Adding a switch to an outdoor GFI outlet
 

I have a GFI outlet on an external wall, next to an outside door. On
the inside wall of that door, I have a switch for the outside light,
and that switch is a little over 3' from the GFI outlet (at an angle).

How difficult would it be to install a second switch at this location
for the GFI outlet? Am I going to have to remove a portion of the
interior drywall to get to the existing wires, or is there an easier
way?

For anyone that's kept up with my earlier posts, this is NOT the same
GFI outlet that the contractor poured gasoline into! LOL This one is
on the other side of the house.

Adding a switch to an outdoor GFI outlet
 

"Jason Carlton" wrote in message
...
I have a GFI outlet on an external wall, next to an outside door. On
the inside wall of that door, I have a switch for the outside light,
and that switch is a little over 3' from the GFI outlet (at an angle).

How difficult would it be to install a second switch at this location
for the GFI outlet? Am I going to have to remove a portion of the
interior drywall to get to the existing wires, or is there an easier
way?

For anyone that's kept up with my earlier posts, this is NOT the same
GFI outlet that the contractor poured gasoline into! LOL This one is
on the other side of the house.


If it's not in the same bay as the switches, you'll either have to cut
drywall, or snake from the outlet into the basement, if possible, then back
up into the switches.
The first thing I would do, is check to see if the cable in the gfci box is
coming from the switch box already

Adding a switch to an outdoor GFI outlet
 

On Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:28:01 -0700 (PDT), Jason Carlton
wrote:

I have a GFI outlet on an external wall, next to an outside door. On
the inside wall of that door, I have a switch for the outside light,
and that switch is a little over 3' from the GFI outlet (at an angle).

How difficult would it be to install a second switch at this location
for the GFI outlet? Am I going to have to remove a portion of the
interior drywall to get to the existing wires, or is there an easier
way?

For anyone that's kept up with my earlier posts, this is NOT the same
GFI outlet that the contractor poured gasoline into! LOL This one is
on the other side of the house.

It is POSSIBLE to add circuits in a house without removing drywall or
plaster in many cases. My dad wired a lot of older houses (rural
electrification) several decades ago and often only had to knock a
couple small holes in the wall to get the wiring in. Upstairs
floorboards were often removed to gain access, and his drill bits were
as long as six feet to reach from either the upstairs or the basement.

I'd investigate the feasibility of dropping the wire down from the
GFCI and across the basement that 3 frrt, then back up to the switch.

I just put ceiling lights (and also wired for ceiling fans) in 3
bedrooms of my daughter's house without making a single hole in the
drywall. Took better than 4 hours per room, working in th "attic"
between trusses on 2 foot wide sheets of plywood that I skidded around
over the joists to keep from going through the ceiling. Needed 42 inch
long drill bits to get through the "fire stops" between the switch box
and the upper sills, and a fish tape with a red LED on the tip to find
the holes in the box. An in-the-wall camera would have helped, but I
didn't have one then.

Adding a switch to an outdoor GFI outlet
 

If it's not in the same bay as the switches, you'll either have to cut
drywall, or snake from the outlet into the basement, if possible, then back
up into the switches.
The first thing I would do, is check to see if the cable in the gfci box is
coming from the switch box already

Alternatively, you could have a 3 wire from the switchbox to the
light, with the feed continuing to the outlet.
Or you could have the feed going to the light first. You will not know
until you look in the switchbox and see.
As far as replacing the single switch with a double switch, the 2
side rocker switch is probably the best solution.