As the siding guys were siding, they asked for locations for lights and outlets so they could put one of those square trim boxes to make the light fixtures mount on a solid back opposed to the wavy-ness of the double 4 siding.
Sparky volunteers to put in his retro boxes so siding guy doesn’t have to trim siding (and also because Sparky wasn’t ready w/ his locations).
Now, the retro trim boxes are octogonal in shape and not square.
Anyone know where to find square plastic retro mounts for vinyl siding?
Home Depot and the local siding supply house are a no-go.
Thanks!
Ed
Replies
Are you looking for J-blocks?
Square with a nailing flange, and a trim ring that snaps on over the cut edges of the siding. They are more rectangular than square. Sound about right?
The J blocks I have seen will accomodate several different electrical boxes.
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Or are you looking for mini recess mounts?
Sounds more along the lines of what you are talking about.
If your local siding supply house doesn't have them, can they order them?
I find your description a bit confusing, although I think I get the jist of what the issue is. J-blocks do come in various sizes and shapes, but Home depot wouldn't be someplace I'd expect to find much. Check here: http://www.midamericacomponents.com/
BTW - when you select your exterior lights, remember to get ones that have a small enough mounting plate to fit on your J-blocks. A lot of people make that mistake.
Edited 2/22/2007 6:32 pm ET by Matt
Sorry to not have the vocabulary right on this.Yes, I am in need of J blocks. The ones that have the nailing flange on them means the siding must now be cut to accomodate them.The electrician has provided a retrofit one that has the profile of a double 4 on the back of it to fit right over the siding and not have any gap. The only issue is that the shape of the block is octagonal and not rectangular.I checked the vendor listed in one of the posts previously and they only had the octagonal. I also checked a company that had Arlington in the name and I came up empty....The siding house doesn't seem to know of a retro-fit block that is rectangular...Any help would be appreciated.Thanks!
Ed
Just buy the regular J-blocks and install them.
Vinyl siding is very easy to work with.
EDIT: they make a J-block with the electrical boxes already moulded into them. Buy those, kill the breaker and install them.
Edited 2/23/2007 5:47 am ET by Stilletto
It's like Stiletto said. The siding is gonna have to come off. It's not a big deal, and you can re-use the existing material. A siding guy can do it in 15 minutes/per. 45 minutes each for a novice.
Regarding those surface mounting blocks with the siding profile cut in them, although they do have their definite advantages, I see them used very rarely.
Another trick is to use whatever block you have, and then mount a larger flat plastic trim plate over that. Here they sell those at the big box with the rest of the siding accessories, and I have had to resort to that when a homeowner picked a light fixture with a large mounting plate (against my advice).
Sequencing trades is important. When things get out of sync, you either need to make arrangements ahead of time for someone to come back and resolve the problem, or plan on resolving it yourself.