How to cover an old outdoor electrical box and hide exposed wire
Leaving an abandoned outdoor junction box exposed after removing a light fixture creates an eyesore and safety hazard. The difficulty lies in safely sealing the hole while concealing leftover wires like a relocated fixture lead, which homeowners struggle to accomplish cleanly without a proper cover.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Hiring an electrician
- 2Installing a new box and running the wire inside the wall with a waterproof cover
- 3Look online for a style junction box made of different material and for outdoor purposes and remove the original
- 4Use a larger piece of sheet metal to go between the fixture and the box
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Need ideas on how to cover this junction box.”source ↗
“How do I cover this hole that originally had a light but was removed because our newly added pagoda is in the way? we installed a new light under with a new orange wire ourselves and it seems to work. I know there are covers for the 4in hole but how can I also hide the orange wire and make it look decent?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 4Gap around furnace b-vent after roofing
- 2How to fill deep holes in the yard from removed structures
- 18Should I use foam or caulk to seal gaps in exterior walls?