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Monday, July 7, 2014

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 Removing the large and outdated fan we inherited with the house we bought, I kept it for a redo.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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26 comments:

  1. You have now taken pergolas and patios to a whole new DIY level with this fabulous fan project. Amazing! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  2. Samantha @ Florassippi GirlJuly 8, 2014 at 10:48 AM

    Very Nice!!! Thank you for the tutorial! :)

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  3. You are so welcome! I hope it helps.
    :)

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  4. Now that is a fantastic DIY project....love it!

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  5. Makes me wish I didn't get rid of that old fan...

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  6. Great, Robin! Love the two grills... how useful with tons of people visiting! :)

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  7. I have donated a few and wish I kept two of them now. I could do this twice more for the other areas of the deck.

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  8. Hi Jen! Even though they are different grills and not such an elegant touch, they are a huge time savers using at the same time for bigger gatherings.

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  9. I love the darker color you chose for the blades. What a great DIY project! Thank you for linking at the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you again next week.

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  10. Robin All Things Heart and HomJuly 17, 2014 at 8:25 PM

    Robin, I want to do this to my fans! I love the fantastic result! xo Thanks for linking to Twirl and Take a Bow!

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  11. I love the update, looks great!

    Come link up with me today!

    http://thediaryofarealhousewife.blogspot.com

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  12. The red tones of the blades do blend well with the deck and pergola wood. I tend to like darker accents too :) Thanks, Cynthia!

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  13. I hope you do! I can't wait to see them! Have fun with them.
    Thank you!

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  14. The fan looks great outdoors! I love what you did! (We use two BBQ's too!) Thank you so much for sharing with us at Merry Monday Linky! We're so glad to have you! See you next week ~ Sundays 6pm pst! Julia

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  15. Great job! We've got some hideous fans at our house. They could use a makeover like this:) Thanks for linking up to Thursday S.T.Y.LE. this week!

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  16. Steph@The SillyPearlJuly 20, 2014 at 2:55 PM

    We have two hideous indoor fans that we are about to replace, and now I have reason to keep them for when we redo our patio. Thank you so much for sharing this on Project Inspire{d}! Will be featuring you this Monday! Hope to see you at the party again!

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  17. Great transformation! The fun turned out beautifully! Thanks for sharing with us at Your Designs This Time!

    Emily & Erin

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  18. Thank you, Julia! I will be there :)

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  19. I love your style and decorating, Katie. I can't wait to see what you do.

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  20. I'm so glad you are doing this! Thanks so much for the feature, Steph! You had some amazing links this week. I'm still blown away over the satellite dish gazebo!
    Have a great week!

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  21. Gaye @ CalmHealthySexyJuly 24, 2014 at 1:23 PM

    That looks great! Thanks so much for sharing with the Let's Get Real party.

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