March, 2006 Project:
Installing Two Motion-Activated Porch Lights
Since the house is located in a
historic district, any alterations
must be approved by the city's
Historic Commission.  A simple
alteration such as adding porch
lights may be approved by the
head of the Historic Commission
without getting permission from
the entire Council.
Proposed Fixture Location
<< Our Certificate of
 Appropriateness from the
 Historic Commission.
The project, of course, started with
selecting the appropriate location for the
fixtures.

The center of the clapboard siding was
marked.  

Holding the light's mounting base up to
this mark allowed for the circle to be
drawn where the wood must be cut.
The hole was cut using a
spiral saw.  

The unique ability of a spiral
saw to plunge into the wood
(like a drill) and then cut
irregular shapes (like a jig
saw) made it the perfect tool
for this application.

The rough edges were then
lightly sanded to prevent
splinters.
With the hole cut, the lamp mounting
base can be attached to the siding.

This was done with a few finishing nails
which is adequate since the base does
not actually support the weight of the
fixture.
The base (of course!) did not fit
perfectly snug with the siding.

Those gaps have got to go!
The gaps were filled with an all-purpose
two-part epoxy wood filler.

The wood filler sets up quickly so that it can
soon be sanded down to a smooth finish.
On the back side of the hole, a 2x6
was used for the actual support of
the fixture.

The electrical mounting box was
screwed to this piece of wood, and
then the wood was attached to the
adjacent studs with 12 penny nails.
After all that work, here's what the
mounting base looks like.

The gaps between the siding have
been filled in and sanded smooth.

The entire base has been given a
coat of paint to match the siding.

And the receptacle box has been
mounted to the studs inside the wall.  
This will give the fixture all of the
support it needs.  

If the interior wall were not exposed
for this type of mounting, the fixture
could be mounted directly to the
siding, but it would not be as strong
of a support.
Before the light fixture is
mounted, the wiring must be
installed.


Kip used 12 AWG Romex wiring
for this, although smaller 14 AWG
wire would have sufficed.

12 gauge wire is rated for 20
amps, whereas the smaller 14
gauge wire is rated for 15 amps.
The combined draw of the two
light fixtures will be 240 watts, or
a mere 2 amps.
Once the wiring is installed, the fixture
can be mounted!


Never try to mount a light fixture such
as this with the glass globe attached,
since it can easily be dropped and
broken.


Here, the globe has been removed and
the fixture is suspended from the
electrical box with a piece of solid
copper wire.  This allows for the
electrical connections to be made
without putting a strain on them.

This hanger makes the job a whole lot
easier!
The fixture is up!



But the job isn't quite finished yet.
In the corner of the porch, Kip
mounted a motion detector.
Inside the house, wiring was run along the
ceiling to the corner of the porch where the
motion detector is located.

Near the front entry doors, a light switch was
installed.  Power was run into the switch, out
to the motion detector, back to the switch,
and then out to the lights.
The End Result
Now when you walk up to the house in the evening, the lights come on automatically.  Or you
can just turn them on and leave them on.  The motion detector provides a variety of control
functions.
Library Ceiling