimidated!
Here is the light kit all wired up.
Then we just secured the light kit to the fan, installed the glass, and screwed in the bulbs. Ta-da! Much better. And besides looking much better (I'm loving the dark metal & wood!), it also FEELS so much better! It's amazing how much difference a fan can make in the summer. I've even read that using ceiling fans allows you to turn up the thermostat several degrees higher and save some $$$ on your cooling bill!
But
so far the BEST thing about this fan has been Baby B's reaction to it.
He LOVES it! Every time he walks into or past his room he stops and
points at the fan. And sometimes stays to stare at it for a while. And
if we let him flip the switch or pull the cord... oh my goodness, we are
the best parents EVER! We knew he would like it because Sunday during
church he has fun pointing out all the fans in the sanctuary. And now he
has one of his own and couldn't be more thrilled. He even lays still
for a diaper change because he is so mesmerized by it. Maybe because it
looks more like this to him?
Speaking of Baby B, here is is sporting his Sunday best. And a very serious face.
But then he saw two of his favorite things - momma & her camera - and things brightened up. He cannot resist me.
And that's the story of a boy and his fan. Although, really, it's more like he's a fan of the fan. :)
Have you done any fan work lately? How do you stay cool in the summer?