How-To : Home Improvement

Wiring a ceiling fan is surprisingly simple. Often times it is no more complicated than the wiring of a light fixture. As with any electrical wiring, make sure all wire connections are made securely with the proper size wire nuts, that they are not loose and that no copper strands are showing. Most “house wiring” should be 14 or 12 gauge solid copper wire attached to a 15 or 20 amp 120vAC circuit respectively. Consult a professional if you encounter something varying from this and are not aware of how to safely handle it.

Most commonly ceiling fans will have 4 wires, or 3 wires plus a ground. Black, white, green, and an additional color (usually red, blue, or black/white striped). The black wire is the hot lead for the fan motor. The red/blue/striped wire is the hot lead for the optional light kit. The white wire is the neutral lead for both the fan motor and light kit. The green wire is ground for the entire assembly.

In all cases the neutral (white) wire from the fan assembly should be attached to the neutral (usually white) lead from the house wiring. Note that if you encounter a white wire with a marking piece of colored tape attached, this could be used to signifiy it is being used as something other than a neutral.

The ground (green) wire or wires from the fan assembly should be attached to the ground (usually bare, sometimes green) lead from the house wiring. Some older houses may not have a separate ground lead and use the metal conduit and electrical boxes as ground. In this case you would attach the ground wire from the fan to the electrical box (and/or mounting plate) with the appropriate screw or clip.

The two remaining leads are the hot wires for the fan and it’s light kit. If you have a fan with no light kit, connect the black wire to the hot lead (usually black) from your power supply. For a fan with a light kit you would connect both wires to the hot power supply lead, unless your house is wired to switch the fan and light independantly.

For more scenarios, and more detailed information and wiring instructions, see: http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com

This article created by Dan “Spiffy” Neuman. Read more of his great works at http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com

[tags]ceiling fan,ceiling fan wiring,ceiling fan installation,kichler ceiling fans,hunter,hampton bay[/tags]

One of the most confusing aspects of homebuilding can be the
rough opening for an overhead garage door. It is one of the
most frequent questions I am asked.

The rough opening for a garage door, simply put, is the
actual size of the door itself. For example, if the garage
door is a 7′0″ x 16′0″, then that is the size the rough
opening should be framed to. This is also what the opening
in the foundation should be. The studs and cripples will
then stop right at the edge of the foundation.

The foundation usually drops 8″ to allow the concrete floor
to be poured over the top of it. This has to be accounted
for when figuring the length of the cripples to get the
right height of the overhead door header. Normally the
floor is poured 3″ below the top of the foundation wall. If
the overhead door is 7′ then 4 and 1/2″ is subtracted from
that height. This is the 3″ drop and 1 1/2″ for the bottom
plate. Your total cripple length would be 6′ 7 1/2″.

Once the floor is poured, the door jambs can be installed.
The width of these jamb pieces vary with the size of the
wall and what the wall is finished with (brick, siding,
dryvit, etc). The header piece is installed first, then the
two side pieces. These go from the header to the finished
concrete floor. Once the jambs are in the door can be
installed. With the door installed the door stops are then
put on either with or without weatherstripping.

If you know the door size of your overhead door, you know
the rough opening. From there its determining where to start
and stop your framing.

(c) Mike Merisko www.sawkerfs.com

[tags]homebuilding,build your own home,building materials,construction,windows,roofing,siding[/tags]

One of the first things the do-it-yourselfer realizes when learning how to build a drywall ceiling is that no man is an island – unless he uses rented equipment! Because the panels are big, bulky, and awkward, hanging drywall on a ceiling entails one or the other: the help of another person or renting a drywall jack from your local home improvement center. The cable mechanism on drywall jacks is not difficult to operate, and jacks do an excellent job of holding the drywall in a secure, flat position enabling you to more easily attach it to the ceiling.

Tools & Materials

How to build a drywall ceiling includes knowing what all tools and material you’ll need. In addition to either another person to help you or a drywall jack, you’ll also need a hammer, a drill with a screwdriver bit, and nails or screws for drywall. You’ll also, of course, need to measure your ceiling (twice!) and purchase enough drywall, including a little extra in case of mistakes, to do the job.

Mark Joists First

Find the boards – usually 2×4s or 2×6s – that function as ceiling joists by tapping along the wall studs with a hammer and following up the wall to the ceiling. As part of learning how to build a drywall ceiling, mark where these boards are located with a pencil. These are what you will be attaching the drywall to and marking them beforehand makes it much easier to find them than trying to find them as you are nailing or screwing on the drywall. You then need to measure where the light fixture goes on the drywall and cut out a hole to accommodate that area of the ceiling.

The Tough Part

Now’s the part in learning how to build a drywall ceiling where you’ll need the other person (who hopefully has plenty of stamina in addition to strength!) to hold the drywall up to the ceiling or to put the drywall panel on the jack. Position the end of the sheet of drywall – with its finished side facing down – at the center of the ceiling board (joist) to which you are going to nail it. Nail around the outside of the panel about a half an inch from the edges to prevent the drywall from splitting or cracking. The person who is holding the panel can now move or, if you’re using a jack, you can move it out of the way.

Make It Pretty

Countersink nails or screws at six- or seven-inch intervals all along the length of the joist to which the drywall has been attached. Countersinking allows you to cover up the heads of the nails/screws with compound so that when you paint, the heads won’t be at all visible. Although not really a part of knowing how to build a drywall ceiling, learning how to cover up ugly nail or screw heads serves its own purpose for overall general carpentry knowledge.

Learning how to build a drywall ceiling takes a lot more muscle than to attach the sheets to the walls, but it can be done with a little thought, at least one other person, and/or a jack. It really is pretty hard work, but, hey, after all – you can do anything, right?

[tags]drywall, home improvement, home repair, sheetrock,construction,diy[/tags]