Best way to mount goose-neck light fixture to wall?

[Gerald O]

I'm looking for ideas on how to mount this type of light fixture to the wall over my garage doors. I haven't seen any examples of an actual installation that would give me a clue about mounting them in a secure fashion that also meets code. With the weight extended out at the end of the arm it has to exert a great deal of leverage which will require more than your usual wall sconce electrical box.

This is for new construction. There will be hardiplank siding, which is not up yet. So do I need to build up some kind of a flat backing block on the exterior of the sheathing and **** the siding up to it? Does the flange need to mount directly to an electrical box, or should it be bolted to the wall framing somehow with the wires threaded through a hole to the box?

Any suggestions, or pictures?
Thanks.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Ceiling fan fixture boxes are pretty strong and can be bolted directly to framing!

 

[Gerald O]

These fixtures will mount horizontally to the wall, not suspend from a ceiling like a fan. Different forces involved.

 

[Steevo]

Use a box like this, with a solid 2x4 behind it, spanning between studs. Screw the box to the 2x4 through the back of the box.

Or, use a box like this, screwed to the side of a stud, but I like option 1 above better:

Better yet, use box #2 and add a 2x4 or 2x6 crosswise behind it for rigidity.

 

[Speedy Petey]

These fixtures will mount horizontally to the wall, not suspend from a ceiling like a fan. Different forces involved.

WHY does that matter? A ceiling fan box securely mounted is strong in all directions.

Personally I'd use a round weatherproof box surface mounted.

 

[Gerald O]

Use a box like this, with a solid 2x4 behind it, spanning between studs. Screw the box to the 2x4 through the back of the box.

My concern is that these only provide two very tiny machine screw attachment points to mount the gooseneck flange to. That's several pounds out on the end of that long arm exerting several foot pounds of torque on the attachment point. Add in some wind on the 15" diameter shade and will this hold together in the long run?

 

[Gerald O]

WHY does that matter? A ceiling fan box securely mounted is strong in all directions.

It's only rated for tension loads, not torque loads. So strength under torque is unknown.

Personally I'd use a round weatherproof box surface mounted.

Thought about that. Those have 4 screw attachment points for the cover (good), but only 2 smallish (cast aluminum or pot metal) tabs where the box mounts to the wall surface. The tabs look like they are designed to support the box itself, but not for supporting a heavy fixture attached to the box. The engineer in me says not good enough.

 

[Gerald O]

This might do it. 4 mounting ears for the cover and extra flanges that I could attach to the sheathing. Screw the back to a vertical 2x4 member behind the box.

Now if I can find it locally...

 

[rburke65]

This will be a good thread to follow. In all the reading I've done here at GJ, I cannot remember this subject being brought up. Great question!

 

[Speedy Petey]

It's only rated for tension loads, not torque loads. So strength under torque is unknown.

If you claim to know this then why are you asking here?
Personally I don't think it matters.

The engineer in me says..........

Never mind.

 

[Gerald O]

If you claim to know this then why are you asking here?

I know that ceiling fan junction boxes are rated for suspended weight, and I'm not asking about ceiling fan boxes.

Someone else may already know of a typical proven solution for these kind of light fixtures and might be willing to share the details.

 

[bygasper]

These concerns were one of several reasons why I went with a light like this (in black) on the exterior of my barn.

 

[Gerald O]

These concerns were one of several reasons why I went with a light like this (in black) on the exterior of my barn.

That should be very sturdy.
I may yet change the gooseneck mount to some kind of more braced setup. Maybe add an angled strut?

 

[Speedy Petey]

I know that ceiling fan junction boxes are rated for suspended weight, and I'm not asking about ceiling fan boxes.

Well, being very familiar with the construction and strength of fan boxes I am still mentioning them.

Someone else may already know of a typical proven solution for these kind of light fixtures and might be willing to share the details.

I already did. Round weatherproof boxes will be more than strong enough and are designed for the application. Pretty much every fixture I have installed like the one you show either had a very thick heavy-duty plate, or took four mounting screws to take advantage of the four holes in a weather-proof box.

