Flashing/caulking when adding something to an outside wall

Red Squirrel

This is more of a general question. I'm just wondering what steps need to be taken to prevent water issues when installing something such as an outside receptacle, a dryer vent, wall AC unit etc... I have a brick house. I assume this is probably trickier then with siding.

I'm thinking of installing a receptacle in front of my garage since the only accessible one to plug my car in winter is inside the garage which makes me have to run an extension cord under the garage door. I would rather just get a shorter cord and be able to plug it right into the garage. I just want to ensure I do this properly so water can't seep in the hole that I have to create. Is it just the thing of stuffing it with mortar?

DexterII

I have a brick home as well, and when I have changed the dryer vent, added an outside receptacle, or routed my fuel oil lines through the wall, I have simply mortared them in. In the case of the fuel oil fill and vent, I removed one complete brick, routed the lines through, and mortared around them, and painted it a color close to the brick, then, after we switched to propane, I chipped out the mortar, reinstalled the brick, and it looks original again. In the case of receptacles, I have used metal boxes, but rather than tucking the mortar, I finished it flush with the brick, so that when I installed the outdoor cover, the gasket had a flat surface to set against. For small holes, like when I changed the entrance cable and phone line, I punched the hole as close to exact as I could, and sealed it with gray caulk.

Red Squirrel

Ah so guess it's as easy as that then, figured there may have been more to it. Guess it's not as involved as roofing given it's a vertical surface and water has less tendency to stick. Not like I'm building a ship hull or anything.