Renovation guides

How to replace a porch light yourself: step by step

Like-for-like: a new wet-rated fixture on the same box and the same wires, sealed so rain runs off it.

Difficulty 2 of 5 · about half a day · you can do this

Photo of your room, the look you pick, then this guide with the materials counted for your room.

Step by step

1. Step 1 of 12

   Read the stop-gate before you buy anything

   

   This task replaces a fixture with the same kind of fixture on the same box and the same wires, and swaps an outdoor outlet cover. A new box, a new switch, a new circuit, or wiring you cannot map is a licensed electrician's job.

2. Step 2 of 12

   Buy the right fixture

   

   Read the label: where rain or sprinklers can reach it, it has to say wet location. Check the fixture's weight against the box, and that its base covers the old paint outline and the box on your wall.

3. Step 3 of 12

   Turn off the breaker and tell the house

   

   Switch off the breaker for the porch light and put tape over it so nobody flips it back on. Turn the light switch off too. If the fixture has a photocell or motion sensor, note how it is set now.

4. Step 4 of 12

   Test every wire dead

   

   Check the non-contact tester on a live outlet first. Take off the globe and bulb, unscrew the fixture from the box, and hold it without touching bare wire. Test every wire with the non-contact tester, then with the two-lead tester between each pair and each wire to ground. Check the tester on the live outlet again.

   Before you touch the wires

   • Breaker off and taped
   • Non-contact tester checked on a live outlet before and after
   • Every wire in the box tested dead with the non-contact tester
   • Every pair tested dead with the two-lead tester, including to ground

5. Step 5 of 12

   Photograph the wiring and look for stop signs

   

   Photograph the connections before you undo anything. Look for a bare or green ground wire, the wire color and condition, and how many cables come into the box. No ground, aluminum wire, cloth or crumbling insulation, scorch marks, a loose box, or extra cables you cannot explain all mean stop and call an electrician.

   Before you disconnect anything

   • A photo of the connections is on your phone
   • There is a ground wire in the box
   • Copper wire with sound insulation, no scorch marks
   • The box is tight to the wall and not damaged
   • You can say what every wire in the box does

6. Step 6 of 12

   Take the old fixture off and clean the wall

   

   Undo the connectors and remove the old fixture and its bracket. Scrape the old caulk off the wall around the box so the new gasket sits flat. Check that the box is still tight.

7. Step 7 of 12

   Mount the bracket and bond the ground

   

   Screw the new mounting bracket to the box. Connect the house ground wire to the green screw on the bracket and to the fixture's ground wire, per the fixture instructions.

8. Step 8 of 12

   Connect the wires

   

   Join white to white and black to black with connectors rated for those wires, the way your photo shows. Tug each wire — none should pull out. Fold the wires neatly into the box.

9. Step 9 of 12

   Set the gasket and fasten the fixture

   

   Put the gasket between the fixture base and the wall and fasten the fixture to the bracket. Tighten until the gasket seals evenly, not until the base bends.

10. Step 10 of 12

    Seal the top and sides only

    

    Run a bead of exterior sealant along the top and both sides where the base meets the wall. Leave the bottom open so any water that gets behind it can drain out.

11. Step 11 of 12

    Put an in-use cover on the outdoor outlet

    

    With that breaker off and the outlet tested dead, replace a flat cover with an in-use (bubble) cover. Whether the outlet is GFCI protected can only be checked with the power on — you do that in the next step.

12. Step 12 of 12

    Power on and test

    

    Put in a bulb no bigger than the fixture label allows, turn the breaker on, and test the light. Test the outdoor outlet with the plug-in tester and press its GFCI test button (or the one on the outlet): the power must cut off. If it does not, the outlet is not protected — breaker off again, test dead, and replace it with a weather-resistant GFCI receptacle wired like-for-like per its instructions, then test again.

    Quality check

    • Light works from the switch
    • Fixture label says wet location
    • Ground connected to the bracket and the fixture
    • Sealant on top and sides, bottom left open
    • Outdoor outlet has an in-use cover and trips when you press the GFCI test

Draft guide written from standard practice, not yet reviewed by a licensed pro. Follow product labels where they differ.

Español