Learn how to safely install a porch luminosity to make your home safer while promote its curb ingathering .

BHG / Kevin Norris

install a porch light ( or two ) will up the safety and security of your nursing home while give way the exterior a serious glow - up . Stylish porch lightsare like jewelry for your home ’s exterior ; the correct ones can totally transform the looking at . Give your rest home a modern makeover , opt for something with a farmhouse twist , or go for something traditional and timeless . We ’ll walk you through the ins and out of porch clean installation , from cut a hole for an exterior light boxwood to safely supplying exponent to the loge to finally mounting your fixture . Get set forth with our steps below .

how to install a porch light

Credit:BHG / Kevin Norris

While basic wiring is suitable for many DIYers , it can be dangerous and calls for extreme caveat . If you ’re uncertain of your power to safely and right cable a porch light , call an linesman or handyman to wire the fixture before placing yourself and others at danger .

Installing vs. Replacing a Porch Light

If you already have a porch light but are looking to raise , the process is standardised to the step below , only easier . Once you’veturned the great power offand removed your current fixture , skip to step five to instal your newfangled porch light . In most cases , the existing wires will work , but you might have to replace the mounting hardware with your new visible light ’s included computer hardware .

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Materials

Instructions

How to Install a Porch Light

Drill Pilot Hole

Once you ’ve set where your light will go , practice a cowcatcher hole using a 1/4 - inch drill scrap . slew a bent conducting wire hanger through the trap and gyrate the end in a rophy to see to it no studs are too close to deploy the light box seat . correct the hole placement as needed .

Cut Hole

Use the bent wire to ensure no pipes or wires are in the fashion , then retrace the back of the visible radiation box on the wall andcut around the melody using a fretsaw .

Run Wire

Use Pisces the Fishes tape to lam a wire through the yap in the siding to your switchbox in spite of appearance but refrain from connecting the wire to the electric corner until the death . If bestride two lights , execute a wire from light to light . slue the goal of the wire through the light box ’s integrated clinch , leaving 8 to 10 inches exposed .

Install Box

Slide the honest-to-god - employment light box into the hole and tighten the screws until the box is secured tightly in the wall .

Install Light Hardware

Use the provided screw to fasten the climb straps to the loose box . Use a level to ensure the mounting strap is level .

Wire Fixture

utilise a service program knife to strip back the conducting wire ’s overlay , exposing the three individual wires underneath . Use conducting wire strippers to disinvest 3/4 - inch from each wire . Using conducting wire fruitcake or the provide wiring computer hardware , join bloodless to ashen ( common ) , black-market to dark ( live ) , and greenish to green ( ground ) . To release your custody up for wiring , use the bent coat hanger to hold the fixture close to the light loge .

Install Fixture

Bend the wire and push them into the ignitor box , then mount the fixity to the mounting shoulder strap using the provided hardware . wrick the power off at the electric loge and connect the supply cable and the switch leg , then restore the baron . Install a bulb and check the function of the luminosity . If everything is working as it should , caulk around the ignitor fixtureif necessary to forbid pee from enter around the fixture .

When working with electricity , always sour the power off at the reference ( electric box ) , rather than just the switch . sustain the power is off with a voltage examiner after turning off the master ledgeman .

Porch Light Tips and Tricks

Now that your porch light is installed , here are a distich of way to maximize its efficiency and effectiveness . To lay aside vim andincrease your home ’s protection , believe installing a programmable switch to control your porch lighter . These switches allow you to set the light to come on and plough off at certain intervals and have an override switch for manual control . For more savings , opt for an LED bulb that apply less energy and lasts longer than traditional incandescent illumination bulbs .

drill pilot hole

Credit:BHG / Kevin Norris

cut hole for porch light

Credit:BHG / Kevin Norris

run wires through hole

Credit:BHG / Kevin Norris

installing porch light

Credit:BHG / Kevin Norris

install light hardware for porch light

Credit:BHG / Kevin Norris

install wire fixture

Credit:BHG / Kevin Norris

installing light fixture for porch light

Credit:BHG / Kevin Norris