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Electrical cable: between brick veneer and sheathing

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  • Jul 1st, 2020 9:43 am
Sr. Member
Feb 26, 2019
626 posts
739 upvotes
Ottawa

Electrical cable: between brick veneer and sheathing

I tried posting this in the electrical advice thread, but thought I’d also ask more broadly. My question is about running wiring for a new covered porch.

I am building a new front porch. I want install a ceiling fixture and two recessed lights. They will be on a new circuit with a switch in the basement. Lights will use Philips Hue bulbs (I'm already in the ecosystem) with Hue dimmers by the front door.

How can I bring power from the basement into the attic space of the new porch.

Option 1: punch out of the basement and use liquid tight conduit running along side one of the porch columns up into the attic. This is straightforward, but I would prefer not to look at the conduit on my new porch.

Option 2: This is my preferred approach because it would conceal the wiring. My question is: am I allowed to do this? I would punch out of the basement with bare cable (14-2 NMWU cable). I would run the wiring up between the brick veneer and the sheathing. I would punch a hole in the brick within the attic space and send it to the fixtures from there. The front door is being replaced so door brick mold will be off making this run easy to do. Once the new brick mold is installed the bare wire behind the brick would be at least 1-1/4" from the new nearest finish surface (the new brick mold, which in this case will be 1.5"x1.5").

Is option 2 permissible? Is bare wire (NMWU) allowed to be run between the brick veneer and the sheathing?
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6 replies
Deal Addict
Nov 6, 2014
1474 posts
2821 upvotes
0 downvotes (Maple,O…
Why not extend the cable from your existing porch lights/electrical box with a short 3ft conduit into the ceiling? That way when you turn on the porch lights it would also turn on the potlights. Or even better, from the inside make a hole in the drywall where the porch light box is, then extend the wire from the porch light box (from the inside) and fish it through the wall, drill a hole into the porch ceiling and extend it there. Maximum you'd need is two small drywall holes and a 1/2" mason bit with a hammerdrill.

I'm not sure why you want to run a new cable/circuit from the basement.
Sr. Member
Feb 26, 2019
626 posts
739 upvotes
Ottawa
fordmaple wrote: Why not extend the cable from your existing porch lights/electrical box with a short 3ft conduit into the ceiling? That way when you turn on the porch lights it would also turn on the potlights. Or even better, from the inside make a hole in the drywall where the porch light box is, then extend the wire from the porch light box (from the inside) and fish it through the wall, drill a hole into the porch ceiling and extend it there. Maximum you'd need is two small drywall holes and a 1/2" mason bit with a hammerdrill.

I'm not sure why you want to run a new cable/circuit from the basement.
That's an option I'm considering too. I *might* tie the overhead fixture in with those lights. However, I definitely want the recessed lighting over the sitting area to be switched independently from the entry lights.

That said. the wiring to that switch and those old lights is original to the house and is on an ungrounded circuit, so (all things equal) I would rather have a new circuit with modern grounded wiring.

Another option could be to use some low voltage LED lights for my recessed lights and manage the switch separately for those (WIFI Smart switch or other solution). This would make wiring simpler. Wouldn't work for my overhead fixture, though.
Deal Fanatic
Nov 17, 2012
5381 posts
5003 upvotes
Toronto
Seems to me just inside the door there is likely a set of switches and probably an outlet. Power to the switches, and then out to the porch lights. Probably to a light in the front hall as well. 2 gang? Maybe 3?

I'd just put in another switch on that box and take the wire up through the finished interior wall and out into the new attic cavity of your front porch.

Or do it right and call an electrician.
Sr. Member
Feb 26, 2019
626 posts
739 upvotes
Ottawa
Thanks fellas. I might need to bite the bullet and fish up from the interior of the wall or settle for some visible conduit. I’ve done it before, and it’s no fun in the old plaster walls but sometimes can’t be avoided. I was just wondering if there was a creative way of doing this safely and in compliance with code.

I won’t hire this particular job out, but I’ve hired electricians in the past for more complicated jobs. But I will make sure I do it right and follow the rules. That is important to me.

If anyone else has insight, I’d be interested to hear!
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Sep 9, 2012
6963 posts
6079 upvotes
Oakville, ON
dottawat wrote: Thanks fellas. I might need to bite the bullet and fish up from the interior of the wall or settle for some visible conduit. I’ve done it before, and it’s no fun in the old plaster walls but sometimes can’t be avoided. I was just wondering if there was a creative way of doing this safely and in compliance with code.

I won’t hire this particular job out, but I’ve hired electricians in the past for more complicated jobs. But I will make sure I do it right and follow the rules. That is important to me.

If anyone else has insight, I’d be interested to hear!
Maybe run the conduit right beside one of the “back posts” on the brick wall then cover them with trim? If you trim out both sides the same the same then you’d never know that one of the posts was hiding a conduit run. Or cut out a rabbit run one the side of face of the post and cover with trim so you wouldn’t have to change the dimensions of the posts.
Sr. Member
Feb 26, 2019
626 posts
739 upvotes
Ottawa
CanadianLurker wrote: Maybe run the conduit right beside one of the “back posts” on the brick wall then cover them with trim? If you trim out both sides the same the same then you’d never know that one of the posts was hiding a conduit run. Or cut out a rabbit run one the side of face of the post and cover with trim so you wouldn’t have to change the dimensions of the posts.
That’s not a bad idea. The posts are all getting clad in cedar, so I could sneak some metal conduit inside the rear post. They are slightly oversized (structurally), so I could carve out a channel to buy some extra clearance.

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