Thread: Ceiling Fan Wobble

How much fan wobble is too much? All I find are ways to correct wobble, but no tolerance limitations.

So, it got me to thinking how far do you go when doing Home Inspections? If the fan wobbles at all do you make note of it, or only if it is swinging big time? How do you check, turn it on high and walk around the room and then look at the fan to see if it wobbles after it's had a chance to get to speed? If it wobbles are you going to pull the fan down to see if the box is fan rated? Or, do you not check ceiling fans as they can wobble?

Thanks for any input.

Unless it is a safety hazard I don't comment on wobbles. Too many variables, no specific ways of measuring wobble.


//Rick

I'm with Rick... I might point it out to my client if they are with me but that is about all of the attention it will get from me. Unless it looks like it might shake loose or the blades are drooping cause some idiot stuck an interior fan on their back porch ceiling, ceiling fans seldom make it in my report.

I think its pretty easy to define wobble, and I will call it out when excessive. I turn fans on high and watch. It the fan start shaking, I turn it off and call out wobble.
I do not pull the fan down to look at the box.

On a side note, I used to have a guy that worked for me that was a ceiling fan savant. He could fix a wobble in a very short time, and was kind of ocd about it.

if a fan shakes or wobbles, I note it in the report. Let them determine whether it's important to them. a fan should not wobble, if it does there is a problem, I don't determine why, I determine what, let someone else tell them " it's completely normal and will never vibrate off the ceiling and fall on your kids head". In writing, and signed!!! in my discussion at the inspection I will add that for 100 bucks you can buy a new one.

A couple of weeks ago I was called to do a pre-listing inspection but then they cancelled. The daughter who had originally tried to schedule the inspection for her parents recently called me with bad news. The entire ceiling fan had broken off and came crashing down. Luckily no one was hurt. I now wonder if I would have seen a wobble; would I be in hot water now?