Outdoor receptacle question

[ddcrawford]

I have a newly constructed detached garage. The two things left are to have it bricked and install the electrical. I have purchased the masonry boxes to install in the walls outside. I have a couple of questions regarding them:

1. Is 24" from the bottom of the box to the finished grade the correct location for the boxes?

2. I understand that the feed to the outside boxes should be UF cable due to it going thru masonry. I am assuming that I can locate an indoor receptacle just opposite the outdoor receptacle and just run a short run of UF from inside to out. My real question here is can I have the wire coming in from the previous receptacle, the wire feeding the outside receptacle and the wire continuing to the next receptacle all attached to that one outlet, or is there a better way to do this? I have thought of skipping that receptacle and going to the last one in the circuit and coming back so the outside one is the last in the circuit...just a little more wire. What should I do here??

I do understand that these will all be GFCI protected.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[giddonah]

Height of the outlet will vary depending on the color of the sky. 24" sounds decent, but I'd put it as high as possible.

For your inside opposite outlet, use the biggest box you can get and pigtail everything together there.

I seem to remember some people arguing about UF in brick and concrete. You might have some problem with that if your inspector is on the "don't do that" side, but I believe it to be fine. Worst case scenario, he might want you to use MC.

[David]

Anything cementious will allow water thru. On a house, one normally installs a drainage plane or weather resistant barrier. On a detached garage, you are more likely to have only osb sheathing. What DO you have outside the studs?

A long, hard rain could cause a problem without a wrb. More than likely you won't get enough to get thru the osb. But, IMO, if you are gonna do it, do it right.

[ddcrawford]

The outside covering is OSB. It is covered with house wrap and I'm using 18" kraft covered copper flashing at the bottom of the wall.

I just thought of another question. Does code define the height of the receptacles inside the garage? I have seen a post on here that said 48" off the floor in garages and I really don't want them that high. Somewhere between 24" and 36" suits my preferences better.

[giddonah]

You'll need to ask your inspector about outlet height. I don't remember if there is anything or not in the code. In the end everything is up to him anyway.

[tooltroll]

Yeah, ask the inspector. Most outdoor/garage/utility type outlets get placed higher (circa 48") for two reasons:
1. Allow access over worktables, etc., without having to crawl under it, and;
2. Keep it out of range of water and mechanical damage, ie. backing the car into it, or whacking it with a shovel or ladder.

I find as I'm getting older, I wish ALL my receptacles were higher, so I wouldn't have to stoop to plug/unplug things. ;)

[David]

I have seen a post on here that said 48" off the floor in garages and I really don't want them that high. Somewhere between 24" and 36" suits my preferences better.

Why? What is better about having them that low? In a house, it's to keep them out of site and to keep cords on the ground. In a garage, it's exact opposite. You usually have, err, sorry, *I* usually have junk laying around so I need the outlet higher so I can see it. :)

I agree with TT, except that I am glad mine are higher!

[tooltroll]

*I* usually have junk laying around so I need the outlet higher so I can see it. :)

That would be reason number zero :)