Climbed up in the attic and pulled the insulation back. It is a metal bar holding the box attached to the joists on each end. I can’t see if it’s screws or nails cause it’s connected in the under side of the joist against the drywall but it’s definitely in there good. I pushed hard with my hand and it didn’t budge. Here’s some pics. What ya think?I can't really tell from the pictures. Unless that box is screwed into a joist, or suspended from a bar that is screwed into two joists, the answer is no.
If you remove that ceiling box, you can get a fan rated bar with a box that you can use without doing and demo work to the ceiling. The orange big box sells them.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Westing...fit-Ceiling-Fan-Saf-T-Brace-0110000/204845572
I agree with Jeff, it's a matter of what is supporting that box.
Those are NOT "bent over tabs". They are punched through the box and formed.That is not a fan rated box. A fan rated box will mounting points stronger than those bent over tabs on the box you have.
An angle grinder, unlike say a welder, is not generally considered "Hot Work"; that is work that is likely to kindle a fire. An abundance of caution will do you no harm though.If you take the angle grinder up in the crawl space take along a fire extinguisher also just in case.
If it were mine I would cut 2 (2x4) to fit snugly between the joists and pre-drill some angled holes thru the end for deck screws to (toenail) toe screw them to the joists one on each side of the hanger strap. Then I would go back down stairs and drill a couple holes thru the existing box and run a couple deck screws up into the new 2x4.
If you are careful there should be no damage or patching needed below and that box should now be strong enough to hold a normal ceiling fan.
The reason that I suggested using heavy hanger bars, like the lower one in this image,I agree with Bud, that a 2x inserted between the joists would be the easiest fix and plenty strong.
The garden sprayer is likely to hold a couple of gallons of water. A spray bottle may hold only a pint. The reason I suggested water with a little dish soap is that if something were to start smoldering the water would penetrate to the seat of the combustion and put it dead out. A dry chemical fire extinguisher will suppress the open burning but will not complete extinguishment immediately. There have been a number of well documented incidents were a fire that was knocked down with dry chemical came back to life when it wasn't properly overhauled.Or you could put a little water spray bottle.
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