Make Your Own 10 Ft. Ceiling Fan Downrod (Or Any Length Downrod)

Got a room with a really high ceiling and need a 10 foot long 3/4" universal ceiling fan downrod? Can't find any place to buy one for a reasonable price? Online sellers charge hundreds of dollars. Most local hardware or big box stores sell up to 5 ft. down rods and usually don't carry the high dollar ''downrod couplings" needed to put (2) 5 foot downrods together. So what do you do? You make one cheap and exactly like you want with products usually available at your local hardware store or plumbing supply house. Here's how to make your own very inexpensively!

Supplies

3/4" rigid plumbing pipe, drill, tape measure, drill bit set, brushes, cleaner / degreaser.

Step 1: Buy Your Ceiling Fan to Determine Size & Style of Downrod Needed

Its a good idea to go ahead and buy your ceiling fan so you can see the style and size of the short down rod that comes with most fans. We purchased the Home Depot Kensgrove LED / DC fan for our project.

Many U.S. manufactured ceiling fans have a 3/4" inside diameter downrod that is considered a universal style down rod. It will measure around 1" outside diameter. Take a look at yours and measure the inside diameter. If its the standard 3/4" then proceed to next steps.

Step 2: Determine the Length Needed for Your Downrod

If you have a room with ceilings taller than 10ft you will probably need a longer downrod than the ones that come with the fan. Many manufacturers recommend residential ceiling fans to be 10 ft or so above floor. Consult with your fans manufacturer for their recommendations of the length of the down rod. For this example, I have a 21ft ceiling height and have determined for it to work in this style of room that I need around a 10 ft. down rod. These ceiling fan down rods are not available at our local hardware big box or fan store.

Step 3: Buy 3/4" Id Rigid Gas or Plumbing Pipe at Hardware Store the Length Needed for Downrod

Go to your local big box hardware store and buy hard length of 3/4" id steel plumbing pipe in galvanized or black iron. Galvanized looks good with silver or grey finish ceiling fans. Black finish looks good with darker ceiling fans. Or you can paint the pipe whatever color you desire (after preparation). In this case, I bought a 10 ft galvanized pipe for around $29. It will likely be threaded on both ends but that's fine. If you need a different length it is usually sold in many different lengths. You can also cut the pipe to an exact length if needed. In this case there was no need for me to shorten the 10 ft. pipe. The pipe weighs around 11 lbs. for 10 ft. and the weight helps minimalize any sway that the fan might have from the long down rod.

Step 4: Prepare Your Pipe by Cleaning It

That's right, its time to do a quick clean job on your new downrod. When these plumbing pipes are manufactured they have a thin oily residue on them. Grab some degreaser / cleaner some steel wool, and some scrubbing brushes and spray the degreaser on one end of the pipe and scrub as you work your way to the other end. We used La's Totally Awesome cleaner along with a steel wool pad for most of it and it made short work of it. Repeat process until the pipe feels clean to the touch then rinse with clean water.

Step 5: Confirm Hole Sizes in Shorter Downrod. Drill New Downrod Holes for Pins

What you want to do here is look at the smaller down rod that came with your fan and replicate it as a longer version with the new pipe. Remove the ball socket and any screws on the short down rod. There is typically a hole on each end of the smaller down rod for a small pin to go through. You will need to create these holes on the new longer down rod. Note how far from the end of the pipe the holes are from each end. The center of the hole in this example was 3/8" from the ends of the pipe. Make sure you match the drill hole diameter by inserting a drill bit in the factory down rod hole until you find the right size. The drill bit size needed in this example was 5/16" on one end 1/4" on the other. Drill new holes in the new down rod at both ends.

Measure carefully and replicate the holes to match your shorter down rod.

Step 6: Add Additional Holes If Needed for Ground Wire or Other Need

If your down rod needs a ground wire screw hole or other hole, go ahead and drill those holes now in the same pattern as the smaller down rod.

Step 7: Finish Your Downrod With Paint (if Needed)

Now that fabrication on your new downrod is complete, its time to paint it if desired. Find a high quality enamel spray paint or other paint and paint it as you desire. We didn't need to paint ours as we bought the galvanized silver pipe and it complimented the polished silver finish of the ceiling fan just fine.

Step 8: Re-attach Ball Socket

Re-attach the fan ball socket you took off the factory supplied downrod by sliding the ball socket on your newly finished longer downrod. Slide it to the end and reattach the small pin that the ball socket slides over.

Step 9: Install the Ceiling Fan - Use an Electrician

Now your ready to install your new ceiling fan. Odds are if you need a 10 ft. downrod you should also consider hiring an electrician with an 18ft. A-frame ladder to install it and extend the wires down to the fan. Its very hard to do anything safely at this height and the installer needs the right equipment. Call around to some local electricians. You should be able to find one that can do it in an hour or two with the right equipment and its worth the $200 or $300 to have a professional complete the fan installation. Enjoy your new fan.