Bob's Blog

Flush mounting light fixtures

Here is a question we received about lighting an Alumawood patio cover:I have a quick question. I want to put lights up on my post. My question is, do I make holes on the post for boxes, or a hole just be enough to run the electrical cable? Any information you have would be great.Thank you for your interest in Alumawood.First let me add a disclaimer and word of caution here. The running of electrical can be a very dangerous undertaking, even for a professional electrician. (that’s why they are so expensive) If you run the wrong type of wiring, wrong gauge, connect the wires wrong, etc…., someone could get hurt or even killed. That is why most cities and countieshave requirements for permits and inspections for electrical and many types ofconstruction work, for your safety and the safety of others. Actually I believe it was the insurance companies who got the first electrical buildings codes written and enforced, not really for your safety but for the safety of their profits!The following ideas are for the electrical contractor who may have particular questions regarding Alumawood. As always, check with your local building codes before beginning any work.  Now to the question. Usually an electrical box will be flush mounted (in the wall, post or whatever) This makes it a bit more difficult running the wiring on a finished product, like Alumawood but usually comes out with a cleaner look.You will need to “pre-wire” as much as possible. Route your wiring inside as much of the Alumawood as possible. Come out of the source, usually at the house and into an Alumawood rafter (for lattice) or into the roof pans (for solid). You may want a light switch here or you may be running off an existing switched circuit. You can then run the wire out to the header, along the inside of the header to the posts you will be mounting the lights to. You can gain access to the rafters and header by removing the Alumawood caps. After removing and replacing the caps a small screw in the top of them or a drop of glue will keep them from falling off or someone getting in there and accessing the wiring. Use an electricians “fish line” to get from one end of the header to the other . Any holes punched in the Alumawood for wiring to pass through should have some type of protective covering in place so the wire does not come in contact with any sharp metal edges. Also any splices in the wiring must be accessible as per code.Run your wiring into the light box, leaving extra to make the connection to your fixture. Secure the wiring to the box as per code and then put the box in the post and secure. You should now be able to mount your light fixture. Keep in mind the material you aremounting to and do not mount anything too heavy.We also offer “Permatrax” lighting systems. This is a “strip” lighting system and looks great on the Alumawood covers. “Permatraxx” is a low voltage lighting system, much safer for an unlicensed electrician to install. You may order them at alumawood.com along with your Alumawood cover. Just note it in the comments section Check out diypatio.com for more information or ordering them seperately. 

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