Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - question about installing second switch

I currently have one switch that controls the fan and light for my ceiling fan.What would be the best way to add a second switch to control them sepratly?

There are several options. If you have the ability to replace the cable between the switch box and the ceiling box, you can simply add a second switch. If you can't or don't want to replace this cable, you can buy a smart fan control such as the Hunter 27186 (about $40 at home centers).

What would be the proper way to connect the second cable?

That depends on how it is wired now. There are two main ways of wiring a simple single-pole switch. One involves a switch loop, and one doesn't. If the existing switch is a 3-way, then other possibilities come into play.

Start by shutting off the breaker, gently pulling the switch out of the box without disconnecting any wires, and tell us all the cables, all the wires, and all the connections in the box.

There are two cables going into the box. All of the whites are connected together and all of the blacks are connected to the switch,and the grounds are connected together

So each of the two cables has exactly one black wire, one white wire, and one bare wire. Right?

If so, you need to replace the black/white/bare cable that goes from the switch box to the ceiling with a black/red/white/bare cable of the same gauge as the existing cable.

Then you need to decide whether you want to replace the switch with a duplex switch (one unit with two switches with horizontally moving levers), or replace the single-gang box with a double-gang box so that you can use two regular switches.

when i do this should i connect the red wire from the cable to the i think blue from the fan?

Yes, that will certainly be one of the connections that needs to be made.

thanks for your help ill let you know how it turns out, one more thing how would i find out the proper size wire?

If the breaker is 15-amp, the wire is almost certainly #14. And if the breaker is 20-amp, the wire is almost certainly #12.

ok thanks thats makes it sound easier