HOW TO HIDE ELECTRICAL BOXES ON YOUR HOUSE

By Stacy 17 Comments

The back of our house is not very attractive since it is flat and plain but then you add in electrical boxes and conduit and it really becomes an eyesore. I am sure I am not the only one out there who has a spot on the back or side of their house that could use a cosmetic fix. A couple of years ago I came up with an idea to hide electrical boxes on the back of our house. The first sliding wall worked but could be improved upon so today I am sharing the new and improved sliding wall!

Back of house before

Two years ago I posted the first edition. I was so paranoid that it would be too heavy so I used 1x4s and burlap. It ended up being too light and would flap in the wind. It functioned well enough but I knew I needed a beefier version. Plus, this one was not long enough and sort of reminded me of when pants are too short. Floods are not cool.

Sliding wall to hide electrical

This time around I used 2x4s, 1x4s, amd 1x6s to make a more durable sliding wall. It made our new patio that much prettier too!

SUPPLIES

(some links are affiliate)

(2) 2x4s cut to 43″ (you length may vary depending on the width of your electrical boxes and house)

(2) 10 foot 1x4s

(16) 1×6 boards cut to 43″ (you length may vary depending on the width of your electrical boxes and house)

Burlap Fabric

Staple Gun

Pocket Door Track System with 125lb load

Kreg Jig

Weather Resistant Pocket Screws

Courtesy of https://www.notjustahousewife.net/hide-electrical-boxes/

Once all the lumber was cut, I drilled pocket holes into the ends of the 1×6 boards and the ends of the 1×4 boards.

pocket holes

Using pocket screws, I assembled the large slatted wall by adding a slat every 2 inches. I also built the planter boxes out of 1x6s to later attach to the wall.

Sliding wall to hide electrical boxes

After I assembled the wall, I stained it. When it had completely dried, I stapled burlap to the back of the of it so you won’t see any of the electrical boxes through the gaps. I screwed the planter boxes on it and it was ready to hang!

I used a commercial grade pocket door track that can hold up to 125 pounds. I bought it on Amazon here . Even though the sliding wall did not weight 125 (more like 80-100 at most) the closet door track that was already up there from the first version only help 60 pounds.

I screwed it into the top of the house. I also added a block of wood to each end so the wall wouldn’t go off track.

door track for sliding wall

It didn’t weigh a ton but it was long and slightly awkward so it took Shane, and I and our oldest two boys to get it in the track. It glides so easily! We have had two really big wind storms and it hasn’t swayed or anything. It is the perfect weight and length. And it hides our electrical boxes perfectly.

Sliding wall to hide electrical boxes on back of house