# [2008]What is a fair price to pay for a ceiling fan installation?



## klisow

I have 3 ceiling fans that need to be installed.  Could someone help me with what would be a fair or approximate price to pay someone?  I am going to get extimates, but want to have a general idea.  I am working on a tight budget.

These are all things that were supposed to be done by my (soon to be) ex-husband, unfortunately, he was pre-occupied with someone else during our marriage, and didn't get this done. :annoyed:  I am trying to keep the house in great shape, so if I sell it, I can get the maximum return (which these days, is very difficult).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


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## klisow

sorry...I meant estimate...not extimate


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## gorevs9

Do you already have an overhead light where you want to mount the ceiling fan, or will someone have to install new wiring, etc?


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## Fern Modena

See if any of your friends or neighbors (or church members, etc) know of a good handyman.  Even if you need to reinforce the attic to put up the fans, it is work that a competent handyman should be able to do at a reasonable price.

Fern


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## AwayWeGo

*Craig's List.*




klisow said:


> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


If the junction/support boxes & in-wall wiring are already there, it's not a big job. 

If not, then it _is_ a big job.  An electrician specializing in "old work" -- i.e., adding wiring, etc., to existing structures rather than doing wiring as part of new construction -- will likely be needed. 

If the wiring is already there, you could advertise in the "gigs" section of Craig's List in your area that you'll pay $150 for somebody to come install 3 ceiling fans. 

If the wiring is not already there, I think it'll be best to get some estimates -- which I'm guessing will be high. 

We've gone the Craig's List "gigs" route for some jobs around here, including brakes on a couple of cars.  One time, 2 mechanics showed up & did the job in a jiffy.  Another time, the guy who showed up turned out to be an attorney who moonlights doing brake jobs & tune-ups. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## stevedmatt

My best "guestimate" as an electrician...

If there is no wiring up to the ceiling, figure $200-250 each.

If there is wiring up to the ceiling, then the box may still have to be changed to one which is rated to support a ceiling fan. If this is the case, $150 each. 

If the wiring and fan rated box are already installed, an electrician will probably still charge you $100 each. As suggested above, a good handyman would probably do this for 1/2 the price.


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## klisow

Thanks for all the quick replies.  One of the fans will replace an existing fan, and the other two will replace overhead lights that already exist.

I always use Craigslist, so I will check there...and I will check at church and in our neighborhood.  It really isn't a necessity, just something I know will help with resale.


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## gary01

We had 3 ceiling fans installed 2 years ago by a local handy man.  All three locations were pre-wired with a ceiling fan box already there.  He charged $65 each and his price was the same as 2 other handy men in the neighborhood who did the same thing.  Your situation is similar to our so I doubt the price has changed much since then.


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## easyrider

The wires for the lights may be the wrong gauge for the fan. Even though the fan motor would run with 14 gauge wire, which is very common for lighting, code requires 12 gauge minimum for fan motors.

Lowes and Home Depot install ceiling fans and use LICENSED CONTRACTORS to do the work.

An unlicensed handyman and even a licensed handyman will not have liability insurance that will cover anything but maintenance and can only replace existing fixtures with similar fixtures.


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## Icc5

*Been There*

We had ceiling fans put up years ago by a guy that took forever but didn't charge much.  Everyone that has been in the attic say he did a great job and they will never come down.
We later had my brother's friend who was a contractor (found out later he was working using someone else's license)put 2 up and about a year ago one started coming down when my wife was dusting it.  The other was also ready to go.
My Mom had one put up 2 years ago and paid $600 to an electrician.  We all felt she was ripped off but she was happy with it.
Oh, by the way the phony contractor left town, left his wife, and ran off never to be heard from again.  He stiffed all his workers and his ex-wife lost their 2 million dollar home.
Bart


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## yan19454

i checked my development website and asked them. They told me who told the job and how much for that so i have ballpark. I paid $300 for licensed electrician for 16 feet height fan replacment. I think it is fair price. The other paid $350 for two fan one fan is 16 feet height ,too. I have two estimate for that.


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## Big Matt

$75 per fan is the going rate where I live if the wiring and supports are already in place.  

