Yes they are necessary. If you just had a cable sticking through the siding, and attached it to a fixture, then screwed the fixture to the siding, a poor connection against the siding could cause a fire
A box is needed per code as all connections need to be fully enclosed in an enclosure. In this case, it sounds like you'd be leaving the area behind the fixture open which code will not permit. What prevents a spark from flying down into the wall and causing problems? Cheers, cc
The scaredy-cat rep from the property management company talked us into needing scare-away the criminal lights on the ends of the townhouse buildings, and they had an electric company in business for
50 years iirc, who came out and mounted a rectangular flood to the outside of my attic, no box at all.
They had an apprentice or some kind of novice do the connection inside the attic, but I thought they had two guys outside. I assumed one was a real electrician. And whoever made up the work order was likely told or could have found out by calling and asking that there had never been a light on this wall before.
7 years later the bulb needed replacing (was interfering with my AM radio) and they changed the whole fixture for a both solar and infrared controlled one, without saying a word about no box.
And I think they changed the fixture a second time, or just screwed it back on, about 7 years after that, when the screws ripped out of the t111 and the fixture was hanging from the Romex and again they just put it back. Might or might not be a different electrician by now. No box on the outside, no box on the inside.
The new fixture doesn't work right and I have to call them.
(The first one went on all the time at night, and when the bulb was bad interfered with my radio. This last one stays on dim all the time at night and interferes with the radio, and then goes to high if anyone walks by. (No one ever does.) The one at my neighor's, facing me, put up for the first time only a month later than my last one, doesn't light up at all unless someone walks by, and then it's at full brightness. That's what I want.)
To Cubby, in my case there is no "inside the wall" There is a sheet of something on the inside covered by a sheet of T-111 on the outside. Sparks would hit the t111 on the outside, or go through the hole to the inside where they would fall towards the empty carboard boxes I have there, 4 feet below the hole, or the pink insulation, 6 feet below the hole.
I guess I should have thought about this years ago.
I let them come in the house the first time, but I don't really want that to happen this time. And I don't want the box on the outside.
Can I do the box myself on the inside without making the hole in the siding bigger? It's about 2 inches now.
Some fixtures have an integral junction box. For this type of fixture, you would just run a cable through the siding and into a knockout in the back of the fixture's junction box
you can buy a siding block that has a built in box, i use arlington products just knock out 1/2" hole a romex connector and just screw it to your wall then mount light
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