I am installing an outlet on the outside of my brick house and I have already run the romex to the outside by drilling a 1/2" hole through the brick. I am trying to figure out how would I attach the romex to the box. If I used a regular NM clamp, I would need to make the hole in the brick a lot bigger, like an inch or so diameter, so the box would sit flush against the brick, and so the clamp would fit inside the 1 inch hole. Is there another way to do this? Do I even need to secure the romex to the box? Or can I secure it from inside the house before it enters the hole to go outside and just caulk it or use GreatStuff to seal it?

What type of box are you using, it should be a waterproof box. These normally come with a threaded hole, which requires a male threaded clamp or conduit connector. 1/2" hole will allow nothing attached to the box to be used, use a cold chisel to enlarge the hole to fit whatever clamp you are using.

How do you attach romex to an outdoor outlet box mounted to brick?

Mar 13, 2013 25 Replies

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generic 13 years ago

I've done this numerous times with those external boxes and it works fine. As long as the box is deep enough it will work fine.

I never understood why they dont come up with a clamp that is made for this application, that dont require such a large hole in the wall.

I always put a bead of silicone caulk around all external boxes after it's mounted. That will keep water out of the box, because otherwise it can follow the romex into the box regardless how the clamp is installed.

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generic 13 years ago

What is an Arlington Button? Please post a web link for a photo.

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trader4 13 years ago

google is your friend

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Mikepier 13 years ago

Look at a couple of posts above, there is a link.

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TomR 13 years ago

Here's a link showing an "Arlington button":

formatting link

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generic 13 years ago

Yep, I found that right after I posted this....

It looks like a perfect solution.

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