 

[VHF]

I've been pondering this for quite some time as well as I would like to mount a gooseneck fixture over my service door. I have T1-11 siding which complicates matters further as it is tricky to get wall penetrations properly flashed to keep water out.

I was wondering if I could screw the fixture right through the siding into some blocking on the inside of the siding. I would drill a hole through the blocking and siding and run a 1/2" ****** out that would line up with the fixture's tubing, and then have a junction box on the inside.

This of course is continginent on the fixture haivng a few extra inches of wire to make it through the ****** and into the junction box, where it would be wire nutted to the building wiring.

This is certainly not conventional, but I like the thought of having the fixture screwed into solid wood blocking rather than an electrical box. Can anyone think of how this approach would be a code violation as long as the junction box on the inside remains accessible?

 

[2Big2Ride]

Mounted ours using round aluminum waterproof boxes as suggested by Speedy Petey. Several other very workable solutions also provided by others. The lights should not be all that heavy that they stress a steel or aluminum box.
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[Gerald O]

The lights should not be all that heavy that they stress a steel or aluminum box.

That looks nice. But I have to believe that all the heavy duty bolted framework you added around that box was not just for looks. I'm sure that it stabilizes the box a great deal and takes a fair load off of the mounting lugs.

I might do something like that but put the supports inside to make it flush with the wall on the outside.

 

[Speedy Petey]

Mounted ours using round aluminum waterproof boxes as suggested by Speedy Petey. Several other very workable solutions also provided by others. The lights should not be all that heavy that they stress a steel or aluminum box.
View media item 31628
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I just did an install of 16 fixtures by this manufacturer. VERY nice stuff, and very heavy duty as well. American made to boot, which I REALLY like.

 

[Falcon67]

I backed my siding up with a piece of 2x6, then drilled the center and mounted a box. Lamp mounts to 2x6 block, wire runs into the middle of the box.

 

[Scrambler82]

deleted by OP

 

[Gerald O]

Well, I checked out the ceiling fan junction boxes, found one that looked sturdy enough, but unfortunately the mounting holes in those didn't match hole spacing for the light base-plates.

So then I checked out the round water-tight outlet boxes. Again, the holes didn't line up at all.

So I went online and tracked down the boxes that will do the job. These are made by Crouse Hinds and are called conduit hubs. The covers screw on with 4 good sized stainless screws and the boxes are made from cast iron. Massively beefy. I'll be able to mount these to the framing with up to 5/16" dia bolts. Could probably hang a car engine from it.

 

[stangster]

I'm new to this forum and came across this thread. The crouse hinds box looks like it will do the trick. Was just wondering if it worked out for you?

 

[OldNeons]

Well, I checked out the ceiling fan junction boxes, found one that looked sturdy enough, but unfortunately the mounting holes in those didn't match hole spacing for the light base-plates.

So then I checked out the round water-tight outlet boxes. Again, the holes didn't line up at all.

So I went online and tracked down the boxes that will do the job. These are made by Crouse Hinds and are called conduit hubs. The covers screw on with 4 good sized stainless screws and the boxes are made from cast iron. Massively beefy. I'll be able to mount these to the framing with up to 5/16" dia bolts. Could probably hang a car engine from it.

Nice Work Gerald! That's doing it right the first time! I like it! Any suggestions on sources and approximate costs?
thanks!

 

[thundermug]

The traditional mounting hardware is called a floor flange. It's made of cast iron and are available in a variety of sizes. Depending on how far the light extends from the wall, you may need a guide wire for additional support.

But you may be ok using those beefy cast iron outlet boxes you mentioned.

 

[stangster]

That's what I used. Took a die grinder to the threads inside and took out just enough to slide tightly over the 1/2" pipe. Fastened the flange to the outside of the building and extended the pipe into a junction box on the inside. Worked out pretty well. I was jusy curious how those crouse hinds boxes worked out.
I found some used porcelain lights at a swap meet and made my own goose necks.

 

[Gerald O]

The Crouse-Hinds boxes are installed now, and I test fitted the light fixtures. The box is mounted with 5/16" x 2" lag bolts into cripple studs behind the sheathing. Very solid.

