My friend Keith the electrician from Accurate Electrical in Aurora, Ontario walked us through the installation of an outdoor outlet. Here are some interesting tips I picked up from him:
On a brick wall, drill the wire hole and the screw anchor holes all on the face of one brick and not through the mortar. That way the holes will stay solid instead of crumbling and letting in water.
Drill the wire hole uphill into the house -- again to keep water from flowing in. Keith just put the wires into the pin holes in the back of the Ground Fault Interrupter outlet. That really bothered me because I really don't feel that those little pin contacts give a good connection for the wires. I am a bit old fashioned and I like to see the screw making firm contact with the wire. Keith agreed with me but taught me that the Ground Fault Interrupter outlet is an exception because the screw does clamp onto the wire when it is shoved into the back slot, instead of just being grabbed by a pin as on ordinary outlets and switches.
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