Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to do,
but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get some
new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind it? I
really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task ahead of me -
ripping out the drywall and installing an box to mount the new fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral wires that
are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires that it was connected
to were corroded as well - not terribly but there was a definite green film
on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex, installing
an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the new fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and neutral
wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the old fixture back
on the siding to keep it moderately covered from the elements. Should I be
safe until I can do a permanent install or would it be a good idea to unhook
the wires from the actual switch inside the house too?

Three options: You can use a siding box, which would probably look silly on
the wood, You can cut in a gem box, right around the existing cable, which
would work fine, or you can mound a pancake box right on the surface and get
new fixtures with deep canopies to accommodate the pancake box. You need new
fixtures anyway




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to do,
but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get some
new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind it? I
really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task ahead of me -
ripping out the drywall and installing an box to mount the new fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral wires that
are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires that it was
connected to were corroded as well - not terribly but there was a definite
green film on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex,
installing an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the new
fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and neutral
wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the old fixture back
on the siding to keep it moderately covered from the elements. Should I
be safe until I can do a permanent install or would it be a good idea to
unhook the wires from the actual switch inside the house too?

PS, there is no box behind the siding




"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Three options: You can use a siding box, which would probably look silly
on the wood, You can cut in a gem box, right around the existing cable,
which would work fine, or you can mound a pancake box right on the surface
and get new fixtures with deep canopies to accommodate the pancake box.
You need new fixtures anyway




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to do,
but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get some
new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind it?
I really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task ahead of
me - ripping out the drywall and installing an box to mount the new
fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral wires
that are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires that it was
connected to were corroded as well - not terribly but there was a
definite green film on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex,
installing an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the new
fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and neutral
wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the old fixture
back on the siding to keep it moderately covered from the elements.
Should I be safe until I can do a permanent install or would it be a good
idea to unhook the wires from the actual switch inside the house too?

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
PS, there is no box behind the siding


Damn. Well I can try using one of those 1/2" high boxes and see if I can
inset it into the sheathing beneath it. In some ways I wish I hadn't
uncovered that little mess - but on the other hand it was an absolute fire
waiting to happen.



"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Three options: You can use a siding box, which would probably look silly
on the wood, You can cut in a gem box, right around the existing cable,
which would work fine, or you can mound a pancake box right on the
surface and get new fixtures with deep canopies to accommodate the
pancake box. You need new fixtures anyway




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to
do, but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get
some new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big
mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind it?
I really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task ahead of
me - ripping out the drywall and installing an box to mount the new
fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral wires
that are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires that it was
connected to were corroded as well - not terribly but there was a
definite green film on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex,
installing an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the new
fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and neutral
wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the old fixture
back on the siding to keep it moderately covered from the elements.
Should I be safe until I can do a permanent install or would it be a
good idea to unhook the wires from the actual switch inside the house
too?

If you have boards or plywood sheeting behind the siding, you could use a
three of four inch hole saw . Just cut through the siding then screw the
pancake box to the sheeting.



"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
PS, there is no box behind the siding


Damn. Well I can try using one of those 1/2" high boxes and see if I can
inset it into the sheathing beneath it. In some ways I wish I hadn't
uncovered that little mess - but on the other hand it was an absolute fire
waiting to happen.



"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Three options: You can use a siding box, which would probably look silly
on the wood, You can cut in a gem box, right around the existing cable,
which would work fine, or you can mound a pancake box right on the
surface and get new fixtures with deep canopies to accommodate the
pancake box. You need new fixtures anyway




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to
do, but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get
some new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big
mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind it?
I really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task ahead of
me - ripping out the drywall and installing an box to mount the new
fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral wires
that are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires that it was
connected to were corroded as well - not terribly but there was a
definite green film on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex,
installing an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the new
fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and
neutral wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the old
fixture back on the siding to keep it moderately covered from the
elements. Should I be safe until I can do a permanent install or would
it be a good idea to unhook the wires from the actual switch inside the
house too?

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
If you have boards or plywood sheeting behind the siding, you could use a
three of four inch hole saw . Just cut through the siding then screw the
pancake box to the sheeting.


Just to be clear, when you say "pancake box" you are referring to the
circular 1/2" and 5/8" metal boxes?



"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
PS, there is no box behind the siding


Damn. Well I can try using one of those 1/2" high boxes and see if I can
inset it into the sheathing beneath it. In some ways I wish I hadn't
uncovered that little mess - but on the other hand it was an absolute
fire waiting to happen.



"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Three options: You can use a siding box, which would probably look
silly on the wood, You can cut in a gem box, right around the existing
cable, which would work fine, or you can mound a pancake box right on
the surface and get new fixtures with deep canopies to accommodate the
pancake box. You need new fixtures anyway




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to
do, but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get
some new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big
mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind
it? I really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task ahead
of me - ripping out the drywall and installing an box to mount the new
fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral wires
that are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires that it was
connected to were corroded as well - not terribly but there was a
definite green film on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex,
installing an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the new
fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and
neutral wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the old
fixture back on the siding to keep it moderately covered from the
elements. Should I be safe until I can do a permanent install or would
it be a good idea to unhook the wires from the actual switch inside
the house too?

