1. Have an Interesting Snippet to Share : Click Here
    Dismiss Notice

Headboards, Sofas, And Ceiling Fans - Alignment Woes?

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Nuzhath, May 3, 2020.

  1. Nuzhath

    Nuzhath Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    66
    Likes Received:
    80
    Trophy Points:
    58
    It has been ingrained in us - nobody shall object to the center placements of the ceiling fan in our rooms. At the time of construction, the electrician comes along to do the wiring. He eyeballs the center of the roof subtracting the distance of the overhead loft and he runs his pipe on the roof in the center. At finishing time, he comes again and fits the fan in place. The carpenter later comes along and places the double cot in the place you specify. And it is done. Good. The lady of the house takes over. Somewhere in between, someone has bought the ceiling fan, right? depending on the budget or attitude, the fans are big, small, or medium. Nobody thinks about it. It is all non controversial. Till the kids or the adults start occupying the beds.

    And then it starts, the kid on the farthest side of the bed complains he doesn't get enough air. You increase the speed and let it be. One of them gets a mild cold, or he doesn't want to negotiate - he wants less speed, but will not give up his well entrenched position. Eventually, everyone is adjusting themselves to get the full benefit of the free flow of air, as the ad for the fan had promised.

    In some houses, rarely though, they move the bed a bit closer to the fan. Align it well so that the blissful air moves along all over the room. Now, this raises the question about the headrest of the bed. Sometimes the headrest is too far from the fan. What do you do? You can't turn the bed so that the headrest is almost underneath the fan. That would be perfect, but bad decor - you can have the fan gently curl air around your face as you sleep. As of now, it barely tickles your feet.

    Room decor is an aspect. We cant just move the bed around, and with it the headrest.

    So, frankly in many houses, I am sure people are living with it.

    All because, somewhere in the electrician's head, a ceiling fan should be located right in the center. I think the carpenter and the electrician should meet up once in a while. That way, you won't have wiring running along the middle of a wall and the carpenter later glues a mirror on that same spot. Someday, you want to pull out the wiring to add a plug point.. you have the electrician nodding his head negatively - already thinking of moving on to his next assignment.

    The engineers in this forum might argue about the design of the fan blades and air flow, thus determining the optimum position of the fans on the ceiling. Period. No objections.We are just asking for some innovations - maybe a girder on which the fan can move a wee bit - without hitting the walls. Wall mounted fans are a good idea. But the roof is a wide open space occupied only by this king of air flow. Walls are a busy place, why fit a fan there.. ?

    Moving onto to the living room. Let's assume the living room is rectangular. The electric man again does his bit. This time, he deigns to think. Since the room is longer than wider, he decides to place two fans along the central line. He does his maths perfectly. Two fans, equidistant apart. But what about those folks who want to idle away their time on the sofa or the diwan - the air barely touches their torso. You haven't faced this? It must be a fluke. I am pretty sure, you wouldn't have calculated the direction and speed of the air flow, while placing your sofa. Sometimes, like the cowboy of yore, you strike gold.

    What is the purpose of this article, you may ask. Well, nothing important. We have lived with bad fan placements all our lives. I remember the lengthy arguments with the electrician when he was laying out the cables when our house was under construction. I had told him strictly that my bed is going to be in the far left of my room and the fan better be closer to the bed, and not in the center of the room. He resisted the idea and we arrived at a golden conclusion. The fan is imperceptibly placed a little to the left of the center. That house is now rented out and I am sure the new lady of the house has not noticed. She probably has her bed right in the center and the fan skewed out a bit.

    She still hasn't complained! That's because, as I mentioned in the beginning, it is ingrained in us!! :)

    Take care! Enjoy the weekend.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2020
    iyerviji, Agatha83, SunPa and 3 others like this.
    Loading...

