In the process of having new Hardiplank installed on my house, the contractor (for reasons unknown to me) removed the electrical boxes that the exterior wall lights attached to. They then proceeded to cover up the resulting hole with plank and the wires are now just protruding from a small hole in the Hardie. Their plan is to wire nut the connections and stuff them into the base of the lamp housing. Is this to code? Can a fixture base be considered a proper j-box?
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I believe they call it a pancake box.
Can be a "pancake" box. May have to be a full depth octagon if junctions have to be made for other wires in the circuit such a feed to the switch or a feed to other light/s in the circuit controlled by the same switch.
Sounds like your siding contractor took a couple of shortcuts to save money.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Yeah, what Eddie said. Usually, you need some sort of medallion or plinth "breaking" the sloping lap planking so there's a big enough "flat spot" to "land" the fixture on to. That block then is fitted either with a flat box, or whatever depth box is correct for your jurisdiction (which varies).
Most siding guys I've worked with, will not , and none can legally do the wiring. They request that the boxes be changed/fixed or altered after demolition and before they apply the new siding.
Unless a splice is needed. This method could use a shallow box that can be screwed on to the hardiplank. The light fixture covers the box when installed and has to be chalked to the siding to keep water away from the box. Then again I would not allow a splice in this box and check your city code or a licensed electrician to see what they suggest.