Yep, they come in 3 and 4 inch




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
...

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
If you have boards or plywood sheeting behind the siding, you could use a
three of four inch hole saw . Just cut through the siding then screw the
pancake box to the sheeting.


Just to be clear, when you say "pancake box" you are referring to the
circular 1/2" and 5/8" metal boxes?



"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
PS, there is no box behind the siding


Damn. Well I can try using one of those 1/2" high boxes and see if I
can inset it into the sheathing beneath it. In some ways I wish I
hadn't uncovered that little mess - but on the other hand it was an
absolute fire waiting to happen.



"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Three options: You can use a siding box, which would probably look
silly on the wood, You can cut in a gem box, right around the existing
cable, which would work fine, or you can mound a pancake box right on
the surface and get new fixtures with deep canopies to accommodate the
pancake box. You need new fixtures anyway




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to
do, but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get
some new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big
mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind
it? I really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task
ahead of me - ripping out the drywall and installing an box to mount
the new fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral wires
that are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires that it
was connected to were corroded as well - not terribly but there was a
definite green film on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex,
installing an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the new
fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and
neutral wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the old
fixture back on the siding to keep it moderately covered from the
elements. Should I be safe until I can do a permanent install or
would it be a good idea to unhook the wires from the actual switch
inside the house too?

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Yep, they come in 3 and 4 inch


Yeah that'll work, the fixture is 1/2" deep, the wire's will be a tight fit
with the wirenuts and all that but otherwise it should work. I can cut the
siding with a knife (its cedar) and caulk around the fixture. Damn, this
might actually work out.



"Eigenvector" wrote in message
...

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
If you have boards or plywood sheeting behind the siding, you could use
a three of four inch hole saw . Just cut through the siding then screw
the pancake box to the sheeting.


Just to be clear, when you say "pancake box" you are referring to the
circular 1/2" and 5/8" metal boxes?



"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
PS, there is no box behind the siding


Damn. Well I can try using one of those 1/2" high boxes and see if I
can inset it into the sheathing beneath it. In some ways I wish I
hadn't uncovered that little mess - but on the other hand it was an
absolute fire waiting to happen.



"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Three options: You can use a siding box, which would probably look
silly on the wood, You can cut in a gem box, right around the
existing cable, which would work fine, or you can mound a pancake box
right on the surface and get new fixtures with deep canopies to
accommodate the pancake box. You need new fixtures anyway




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have
to do, but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get
some new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big
mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind
it? I really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task
ahead of me - ripping out the drywall and installing an box to mount
the new fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral
wires that are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires
that it was connected to were corroded as well - not terribly but
there was a definite green film on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex,
installing an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the
new fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and
neutral wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the
old fixture back on the siding to keep it moderately covered from
the elements. Should I be safe until I can do a permanent install or
would it be a good idea to unhook the wires from the actual switch
inside the house too?

On Sat, 5 May 2007 12:00:53 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to do,
but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get some
new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.


It is so sad that wiring like this becoming the standard today.
Someone should loose their job for work like this. They should start
with the building inspectors.

"Terry" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 5 May 2007 12:00:53 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to do,
but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get some
new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.


It is so sad that wiring like this becoming the standard today.
Someone should loose their job for work like this. They should start
with the building inspectors.

Well I don't kow about today, this was presumably done when the house was
built in 1960. Also I'm not clear how inspections are done when the
property is in county land - my house was pretty far out in the boondocks in
1960.

They do make a full size 'old work' box that might work. You'd cut a full
size 3 or 4 inch hole thru the siding and sheathing and the box has 'wings'
that spring out inside the wall to hold it in place. I might prefer this to
the thinner pancake box on the surface since it would let you get the wires
back further inside the wall and help prevent water from causing more
corrosion.


"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Yep, they come in 3 and 4 inch


Yeah that'll work, the fixture is 1/2" deep, the wire's will be a tight
fit with the wirenuts and all that but otherwise it should work. I can
cut the siding with a knife (its cedar) and caulk around the fixture.
Damn, this might actually work out.



"Eigenvector" wrote in message
...

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
If you have boards or plywood sheeting behind the siding, you could use
a three of four inch hole saw . Just cut through the siding then screw
the pancake box to the sheeting.


Just to be clear, when you say "pancake box" you are referring to the
circular 1/2" and 5/8" metal boxes?



"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
PS, there is no box behind the siding


Damn. Well I can try using one of those 1/2" high boxes and see if I
can inset it into the sheathing beneath it. In some ways I wish I
hadn't uncovered that little mess - but on the other hand it was an
absolute fire waiting to happen.



"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
Three options: You can use a siding box, which would probably look
silly on the wood, You can cut in a gem box, right around the
existing cable, which would work fine, or you can mound a pancake
box right on the surface and get new fixtures with deep canopies to
accommodate the pancake box. You need new fixtures anyway




"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have
to do, but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I
get some new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them -
big mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.

