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Installing An Outdoor Electrical SystemBy Jim Sulski Summary: Our decks and patios are becoming more like family and dining rooms. Jim helps you install an electrical system that meets all your outdoor living needs. With the trend towards outdoor living, decks and patios are more and more
resembling family rooms. As people try to bring the indoors outdoors, part of
that excursion includes bringing electricity to the open air. An outdoor electrical system not only increases the convenience and usability of a deck or patio, but eliminates the need for clumsy and dangerous extension cords. Electrical systems for the outdoors are similar to their counterparts indoors. The major difference is the receptacles, fixtures and switches used, which are weatherproofed. Switches use waterproof external levers and Receptacles are housed in weatherproof boxes. The receptacles are also ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets, which are also used bathrooms. GFCIs monitor the current traveling in the two electrical wires that power a device. If the current becomes imbalanced, as during a short, the GFCI shuts off the power in a fraction of a second. That eliminates the chance of a shock when an appliance or tool gets wet. What follows is a step-by-step guideline for installing an outdoor electrical system. • The first step in wiring the outdoors is to check municipal codes. Some municipalities require electrical wires to be encased in metal or plastic conduit or pipe, while others approve of electrical buriable cable or Romex wiring. For example, in the city of Chicago, all electrical lines in a home, and those outside a home above ground need to be encased in metal conduit. Lines below ground, however, can be buriable cable. When that cable comes above ground, however, it must be fed into metal conduit. Municipalities can also differ on how deep underground pipes and cables must be buried. A consensus is about 18 inches down, below the frost line. • Next, layout the system to create the most efficient plan. For example, you can tap into an interior circuit that is close to the outside wall, if that circuit has the capacity to power the outside system. If the outdoor system will be fairly elaborate, you may need to run a new line into your fuse box of circuit breaker box. This is something that will probably require the expertise of an electrician. Then, you'll need to map out how the system will leave the house, if and where it will travel underground, and what types of receptacles, fixtures and switches you'll need. • The most convenient circuit to tap into is one that is on the outside wall, such as an interior outlet, preferably one in the basement. A good location for an exit point is a few inches above the house's sill, the large board that is secured to the top of a home's foundation wall. To make sure you're on target, drill a test hole through the wall using a 1/4-inch drill bit. If you're in the wrong place, plug that hole with caulk and reposition the exit hole. Once you've hit the right spot, enlarge the hole with a 1/2-inch spade bit, used for drilling lock holes. Next, run a piece of conduit out through the hole to the exterior. Cut it so that it protrudes about a half-inch out of the house. Inside, link the conduit to the nearby circuit by removing a knockout panel from the back or side of the junction box. You'll need to open the box and remove any receptacles or wires first. Outside, connect the conduit to an LB fitting, a 90-degree elbow which has an access plate to easily feed wires through. The access plate also has a gasket to make it waterproof. • Next, you'll need to install the receptacle box. From the LB fitting, run a pre-measured piece of conduit up along the home's exterior wall. Then, attach a weatherproof surface-mount box to the conduit, and anchor it to the wall. Using a fishtape, you can then run the appropriate wiring from the circuit
inside to the outside box. Then install the receptacle and assemble the waterproof
box. © by Jim Sulski. All rights reserved. January 31, 2005. NOTE: This column is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher. © 2005 by Ilyce R. Glink. Distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate. |
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