Honestly, unless they are really high up, you should do it your self (or with another helper).  It really isn't very difficult.


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## yan19454

klisow said:


> I always use Craigslist, so I will check there...and I will check at church and in our neighborhood.  It really isn't a necessity, just something I know will help with resale.




For Craiglist gig, I am wondering how you check license and insurance issue.

Thx.


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## yan19454

easyrider said:


> Lowes and Home Depot install ceiling fans and use LICENSED CONTRACTORS to do the work.
> QUOTE]
> Lowes charge the refer fee for the service. so it will be more expensive if you know someone.


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## AwayWeGo

*O. K., Buddy.  Let's See Your License.*




yan19454 said:


> For Craiglist gig, I am wondering how you check license and insurance issue.


That's a potentially thorny issue which I don't fret about if the person doing the work knows what he or she is doing -- same as when I'm doing my own unlicensed & uninsured electrical work around the house.  (For example, we recently installed an over-range built-in wall-mounted microwave.  That called for a new, permanently installed power receptacle hidden in the wall cabinet over the microwave.  I did that myself, with a little help from The Chief Of Staff in getting the wire strung behind the wall.  I'm not licensed or insured for that sort of thing but I know how to do it, so I went ahead.  Works fine.  Would pass code if some inspector showed up to check it out -- properly grounded, 12-2 type NM copper cable with ground wire, appropriate clips & clamps, neat & tidy, etc.) 

So when I'm hiring work done via Craig's List, I'm more concerned that the person knows what he or she is doing than whether he or she is licensed & insured.  I'm trying to save a buck or I wouldn't be going with Craig's List. 

It helps, of course, if I know what's involved in the job & can tell whether the Craig's List person is going about it more or less the way I would approach it.  You could say I may be trusting to luck to a degree, but I'm not completely flying blind. 

A Craig's List guy The Chief Of Staff hired to do some electrical & cabinet installation work in a property she manages did a beautiful, workmanlike job at a reasonable cost.  The trouble was in getting him to show up when he said he'd show up.  That is, he has a reliability problem rather than a competence problem, in addition to being unlicensed & uninsured.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## easyrider

The problems involved with hiring a person you don't know, who is not bonded and licensed, can be very costly. 

1. Should the person suffer an injury while working on your property,real or fictitious, the home owner will have to pay. Should the injury cost more than your insurance, you pay the difference. 

2. Should the person do some thing that damages your home. you have no recourse.

3. There are many scammers, including thieves, that advertise on Creigs list. 

If it is worth the risks to hire the unlicensed stranger to save a buck you can minimize the risks by at least asking for references that you can document. These would be the same types of references a legit contractor would supply. 

I wouldn't let any unlicensed person work on my property in any capacity.

Alan, after reading how carefully you picked out your procedures and doctors, Im surprised that you wouldn't use the same caution with your home.


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## ponzlaw

*$700 plus*

I was quoted around $700 to do a NEW install running wires, new box, no attic access then I was on my own to repair the sheet rock. I'll burn in hell first!


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## LUVourMarriotts

I just had my wife's cousin install a new ceiling fan to replace one with a burned out motor.  I paid him $60 plus a Five Guys lunch.  I felt that was a good deal based on prices I have previously paid to electricians.  Including taking down the old one, putting together the new one and installation, it took just over one hour.

When we had an "electrician" do some work when we first moved here, he charged $10/hour to do whatever we wanted.  He was a guy that would advertise on CraigsList.  We have since found multiple shortcuts that he has taken that the cousin has had to fix for one reason or another.


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## rapmarks

hiring a scammer is one thing, last april a woman disappeared from our neighborhood.  she had hired a contractor to do some work, may have caught him going through her things, he forced her to write checks to him, murdered her, buried her, moved in to her villa and used her car.  google Mary Ann Zarb.  I would not hire someone I didnt check out first.


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## mrmjhoward

*ha ha*



ponzlaw said:


> I was quoted around $700 to do a NEW install running wires, new box, no attic access then I was on my own to repair the sheet rock. I'll burn in hell first!



for 700 i'd fly to Connecticut and do it for you lol


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## DeniseM

Please note that this thread is from* 2008!*  Drive by posters keep bringing it out of mothballs...


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