  2. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,767
    Likes Received:
    1,664
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Male
    You have aptly brought out a universal practical problem.Lack of clarity on our side and absence of a summit between the carpenter and electrician are the root cause of the problem.No one complains because of blessings from the split AC.Old chaps who cant stand the Ac blast have a small table fan appropriately placed to take care.SLN
     
    Nuzhath and Thyagarajan like this.
  3. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    11,640
    Likes Received:
    12,463
    Trophy Points:
    615
    Gender:
    Male
    That is nice response to OP.
    But then Sir, what way quotes of mine & @hermitcrab are connected with alignment of ceiling fan .
    Thanks and Regards.
     
    kaluputti likes this.
  4. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,767
    Likes Received:
    1,664
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Male
    Dear Thyagarajan,
    It is a mistake.While quoting, all responses to my thread have been included.That is why I normally avoid quotes and respond to the person by name.
    Regards SLN
     
    Thyagarajan and kaluputti like this.
  5. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    2,336
    Likes Received:
    2,700
    Trophy Points:
    283
    Gender:
    Male
    I have an idea. I would suggest to make the bed revolving with a speed controller, or a sensor that may read the mind/minds of bed occupier/s, place it in the center of the room. Problem solved.
    Ditto for diwan in the living room.
    There is a disclaimer though. I am not an engineer of any branch. Do it on your own risk. hahaha
     
    Nuzhath, Thyagarajan and kaluputti like this.
  6. kaluputti

    kaluputti Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,151
    Likes Received:
    572
    Trophy Points:
    208
    Gender:
    Female
    You are right Nuzhath , glad you pointed it out, thanks to Covid-19 recently this was exactly our 'major' problem at home...was brushing it away since I thought I might be making lot of fuss over a very simple matter .Also we are tenants so didnt have much say either.In the living room we have two fans, one spaced from the other to divide the ceiling..not at the centre. We have placed the diwan and chairs in the best possible arrangement. Now only one of the chairs gets benefited from the fan, the other being too far away, or TV screen not visible ,with the heat of May preventing even a rustle..:sweat:.??? Now with lock out, I had to compete with my husband for that chair to watch news or whatever. We had actually started coming to blows..but won over the quarrantine anxiety,depression and what not ...:):):)to become civil, tolerant and take turns ...for that chair under the fan and watch our fav. news channel...:smiley:
     
    Thyagarajan likes this.
  7. kaluputti

    kaluputti Platinum IL'ite

    Messages:
    1,151
    Likes Received:
    572
    Trophy Points:
    208
    Gender:
    Female
    One of the best remedies, characteristic of you ji...:smiley::smiley: and if I accept the proposal not withstanding the disclaimer, can you be the financier ....:innocent:?
     
    Nuzhath and Thyagarajan like this.
  8. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

    Messages:
    1,231
    Likes Received:
    2,198
    Trophy Points:
    300
    Gender:
    Female
    Dear @Nuzhath,

    Kudos to you for having taken up a dry subject and analyze it thoroughly, through your objective writing skills.
    Having lived in many houses, both small and big, I have always faced with the same kind of problem, with the fan being always the crux of the problem. While my DH loves natural breeze and shuns fans like dirt, I sweat profusely, with a need of having an over head fan all the 24 hours. So here our problem is of a different kind.
    But unless a house has a good ventilation system, no matter how many fans you have, it is going to be of no use. I would love to sleep on a terrace watching the moon and counting the stars, with the gentle sea breeze lullabying us to a good restful sleep. No fans please!

    Agatha83
     
    Nuzhath likes this.
  9. Nuzhath

    Nuzhath Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    66
    Likes Received:
    80
    Trophy Points:
    58
    Hi
    Thanks! I did not want to touch on the marital discord - that would dry out the printer - if you were to print the marital woes about the fans..:)

    Good luck with your dreams about sleeping in the sea breeze.. be sure to keep something to keep the gnats away..

    Regards,
    Nuzhath
     
  10. Nuzhath

    Nuzhath Silver IL'ite

    Messages:
    66
    Likes Received:
    80
    Trophy Points:
    58
    Glad you can vent it out here! I love Indusladies coz they allow you to write about pretty much anything.. I am thinking of writing about my struggles with the masala box. you know the steel circular box with five small bowls in it to hold the masalas?
     
    kaluputti likes this.

Share This Page