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As detailed in this question, I had a loose electrical box in my ceiling.

I acquired a Saf-T-Brace, ripped the old box from the ceiling... and then discovered my beam spacing was too narrow for it.

Now I have a hole in the ceiling and I'm not sure how to proceed.

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With most brackets, there is an easy-to-find specification for the range of spacing between the joists. Alas, Saf-T-Brace does not publish one I could find, though Home Depot says it is for 16 to 24 inch joist spacing.

If the joist spacing (gap) is more than about 12 inches, you might be able to shorten the braces to fit, however spacings less than 14.5 inches seem to be a specialty item.

I checked dozens of hardware and electrical suppliers and finally found this one which adapts to 8 to 16 inch spacing:

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Platt has a slight presence in your area; alas it likely a 50 mile drive for you to go get—either Fremont or San Rafael.

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  • I ended up using this box from Home Depot. I had to break the fins off, but it's otherwise been acceptable. Every other bar I looked at was too wide for my ~12-13" beam spacing.
    – Richard
    Commented Sep 14, 2015 at 23:29
  • @Richard: How did you mount the beam?
    – wallyk
    Commented Sep 15, 2015 at 2:12
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    I connected the metal brace to the two beams with screws by reaching way up and into the hole with a screw driver using a flashlight and my camera phone to see.
    – Richard
    Commented Sep 15, 2015 at 4:38
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As mentioned in other answers, Adjust the bracket, or return it and get a new one.

Otherwise:

This is some tight work, but it can be done. First, very carefully measure the joist spacing. Cut two pieces of 2"x(whatever you have)" to fit between your joists. Pre drill some holes so that you can "Toe-screw" these in place. Use a small cordless screwdriver and fit them in.

Now attach your brace between these new supports.

NOTE: You're screwing here because you won't be able to nail. So use tough screws, like stainless steel. Don't use deck, flooring or drywall. They're too brittle for a shear force.

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    Why go through that much work to install a braced box. Would be easier to just put one 2xWhatever and use standard box nailed/screwed to it.
    – diceless
    Commented Sep 9, 2015 at 22:30
  • I'm assuming he wants to hang a fixture with some weight to it. A single screw on one side will torque out.
    – Chris Cudmore
    Commented Sep 10, 2015 at 15:38
  • for ceiling fans I've always just used a pancake box screwed to the underside of a 2x4. They also make some that straddle a 2x? if you need a large box fill. But looking to see if they have a side mounted ceiling fan boxes, I came across this which would be a perfect solution. homedepot.com/p/…
    – diceless
    Commented Sep 10, 2015 at 16:32

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