How To Install Exterior Wall Lights

The outlet is always hot and the switch controls only the light.

How to install exterior wall lights.

If you don t have an outdoor box to tap in to consider installing one on your house. Unscrew the wire nuts. First you need to identify where you want to mount the outdoor light. Discard or recycle the old fixture and throw away the old wire nuts.

Check that it is straight and make adjustments. Nail an electrical box to the drywall framing behind the wall so that the knock out hole in the back of the box lines up with the hole you drilled in the brick. Ensure power feed is safely turned off at the circuit breaker panel. Some models will vary but most outdoor light fixtures use a screw or clip design to hold your new fixture in place.

You don t want to accidentally sever any cable or phone lines as you do this so call your utility companies to have them identify any underground lines they may have put near your home. Pull the electrical wire through the back of the box then fit it in the. Next you need to drill a hole at that point using a 1 2 inch masonry drill bit. It incorporates a combination light switch outlet photo 11.

Make sure your new outdoor light fixture is firmly attached to the wall. Take the electric box and nail it from inside the house aligning the box s knockout hole with the hole you drilled. The front of the box should be flush. Visit my channel homepage here.

I like to replace the wire nuts when installing new fixtures because they are inexpensive and it insures a good connection. Outline the back of a remodeling electrical box on the siding with a pencil and cut around the outline with a keyhole saw. Unscrew the cover off of the flood light or whatever fixture you are replacing pull the wires out of the junction box. Install outdoor light with wires behind the wall.

To install outdoor lighting first dig a trench about 3 inches deep along the route your electrical wires will follow from the transformer to the lights. Finish securing the light fixture to the mounting plate. In this video ask this old house master electrician scott caron installs an outdoor wall sconce and recessed lights at an old church that now serves as a house.