How to Install an Outdoor Electrical Outlet to a Vinyl Sided House

Choose the location for the exterior outlet, then locate the interior outlet closest to it. You'll connect the exterior outlet to the interior outlet.

Turn off the electricity to the interior outlet at your home's main electrical box, then test the circuit with a voltage tester.

Remove the outlet from the wall by unscrewing the mounting screws that hold it in place after you take off the plate cover. Pull the outlet out of the wall, and unhook the wires by loosening the terminal screws and disconnecting the wires.

Remove one of the knockout holes on the back of the electrical box inside the wall by tapping a screwdriver or chisel with a hammer.

Drill a hole through the exterior wall by placing a long drill bit through the knockout hole at an angle. The exterior outlet should be off to the side of the interior outlet.

Go outside to where you drilled the hole, and hold the exterior outlet box over the hole. Trace the box onto the wall.

Cut a hole in the wall for the electrical box with a jigsaw. Drill holes into the corners of the outline of the box, and use those holes to begin making the cuts for the hole.

Go inside and slide an electrical cable through the outlet box on the interior wall to the outside, then return outside.

Remove the knockout hole at the back of the exterior outlet box, and slide the cable through. Screw the box to the wall.

Cut the cable down to a 4-inch long section that extends from the wall. Remove an inch of sheathing from the cable and a half-inch of insulation from each wire inside the cable.

Bend the end of the wires into hooks with needle-nose pliers, then hook them around the terminal screws on the side of the GFCI outlet, and tighten the screws. Wrap electrical tape around the sides of the outlet to cover the screws and wiring. Follow the directions provided by the manufacturer when attaching the wires.

Tuck the wiring into the box, then slide the GFCI outlet into the box and screw it into position. Install the cover onto the outlet.

Go back inside and connect the interior outlet to the circuit. Connect the wires leading from the exterior outlet to the bottom terminal screws on the outlet, and the wires leading from your main electrical box to the top terminal screws.

Ground the circuit by screwing one end of a 6-inch piece of bare copper wire to the green or bare grounding wires from the exterior outlet and the main box, using a plastic connector cap. Screw the other end of the wire to the grounding screw on the outlet.

Wrap electrical tape around the sides of the outlet, then slide the wiring and outlet into the outlet box. Screw it into place, then screw the plate cover onto the outlet.

Turn the power back on at the main electrical box.