Jalousie Window Repair
Stuck cranks, loose clips and cracked louvers on the glass windows older Oahu houses still run on.
More on Jalousie Window Repair →
handyman work / Honolulu, HI
Ceiling Fan Repair and Installation in Honolulu, HI
Wobbling, clicking, dead pull chains and fans that light up but will not turn, plus new fans hung on a box made to carry them. Houses and condos in Honolulu and around Oahu.
✓ Wobble traced to its cause
✓ Fan-rated box every time
✓ Town to the North Shore
Why us
Fans fixed from the ceiling down in Honolulu
On a fan that is already up, the trouble usually sits in the mount, the blade screws or a switch inside the housing. We start at the ceiling and work down. New fans go on a box rated to carry a fan, swapped in from below when the old one is a plain light box. A fan where no box exists yet, a new wall switch, or a new circuit is a job for an electrician, and you hear that from us before any quote.
- Repairs start with the mount
- Fan-rated box or brace confirmed
- Downrod matched to the ceiling height
- Every blade screw checked and balanced
- Older fans checked against CPSC recalls
- Light-to-fan swaps on existing wiring
Light box vs fan box
Can a light box hold a ceiling fan?
A light box cannot hold a ceiling fan unless it is listed and marked for fan support. A fixture just hangs there; a fan spins and twists its mount for hours. The code handles that separately: under NEC 314.27(C), renumbered 314.27(B) in the 2026 edition, a box that alone supports a paddle fan must be marked by its maker for fan support, may carry no fan over 70 lb, and must state its maximum weight above 35 lb. IRC E3905.8 adds that the marking goes inside the box, which is the first thing we read.
Repair or install
How a fan job runs start to finish
1
Describe it
Tell us if it is a repair or a new fan, and send a photo of the fan, the ceiling, and the model label if you can reach it.
2
Quote
Installs get a written price up front, including a fan-rated box or brace if needed. Repairs are priced once we find the cause.
3
Hang it right
Fan centered where the wiring allows, downrod chosen for the ceiling, blades kept clear of walls, doors and cabinet tops.
4
Balance
Blade screws tightened, blades checked level, the fan run at every speed, and a balancing kit used if it still rocks on high.
Fans on Oahu
Why do Oahu homes lean on ceiling fans?
Oahu homes lean on ceiling fans because most of them have no central air conditioning to fall back on. The EIA's 2020 residential energy survey found only 12 percent of Hawaii homes using central AC, while 65 percent used ceiling fans and about four in ten used no AC at all. Honolulu's warmest and coolest months sit only about 6 F apart on average, so a fan here runs most of the year, not one summer. All those hours land on the mount, the motor and the blade screws. That is why a repair visit from Kaimuki to Kaneohe starts with the box and the blades, not the remote.
Year-round fan hours
Bedroom and lanai fans
Condo ceilings
Tall plantation ceilings
Why is my ceiling fan wobbling or noisy?
A ceiling fan wobbles or gets noisy when something between the ceiling box and the blade tips has worked loose or out of balance. Here is what each symptom tends to point to.
Wobble on high
Loose blade screws or blades out of balance. If balancing does not cure it, the box or brace above is moving.
Clicking
Often a loose blade screw, rattling light-kit glass, or a canopy that touches the ceiling each time the fan turns.
Humming
A loose canopy can buzz against the ceiling, and so can a wall control that was made for lights rather than fan motors.
Pull chain broke
The chain snapped off, or it spins without clicking. The switch inside the housing gets replaced like for like.
Light on, blades still
The fan side has lost power or given up: a switch, a loose connection in the canopy, or a worn-out motor.
One blade droops
A blade sitting lower than the rest has a bent or cracked arm. Take it out of service until it is checked.
The job list
Small repairs and installs around Honolulu
One visit can cover several items. These six are the ones Honolulu homes ask about most; the full list sits further down the homepage.
Window AC Installation
A window unit set on a proper bracket, sealed at the sides, and draining away from the wall.
More on Window AC Installation →
Garbage Disposals
Jammed, humming or leaking disposals cleared, reset or swapped for a new unit under the sink.
More on Garbage Disposals →
Drywall Repair
Holes, cracks, nail pops and water-stained patches cut out, taped, mudded and blended.
More on Drywall Repair →Ceiling Fan Installation
A fan hung on a box rated to carry it, balanced so it stops wobbling at full speed.
More on Ceiling Fan Installation →
TV Mounting
A screen mounted into studs or the right concrete anchor, with the cables kept tidy.
More on TV Mounting →01
Ceiling fan repair
Usually. We tighten every blade screw, check that the blades sit level, and run a balancing kit. If the wobble survives all that, the cause is usually the mount, a box or brace that moves, and the fix happens at the ceiling rather than at the blades.
Rarely; the pull-chain switch inside the housing can be swapped like for like.
It can be the wall control, the pull-chain switch, a loose connection under the canopy, or the motor itself. We test from the wall switch inward. If the motor is finished, a new fan usually makes more sense than a rebuild, and it can go on the same box if that box is fan-rated.
Check the model. In 2020 the CPSC recalled about 38,900 Kichler 52-inch LED fans after roughly 62 reports of the arms holding the blades breaking or coming off. Before we rehang or repair an older fan, we look it up on the CPSC recall list.
02
Installing a new fan
Yes, when there is already a box and wiring at that spot. We read the marking inside the box first. A plain light box is not made for a fan's moving load, so it is swapped for a fan-rated box or brace before the fan goes up. A fan where no box exists, or a new wall switch to run it, is a job for an electrician. For a plain fixture swap, see light fixture installation.
ENERGY STAR says at least 7 feet from floor to blades, 8 to 9 feet where the ceiling allows, and 18 inches or more from any wall.
Blade spans run from 29 to 54 inches, and 52 inches is the most common. In a small Honolulu bedroom the wall clearance usually decides it, so measure the room before you buy and send us the numbers. A low hugger fan suits a short ceiling; a tall one takes a longer downrod.
A new fan on an existing fan-rated box is usually priced per fan. Repairs run by the hour, because the cause is not known until the canopy comes down. A fan and a couple of light swaps in the same visit spread the minimum; the handyman pricing page explains it.