This picture shows how I cut away the Hardi plank siding and trimmed out the box in cedar. There is actually another cedar frame like this that goes over the top to cover the bolts. It fits closely to the box and is sealed all around with caulk. These trim frames will be painted to blend with the wall.

The garage electrical will go live tomorrow, and all the fixtures will be in place. I'll update later with a photo of the lamps in place.

 

[Gerald O]

Nice Work Gerald! That's doing it right the first time! I like it! Any suggestions on sources and approximate costs?
thanks!

These are fairly costly, so I hunted around quite a bit for lower prices. I still ended up paying about $50 per fixture.

I got the covers from here:
http://www.galco.com/buy/Crouse-Hinds/GRF11

And the boxes from ebay. Search for crouse hinds grfx:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...se+hinds+grfx&_nkw=crouse+hinds+grfx&_sacat=0

 

[thundermug]

Nicely done.

 

[stangster]

These are fairly costly, so I hunted around quite a bit for lower prices. I still ended up paying about $50 per fixture.

I got the covers from here:
http://www.galco.com/buy/Crouse-Hinds/GRF11

And the boxes from ebay. Search for crouse hinds grfx:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk...se+hinds+grfx&_nkw=crouse+hinds+grfx&_sacat=0

Wow, that's pretty expensive compared to $4.00 for a 1/2" pipe flange on the outside and $1.50 for a 4X4 junction box on the inside.

 

[bglad]

I was getting ready to install 2 of these lights over my garagedoors. Gerald thanks for the info and stangsterwhat do you mean by a pipe flange? BTW nice car, have 2 69 mach I's myself.

 

[stangster]

I was getting ready to install 2 of these lights over my garagedoors. Gerald thanks for the info and stangsterwhat do you mean by a pipe flange? BTW nice car, have 2 69 mach I's myself.

If you look at the one pic over the man door on my garage it shows the 1/2" pipe flange mounted to the outside wall. It's cast iron and can be bought at any hardware or big box home store. It supports the weight of the pipe at the outside wall and the pipe is connected to an electrical box on the inside. One of the pics shows that also. I like the idea of the crouse hinds box and cover but it's a little steep for me, especially since I installed 4 of these. Not sure it would hold the weight of mine though the way I made them.
Thanks for the compliment. I bought it new in 05 and have done all the body and engine mods myself. A pair of 69 Mach's, must be nice!

 

[Gerald O]

Wow, that's pretty expensive compared to $4.00 for a 1/2" pipe flange on the outside and $1.50 for a 4X4 junction box on the inside.

Yeah, I choked a bit on the cost. But it does exactly what I needed. I like your solution, but is it code legal? I had actual bought a floor flange before getting the crouse hinds boxes, but I didn't have any idea on how to make them work and still meet code. Then I started by buying just the crouse-hinds covers because they have a large flange diameter and I thought they would fit the cheap hardware store round waterproof boxes. But the holes dont line up, so I bit the bullet and got the heavy duty matching crouse hinds boxes.

Here's the finished result:

 

[stangster]

Yeah, I choked a bit on the cost. But it does exactly what I needed. I like your solution, but is it code legal? I had actual bought a floor flange before getting the crouse hinds boxes, but I didn't have any idea on how to make them work and still meet code. Then I started by buying just the crouse-hinds covers because they have a large flange diameter and I thought they would fit the cheap hardware store round waterproof boxes. But the holes dont line up, so I bit the bullet and got the heavy duty matching crouse hinds boxes.

Here's the finished result:

My conduit goes directly into an electrical box uninterrupted inside all my buildings. The flange is just to support the weight on the outside, so yes, it would meet code.

 

[bglad]

67, I see you used galvanized pipe. That's pretty sturdy.

 

[caneren]

Sorry Late to this..So most Gooseneck lights (for barn garage in my case) are to be mounted in the traditional fashion to a recessed electricat box, correct? In my case I may have framing in the way that prevents putting a box inside the wall...I see on this thread someone put the box on the outside (Romex going through the wall into rear of box, and cosmetically "boxed" it in...

Would that be the best solution for me? Would rather light be flush to siding...Thanks for any advice..

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Sounds like it!