Mobile homes and ceiling fans HELP!

[Laurie Brown]

I am living in a 2001 model double wide mobile home. There are two bedrooms in this home that have light fixtures and I want to swap them out for ceiling fans. I turned off power to one of the rooms and took down the light fixture. I found that the fixture itself was not attached to anything above the ceiling, it was a bracket that held the fixture box in place by pinching it against the drywall on both sides. The drywall was holding up the light fixture.

So, I put my phone up there to have a look around. The main roof trusses appear to be 2x4s, with braces or whatever that go along the bottom that are 2x2s. There is a gap between them and the ceiling, which has loose cellulose insulation on top of it. I have no idea what is holding up the ceiling or what it's attached to, as I can't see anything there. The ceiling of the room is slanted, vaulted, and not flat. To put in a bracket for the ceiling fan I got one of those mounting bracket kits that can be used for 16 or 24 inch spans. I believe mine is 24 but I haven't measured it yet. The problem is, it looks like the bracket is designed so that it sits on top of the ceiling and the teeth on the ends bite into the wood trusses or whatever. Well, there's nothing there that I can see! There's a gap of several inches at least between the ceiling and the wood cross pieces. I am at a loss how to install this thing now.

I have attached some pics of what I could see up there. Does anyone here have any experience putting in a ceiling fan in this sort of setup?

Screenshot from 2024-09-04 15-34-45.jpgScreenshot from 2024-09-04 15-34-28.jpgScreenshot from 2024-09-04 15-34-08.jpg

[Lee Schierer]

In my experience, mobile homes do not meet the same construction standards used for traditional houses. All the materials are lighter weight e.g. smaller. Electrical boxes are often anchored to the dry wall or more likely paneling, not to structure. With out some blueprints or invasive investigation you may not be able to mount a ceiling fan.

[Bill Howatt]

Can't be much help except to say that a regular ceiling fan should be installed in a proper box rated for holding a ceiling fan - not just a regular box. IIRC, they have better design for the threads holding the fan up. This would indicate a potential strength problem with your drywall only installation.

I saw an ad on TV for combination LED lights and ceiling fan with remote that screws into a regular light bulb socket. Looks smaller and lighter than a regular ceiling fan.

[Laurie Brown]

Obviously I want to do this right so I don't have to worry about it falling down on someone's head. There are ceiling fans mounted in 4 other rooms in the house. Maybe I need to take one of them apart to see how they were mounted? I'm almost afraid to look now...

[Cameron Wood]

This should work:

https://www.amazon.com/Hubbell-Raco-936-Ceiling-Fan-Support/dp/B000HEIYHA/ref=sr_1_2?crid=26L2PA761EQ0Y&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.9vl h1ZqVd1-pwWxh7RGX7DoXzrxmN-9Nhiwpp1509wM9kntZ3xJrGmHZHedcOhQCrO2JsEzh50IWSqwi 6WnxcKQEkDvZY9AXQQqrD0iJFsBvmpBGfvB-eD2Fm4PuhYa1VoO3PDYhuMx1pkyf0vsnDFooEw7pAKS0hJ5a9q-km9sB1GNXwW8YBk31XY_IUki7QcFUM1_4ZXroAs4kIJL0tonUP FbYceiOY9zOR32TSJA.R5hby9RByUZMMv84M38q3CRmi_qnLEG LVkcDnYMzeAw&dib_tag=se&keywords=retrofit%2Bbracke t%2Bfor%2Bceiling%2Bfan&qid=1725484844&sprefix=ret rofit%2Bbracket%2Bfor%2Bceiling%2Bfan%2Caps%2C151& sr=8-2&th=1





Edit: Maybe put a stick up there and sweep it around- there must be something holding up the ceiling.

[stephen thomas]

A very early job in the mid 1970's was to build a farm on a barren parcel of land, that a major excavator in the DC area had bought for retirement.
To get started, he moved a couple construction trailers off of some of his jobs in the metro area, drilled a well & had sceptic installed, more or less adapted one with a rudimentary kitchen, and moved his poor forebearing wife and youngest couple (teenage) children out of their nice inner-suburban home to rough it. My job was to build barns and a house out of lumber from trees my crew cut on projects his company was clearing; after his equipment delivered it to run through his buddy's steam powered sawmill.

