The wiring may not be conventional because the power or the light circuits are not coming into the switch boxes and some creative wiring was done. The easiest way to figure this out is to first disassemble all switches and lights to access the wiring. Find out which wires in each box have power and make a diagram. Next shut off the circuit so you can check each wires resistance/continuity. This will allow you to determine which cable is feeding where. With a voltmeter/DVM set to OHMS pick the first wire to check and make sure there is no continuity. With the meter still connected to the wire go to the light or switch box you think the wire is running to and touch the same colored wire to ground (this is assuming it hasn't changed color by a connection somewhere else). The meter will read close to zero ohms when the wire is touched to ground (some wires may read a low resistance if it is connected to the light bulb so you may want to remove them). Do this for each wire until you have a diagram showing where all wires are going/coming from. Then is is a matter of having the wire supplying power go to the common of one switch. The two other wires in that same switch box must get to the other switch. The other switch will have the two wires coming in from the first switch and then the wire going to the lights connect to the common of switch 2. It now is a matter of connecting the wires through all the boxes to achieve this configuration. If you cannot figure this out then a picture of where all the wires go to the switches and lights. Good Luck!

I doubt she is going to answer since the website has been sold twice since that post was made nine years ago. Anyhow, you can bypass the switches if you are just going to use the remote, but frankly, I'd not do that. You'd like the ability to to hard switch off the fans for maintenance things like replacing the bulbs. Just install the fan to the switched circuit. Work the switches so that the fan is powered and then just use the remotes. You can put a piece of tape over the switch to remind you to use the remote.

Joed, I am working on remodeling my kitchen. I have common coming into the bottom of the 3 gang box at one doorway, which will eventually control a ceiliing fan (only from that location) a ceiling light (controled from two locations) and also some recessed lights( again controlled from two locations. So there will be two circuits that can be controlled at the two doorways coming into our kitchen. SO..I have a 3 gang box into which the common comes and a two gang box on the other side of the room. I have not yet installed the recessed lights, and at this stage am trying to simply get our existing ceiling light to work with the new wiring. At the the 3 gang box I have common (black) with 3 pigtails. One is taped off for the eventual ceiling fan. The other two I connected to the BLACK screw on the 2 3-way switches. On switches, the black screw and a brass screw are on one side and a brass screw on the other. ON both of the switches I connected common to the black screw, the black wire from the 12-3 to the brass screw on the same side as the black screw and the red wire to the sole brass screw on the other side. I connected the three white wires from the 2 12-3 lines and the single 12-2 line (ceiling fan) to the white wire from the common feed. And then I have this ugly series of pigtails which I need to re-do, that connects the ground from the common wire to the grounds from the 12-3s and 12-2 and also the ground lugs on the switches. Although I pulled all the wire, I did not connect anything else except a single 3 way switch at the other side of the room (in the 2 gang box). At that box I wired red to the single screw, black to the black screw and white to the other screw on the same side as the black, and I wrapped the white wire with black tape. In the middle at the ceiling fixture I wired white from the common (3 gang box) to white of the fixture. Black from the other side (the two gang box) to the black from the fixture and I connected the black/white wire from the 2 gang to the black from the 3 gang. This circuit works fine, able to turn on and off from the either side of the room. What I noticed though is that when I flip the second 3 way switch in the 3 gang box which is currently only connected to the pigtailed common, and a black and red from a 12-3 that is taped off and not connected to anything, my breaker pops. I forgot to mention that this 2nd 12-3 is also connected to the pigtailed whites and the rats nest of grounds all connected. Thanks for the help Tom

Depending on how the receptacle is wired it could be a matter of just changing which wire the receptacle is wired to or you may have to by pass the switch at the switch box. As for the fan you can install a new wire to the switch box or just fish down to an entirely new switch. Most fans these days are designed so that they can be installed either with two wall switches (one for lights, one for fan) or a single switch (and use pull chains or a remote control to differentiate the circuit). Code pretty much requires a overhead light or one switched outlet per room to be legal. Note that in addition to wiring the fan must be supported by a box rated for such (which needs to be connected to some solid framing member not just the drywall/plaster ceiling). I can't tell you to the number of times I've come across fans attached to old work boxes or cheesy drywall fasteners rather than proper fan boxes. Old work fan boxes are available that fit through a box sized hole and telescope out to catch the adjacent ceiling joists.