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The outdoors is not the ideal place for an electrical box. Rain, snow and sleet may blow into the box and cause a short. Boxes for outdoors have gaskets and fittings that keep the inside of the box, and the electrical wires, dry.
Electrical boxes can be mounted just about anywhere outdoors and on any type of siding. But it’s worth taking the time to plan where they will go. This way, you can make adjustments along the way, if requiring extra outdoor fixtures.
Mount the box close to where it will be used most often and as near as possible to where the cable exits the house. Outdoor boxes are made from cast aluminum or PVC plastic. Both types are designed with gaskets and watertight covers to keep out the elements. If you are using PVC conduit, attach it to a metal box with a conduit connector. PVC conduit attaches to PVC boxes with plastic pipe primer and solvent cement, found at your local home improvement center or hardware store. If using a metal box, it’s a good idea to wrap plumber’s Teflon tape around the threads of the screw-in plugs. Outdoor boxes have flanges to fasten them to a structure with screws.
Attach an electrical box to the house wall by screwing through the flanges. All unused openings should have screw-in plugs inserted. To mount the box to a masonry wall, bore holes for masonry shields first. Insert the shields in the holes, then screw the box to the shields. For aluminum or vinyl siding, screw directly through the siding into the wood behind it.
Install the receptacle and make the appropriate wire connections. Fix the gasket and waterproof cover plate to the receptacle with screws.
When installing electrical boxes indoors, you don’t have to worry about the elements of weather. You can use PVC plastic boxes. Take a walk around your house if it’s new construction, and make sure you have marked out all the areas where you will need to install electrical boxes. Once the wall is closed up, it is too late to install boxes without having to tear up the wall and install a new one.
You will want to place the PVC electrical boxes on the left of the stud in the wall, whether it’s a metal stud or wood. If you nail the electrical box to the stud directly on top of the stud, you won’t be able to close up the wall with drywall unless, the electrical box is seated way into the wall and clears the drywall.
Making sure all the holes are popped out for installation of the screws or nails, install the electrical box to the stud. You won’t need to remove all the holes in the box, just the ones that you will be using to insert the nails or screws. Do this procedure for all the areas in the wall that need electrical boxes. This is a relatively simple installation. If not an electrician, when it comes to wiring, always hire a licensed electrician to finish the job you started.
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