We have a newer house with an unfinished basement. I am in the middle of building a deck and decided I want a couple of outdoor outlets attached to the framing/skirting on the outside of the deck. The panel is only about 5 feet away from the wall that my deck will be attached to. I will add a new 20 amp circuit for the outlets. I have been researching online, and haven't found anything exactly like my situation.
My question is, should I:
1) Run 12/2 romex from the panel to a junction box near the exterior wall, transition to 12/2 UF-B wire, run the UF-B into a piece of PVC conduit that goes through the wall into a LB fitting on the outside of the house, and then attach the UF-B to the underside of my deck joists and connect the 2 or 3 outdoor outlets? Can I just run this all with 12/2 UF-B from the panel to the outlets, or do I need to use regular romex into the panel? Is the underside of my deck considered a "protected" location? If the UF-B wire spans between 2 joists (16" on center), is that "protected"? If not, then option 2 with conduit is better, I assume?
OR
2) Run 12/2 romex from the panel to a junction box near the exterior wall, transition to individual wet rated THHN conductors (white, black, ground) inside 3/4" flexible NM conduit, run the conduit through my wall and into an LB fitting, then attach the NM liquid tight conduit to the bottom of deck joists and connect the waterproof outdoor outlets? I know that the liquid tight conduit is considered a "wet" location, so individual wires are required. Is 1/2" conduit sufficient for 3 x 12 awg wires, or will I be better of with 3/4"?
A couple notes: The deck is a "ground level" deck, with about 12" clearance from the ground to bottom of deck joists nearest the house. Decking will be Trex PVC, with hidden fasteners, so I do not plan to ever take a piece of decking off once the work is complete. I am in Minnesota, so there will be rain and snow.
The first outlet will be an outdoor rated GFCI. Am I better off doing a GFI breaker? Or should I use an AFCI outlet? I see discussions that advocate for both options.
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
My question is, should I:
1) Run 12/2 romex from the panel to a junction box near the exterior wall, transition to 12/2 UF-B wire, run the UF-B into a piece of PVC conduit that goes through the wall into a LB fitting on the outside of the house, and then attach the UF-B to the underside of my deck joists and connect the 2 or 3 outdoor outlets? Can I just run this all with 12/2 UF-B from the panel to the outlets, or do I need to use regular romex into the panel? Is the underside of my deck considered a "protected" location? If the UF-B wire spans between 2 joists (16" on center), is that "protected"? If not, then option 2 with conduit is better, I assume?
OR
2) Run 12/2 romex from the panel to a junction box near the exterior wall, transition to individual wet rated THHN conductors (white, black, ground) inside 3/4" flexible NM conduit, run the conduit through my wall and into an LB fitting, then attach the NM liquid tight conduit to the bottom of deck joists and connect the waterproof outdoor outlets? I know that the liquid tight conduit is considered a "wet" location, so individual wires are required. Is 1/2" conduit sufficient for 3 x 12 awg wires, or will I be better of with 3/4"?
A couple notes: The deck is a "ground level" deck, with about 12" clearance from the ground to bottom of deck joists nearest the house. Decking will be Trex PVC, with hidden fasteners, so I do not plan to ever take a piece of decking off once the work is complete. I am in Minnesota, so there will be rain and snow.
The first outlet will be an outdoor rated GFCI. Am I better off doing a GFI breaker? Or should I use an AFCI outlet? I see discussions that advocate for both options.
Thanks in advance for any feedback!