Dare I cut the siding and hope that there's an electical box behind
it? I really really hope there is, otherwise I have quite a task
ahead of me - ripping out the drywall and installing an box to
mount the new fixture.

So staring at that mess I look at the old fixture - bigger mistake

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050113.JPG
No that isn't green insulation - that's exposed hot and neutral
wires that are almost corroded through. In fact the Romex wires
that it was connected to were corroded as well - not terribly but
there was a definite green film on the wires.

So what am I looking at here - completely removing the old Romex,
installing an exterior box, then cutting my siding to install the
new fixture?

For now I've clipped the connection, wirenutted both the hot and
neutral wires and wrapped them with electricians tape and put the
old fixture back on the siding to keep it moderately covered from
the elements. Should I be safe until I can do a permanent install
or would it be a good idea to unhook the wires from the actual
switch inside the house too?

On May 6, 4:37 am, "Mark" wrote:
They do make a full size 'old work' box that might work. You'd cut a full
size 3 or 4 inch hole thru the siding and sheathing and the box has 'wings'
that spring out inside the wall to hold it in place. I might prefer this to
the thinner pancake box on the surface since it would let you get the wires
back further inside the wall and help prevent water from causing more
corrosion.



Yes that's what I would do; if sufficient depth to put a regular
(circular or 'octagon') box; screwed to something solid or the siding.
Then the new light fixtures would be attached to the box.
Found exactly same thing in the eaves of my daughter's house while
replacing an outside light with one that had proximity sensors etc. No
boxes at all! Wires were wire nutted to the fixture wires; fortunately
nice and dry and no problems, but one heck of a surprise on a house
not that old. Was able to get a box mounted to a piece of 2x4 which
was inserted through the aperture and secured inside with screws.
On my considerably older house I would not ever have mounted a fixture
with 'wood' screws onto the siding as shown by the OP.! The OPs idea
of caulking or a gasket to slow water entry around base of fixture is
a good one IMO.

On Sat, 5 May 2007 18:27:48 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:


"Terry" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 5 May 2007 12:00:53 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to do,
but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get some
new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.


It is so sad that wiring like this becoming the standard today.
Someone should loose their job for work like this. They should start
with the building inspectors.

Well I don't kow about today, this was presumably done when the house was
built in 1960. Also I'm not clear how inspections are done when the
property is in county land - my house was pretty far out in the boondocks in
1960.

I had a vinyl siding guy tell me that they never put an electrical
box. They have just what you have, a piece of romex hanging through a
hole in the wall.

This would never pass any inspection.

It did pass an inspection. Electrical inspectors are just regular human
beings, with no psychic abilities. When they do a roughing inspection, it
can be normal to have a cable just sticking out of the sheeting or siding.
It's expected that the electrician install the boxes afterwards and not
cheat




"Terry" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 5 May 2007 18:27:48 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:


"Terry" wrote in message
. ..
On Sat, 5 May 2007 12:00:53 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

Secretly in the back of my mind I think I know what I'm gonna have to
do,
but I'm hoping for an out.

The porch lights on my house are firetraps and have to go. So I get
some
new ones and begin the process of unmounting one of them - big mistake.

http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050111.JPG
As you can see its simply screwed onto the siding.
http://photos.imageevent.com/eigenve...e/P5050112.JPG
And the romex is fed to it through a hole in the house.


It is so sad that wiring like this becoming the standard today.
Someone should loose their job for work like this. They should start
with the building inspectors.

Well I don't kow about today, this was presumably done when the house was
built in 1960. Also I'm not clear how inspections are done when the
property is in county land - my house was pretty far out in the boondocks
in
1960.

I had a vinyl siding guy tell me that they never put an electrical
box. They have just what you have, a piece of romex hanging through a
hole in the wall.

This would never pass any inspection.

"terry" wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 6, 4:37 am, "Mark" wrote:
They do make a full size 'old work' box that might work. You'd cut a
full
size 3 or 4 inch hole thru the siding and sheathing and the box has
'wings'
that spring out inside the wall to hold it in place. I might prefer this
to
the thinner pancake box on the surface since it would let you get the
wires
back further inside the wall and help prevent water from causing more
corrosion.



Yes that's what I would do; if sufficient depth to put a regular
(circular or 'octagon') box; screwed to something solid or the siding.
Then the new light fixtures would be attached to the box.
Found exactly same thing in the eaves of my daughter's house while
replacing an outside light with one that had proximity sensors etc. No
boxes at all! Wires were wire nutted to the fixture wires; fortunately
nice and dry and no problems, but one heck of a surprise on a house
not that old. Was able to get a box mounted to a piece of 2x4 which
was inserted through the aperture and secured inside with screws.
On my considerably older house I would not ever have mounted a fixture
with 'wood' screws onto the siding as shown by the OP.! The OPs idea
of caulking or a gasket to slow water entry around base of fixture is
a good one IMO.


Well I've got it fixed anyhow. Turns out I couldn't use a old work box,
wish I could have, there's a fricking! stud right where I don't want it to
be. So I used the 1/2" short box and caulked the light the best I could.

I figure when I get a little more time and some help I'll square away the
porch light properly and use the old-work box if I can.