Indoor to Outdoor Ceiling Fan

I bought a cute little ceiling fan for our master bedroom. Removing the large and outdated fan we inherited with the house we bought, I kept it for a redo.  I like outdoor fans on porches and wondered if I could convert this indoor fan into an outdoor fixture. 

First, I disassembled the fan. I removed the light fixture completely. I don't need or want it on the deck.  Then removed the hardware and paddles. 

I chose the "hammered" look paint.
Suitable color and texture for outdoors.

Keeping the screws with the hardware enables the screw heads to be painted the same rather easily. 

Two good coats of the hammered spray paint covered well. 

While the motor and hardware dried, I worked on the paddles. I cleaned them well. I chose to keep the darker woodgrain side of the paddles for the visible side of the fan. I applied two coats of outdoor Spar Polyurethane for weatherproofing.  

I applied black enamel for the upper side of the fan. Then two coats of outdoor Spar Polyurethane.  

Then prepared the motor housing unit for the fan on our pergola topped decking. Using the same pressure treated wood, cut to size in between two beams, yet wide enough to mount the fan, I built a box to be weatherproofed from the top. Caulking, and spray insulation to deter water from dripping into the motor and topped with another pressure treated top, sealed with caulking. Then, drilled a hole wide enough to accommodate the wiring, through the top of the box. Weatherproof putty was applied at the wiring hole.  Then stained the housing box and mounted the fan bracket.  

Once I attached the motor, I replaced the paddles. Hubby has the pleasure of running 14' of the wiring to the GFI outlet connections on the deck.
I don't cut into walls and do wiring alone. 

The BBQ throne... a work in progress.  Now it has a fan.
(Yes I do use two grills at a time. Some get togethers can be as many as 26 people at a time. Ten burners are a huge help to me.)  

Of course for the winter months, I'll remove the paddles. We do get heavy snowfalls. But during the summer, this is a great way to keep insects blown away while enjoying the fan breeze. 

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