OTOH, he had no qualms about calling me at any time to work on the endless problems in the trailers. Usually wet, usually in sub-freezing conditions. Heating. Plumbing. routine leaks.,..

So my perspective might be warped, and it is 50 years old.
Trailers are built with the absolute minimum structure, and then stuck together with almost enough design consideration to mostly hold together.
My first thought would be to check with the company as to how they included fans, if it was ever an option.
Beyond that, don't attach anything to the ceiling and rafters that can possible stress it enough to cause leaks. Say from vibration.
One of those situations where if you really want to do it, it might require most of a sheet of plywood attached including to walls as a diaphragm to spread the load.
Or maybe fake a beam out of a 2 x 12 laid flat all the way across the ceiling, possibly even with supports down to the floor.

[Laurie Brown]

Yeah, that's what I have. As far as i can see, there is nothing to attach it to.

[Laurie Brown]

Stephen Thomas, you are correct. I swear this mobile home is held together with duct tape, match sticks, and bailing twine. The so-called 'trim' around doors and windows is little more than cardboard with some fake vinyl faux-wood texture on it.

[Bill Dufour]

I would mount the box up in the rafters with that special box. Then just use a extra long downrod to get below the drywall. You will need to figure out some kind of medallion to cover the hole in the drywall. Maybe some thing used in plumbing to hide supply lines under the toilet tank or under sinks.
Bill D

[Frederick Skelly]

Laurie, have you considered just using a pedestal fan, something like this? Might be safer than a ceiling fan. LINK

[Bruce Wrenn]

Have you contacted the original manufacturer of the home for what is needed to mount a ceiling fan? That's where I would start.

[Rob Luter]

I would take one down and have a peek. It is most certainly reinforced to the ceiling joists. To answer your question, the drywall is most likely attached to these ceiling joists with adhesive. The drywall used in the wall construction is like attached to the wall studs the same way. I second the suggestion that you contact the home manufacturer. They'll be shown on the nameplate attached to the home.

[Laurie Brown]

Laurie, have you considered just using a pedestal fan, something like this? Might be safer than a ceiling fan. LINK

I have three similar fans to those, which is what I'll end up using if I can't put in a ceiling fan.

[Laurie Brown]

I would take one down and have a peek. It is most certainly reinforced to the ceiling joists. To answer your question, the drywall is most likely attached to these ceiling joists with adhesive. The drywall used in the wall construction is like attached to the wall studs the same way. I second the suggestion that you contact the home manufacturer. They'll be shown on the nameplate attached to the home.

I have no idea who the original manufacturer is, I will see if there is a plate anywhere.

The walls are actually attached with brad nails and/or staples. The trim also is stapled on, it's little more than cardboard and is falling off in many places.

[Rob Luter]

It is most likely a HUD code home.

The applicable Federal Standard requires a data plate "affixed in a permanent manner near the main electrical panel or other readily accessible and visible location. Each data plate shall be made of material what will receive typed information as well as preprinted information, and which can be cleaned of ordinary smudges or household dirt without removing information contained on the data plate; or the data plate shall be covered in a permanent manner with materials that will make it possible to clean the data plate of ordinary dirt and smudges without obscuring theinformation."

I'd look for the data plate near your breaker box or where the electrical utilities enter the home. That said, the company may not be around any longer. Since I've been in the industry there have been a number of closures, mergers, acquisitions, etc.. It's not the same industry it was 20 years ago.

I've been serving the manufactured housing industry since 1994. Chances are that the windows, doors, bath fans, range hood, water heater vent, attic vents, and select other parts were manufactured by companies I worked for. Your observations regarding the quality of construction are an unfortunate reality of certain classes of manufactured housing from that era. The mandate from HUD when the standards were developed was for "affordable housing". The lowest cost solutions to nearly every requirement were sought out and in fact encouraged. I'm pleased to say that every year I've been in the industry there have been improvements.