On Aug 1, 9:34*am, "Calab" wrote:
"Smitty Two" wrote in message

news | In article gpzkk.48330$nD.37166@pd7urf1no, "Calab" | wrote:

|
| Howdy!
|
| In our bedroom, the light switch is in a single gang electrical box.
This
| switch seperately controls the ceiling fixture and ceiling fan.
|
| I want to replace this switch with a ZWave dimmer, but I don't have
anywhere
| to install a fan control. The electrical box is mounted in a position
where
| I can't fit a double gang box. I can't find any ZWave controller that
will
| allow ZWave to dim the lights, and manually control a fan.
|
| Anyone have any ideas on how I can deal with this?
|
| Thanks!
|
| Don't most fans have either a pull chain, or a remote? Why do you need a
| light switch for a fan?

No remote... and it's 10 ft up.

just remove the old box and use an old work double gang box. A BFH, a
wrecking bar, and some finesse will suffice to remove the old box from
the stud, ASSuming that it's the typical metal box nailed to the side
of the stud. I've had to do this at least twice in my house so far,
but not for the same reasons (in one instance the box was loose and
therefore the whole box/receptacle assembly was wobbly and sticking
out of the wall; in another I was changing a light switch to a three
way and had to pull the old BX out and a new piece of 14/3 in, and it
just wouldn't pull because there was some horizontal framing in the
way.)

If for some odd reason you can't do this, you could get up on a ladder
and attach a pull chain to the fan switch that's built into the
ceiling fan, and rewire the fan so that the feed to the fan portion of
the fan/light assembly is wired to a wire that's always hot (might be
easier to do behind the fan, might be easier to do this in the switch
box, you won't know until you get into it.)

If you really prefer wall mounted controls, I second the other
opinion, if you simply can't use a double gang box, mount the fan
control in a separate single gang box above the light switch.

good luck

nate