Mounting outdoor lighting

[Rosemary]

I have the original cheap, plastic light fixtures on the exterior of my mh. It appears that they have been glued. I dont see any screws. How do I go about mounting new ones? If I screw them into the siding is there wood or drywall behind the siding that will secure them? Thanks, Rosemary

[Brenda (OH)]

A quick answer is to turn off the power to the light, cut the glue, pull the fixture out slightly and take a peek.... you should be able to see if there is wood behind the fixture. or if wood can be slid in and added.

what I have found the hardest part of replacing an outdoor light is whether or not the bracket/junction box in the wall that the wires come out of is for a particular type of light, example... the small light that was on the wall took a different type of bracket than a larger motion sensor light needs... not a big deal, but the kind of thing you might want to try to plan ahead for. also, if the hole is larger than needed for the new light, what will be the plan for covering the exposed area? (hint, vinyl siding or skirting piece can sometimes be cut and caulked to fit in between the wall and the fixture!)

if you can remove the light and the bracket, put wire nuts on the wires, stick a baggie over the wires, ease them back in the wall, and run the store with the old parts and bracket to get assistance for selecting the easiest light to replace the old one with, it may be the easiest approach.

The biggest safety hazard would probably be being sure to avoid driving the screws through the wires when you are attaching a different bracket or parts of the new light. The wiring is pretty much color coded and matches up from old light to new one.

if you are feeling any nervousness about approaching doing the light, try and see if you can barter something for some skilled helped. I have been told home made cookies or a home cooked dinner is considered a pretty fair trade by some semi-skilled repair folks!

Brenda (OH)