Garage wall lights
#1
10-21-02, 10:45 AM
Garage wall lights
I am installing 3 wall lights on the exterior of my detached garage. All the wiring will be run inside the garage. I don't want to use an outdoor box that attaches to the exterior wall because at 1-1/2" deep it won't be flush with the stucco (to be applied later) and the light fixture won't fit right.
Questions: Can I use a standard interior fixture box, extended through a hole in the OSB? Can I use NMB wire or do I have to use weather-resistant wire?
I read through NEC and all I could find about exterior light fixtures was that they had to be sealed with silicone to keep water from getting to the wires. Did I miss something?
Questions: Can I use a standard interior fixture box, extended through a hole in the OSB? Can I use NMB wire or do I have to use weather-resistant wire?
I read through NEC and all I could find about exterior light fixtures was that they had to be sealed with silicone to keep water from getting to the wires. Did I miss something?
#2
10-21-02, 12:30 PM
I am assuming that you are talking about installing coach lights on the outside of the garage.
I have found that the easiest way is to use 4" metal octagon boxes. Decide where you will locate the boxes on the outside walls and then hold the box up to the wall, making sure that the mounting ears are horizontal and use a black magic marker and trace an outline of the box. (Keeping the ears horizontal will aid in accomodating various fixures.) Use a cold chisel and as carefully as possible, remove everything inside of the line and then start taking the line away, stopping to check often whether the box will fit with what you have removed so far. The idea is to make the box fit as tight as possible.
Once you have made the hole for for the box, you will need to remove a knockout from the back of the box. Removing the uppermost knockout is the best, as it will assure that the pipe that you run out of the back of the box is centered. Now place the box back in the hole temporarily, adjusting it so that the box extends beyond the outside wall the same depth as the thickness of the stucco to be applied later. At this point it is better to err on the side of too little sticking out of the block than too much, you can always use longer mounting screws if you have to but, you can't flush mount a fixture if the box sticks out beyond the stucco.
Use a small but long drill and drill a pilot hole directly through the center of the removed knockout and through the back side of the block (inside of garage). From here you can go one of two ways. You can use an LB or SLB to make a 90 up the inside of the garage wall or you can just measure and bend a 90 in a piece of 1/2" EMT. The slb makes it so that you dont have to make a large hole inside, if you bend a 90 then the hole that you made will have to be extened upwards from the center to accomodate the radius of the 90. Simplest way is the use of the slb's or lb's. Using these you will need to measure for a straight piece of pipe exiting the rear of the box and then you will need to measure from the top of the lb to above the ceiling of the garage. Doing this makes it so that you can use romex and it will be protected all the way to the attic. Make sure that you put a fitting on the end of the pipe that goes into the attic, it can be either a connector or a coupling.
The measurement of the pipe that exits the box is critical since the pipe helps support the box until it is mudded into place. So make sure that you have the box set to the right depth before you take the measurement.
Once you have done this you can run the wire through the attic and and down to each fixture box. It is best to mount a junction box in the attic in the middle of the three fixture boxes, that way you can run just one cable down each pipe and it cuts down on the number of wires in each box making it easier to mount the fixtures.
Hope this helps.
I have found that the easiest way is to use 4" metal octagon boxes. Decide where you will locate the boxes on the outside walls and then hold the box up to the wall, making sure that the mounting ears are horizontal and use a black magic marker and trace an outline of the box. (Keeping the ears horizontal will aid in accomodating various fixures.) Use a cold chisel and as carefully as possible, remove everything inside of the line and then start taking the line away, stopping to check often whether the box will fit with what you have removed so far. The idea is to make the box fit as tight as possible.
Once you have made the hole for for the box, you will need to remove a knockout from the back of the box. Removing the uppermost knockout is the best, as it will assure that the pipe that you run out of the back of the box is centered. Now place the box back in the hole temporarily, adjusting it so that the box extends beyond the outside wall the same depth as the thickness of the stucco to be applied later. At this point it is better to err on the side of too little sticking out of the block than too much, you can always use longer mounting screws if you have to but, you can't flush mount a fixture if the box sticks out beyond the stucco.
Use a small but long drill and drill a pilot hole directly through the center of the removed knockout and through the back side of the block (inside of garage). From here you can go one of two ways. You can use an LB or SLB to make a 90 up the inside of the garage wall or you can just measure and bend a 90 in a piece of 1/2" EMT. The slb makes it so that you dont have to make a large hole inside, if you bend a 90 then the hole that you made will have to be extened upwards from the center to accomodate the radius of the 90. Simplest way is the use of the slb's or lb's. Using these you will need to measure for a straight piece of pipe exiting the rear of the box and then you will need to measure from the top of the lb to above the ceiling of the garage. Doing this makes it so that you can use romex and it will be protected all the way to the attic. Make sure that you put a fitting on the end of the pipe that goes into the attic, it can be either a connector or a coupling.
The measurement of the pipe that exits the box is critical since the pipe helps support the box until it is mudded into place. So make sure that you have the box set to the right depth before you take the measurement.
Once you have done this you can run the wire through the attic and and down to each fixture box. It is best to mount a junction box in the attic in the middle of the three fixture boxes, that way you can run just one cable down each pipe and it cuts down on the number of wires in each box making it easier to mount the fixtures.
Hope this helps.
#3
10-21-02, 12:35 PM
For the fixture outlets use a 4" sq. ("1900") box, a "1900" "ring cover" and a 3-1/4" octogon extension box. Screw the ring-cover on the 1900 box, screw the extension box on the ring-cover, and screw the "assembly" to a 2X4 cleat that you will nail to the studs. Cut a hole in the sheathing to conform to the size of the extension box, set the cleat so that the front edge of the extension box will be flush with the "face" of the stucco after the finish is applied,and nail the cleat in place. It's important to use an opening in the exterior that does not exceed the dimensions of the fixture base that sets on the wall. You can use NMB cable between the boxes. Use brass screws ONLY for ALL parts when mounting the exterior fixtures.-----Good Luck!!!
