Drill hole in wall for power supply to exterior camera?

[Bushman]

I'm tasked with mounting a series of security cameras on the outside of the house and I'm considering the options. There are two basic problems: how to mount the thing and how to run the power cable (the camera is using a low-voltage power adapter). The way I see it, my options are as follows:

• Use outdoors power outlet. This might be the easiest option (there is an outlet nearby each area I plan to mount one anyways) but it's not ideal: not only the cable would be hanging outdoors but easy to cut just unplug or cut the wire. By then they would of course be on camera. Of course they could just steal the NVR, tough to hide considering it needs to be plugged into power...
  
  
• Drill the wall (the house is "typical" wooden frame with insulation and vinyl siding). I've never drilled the outside walls, so I'd appreciate some advice here. Obviously, I'd like to avoid messing up the wall interior and thermal insulation of the house by doing it wrong. For example, who knows if where I'm drilling has electrical wires running and I'm drilling through them. I have a stud detector, but that's it.
  
  
• Run it through the soffit/under the roof - no idea if it's feasible at all.
  
  
• Run it between the door and door frame - By far the easiest and cleanest option. Of course it can be easily cut. Then again, they could also just spray paint the camera anyway, even if the wire wasn't exposed/reachable.

The other question is specifically about mounting the camera to the outside wall. What would be the right way to attach it to the siding. I presume using the supplied screws is the best way? I wanted to try to do it as least invasive as possible, but I may just end up having to use filler and paint to cover the holes when I go to sell the place.

I have had cameras on the interior of my home for some years, wireless, plugged into the wall, however: I wanted to put some cameras on the exterior as well to capture license plates (easier to ID than a burglars face, not fool proof as the plates may be missing or stolen but most burglaries are carried out by junkies), package thefts (I direct sensitive stuff to the PO Box), and just plain documenting what I did or did not do if there ever was a self defense situation in my driveway, etc. Alternatively I could just mount these inside (much better cameras than my existing) but what say ye?

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[ikemay]

Could run wire inside metal conduit and hard wire it to the outlet or put a locking cover on the outlet.

If you drill a hole through the wall, just make sure you aren't hitting anything. Caulk around hole so critters and other stuff don't get in.

Mounting them inside solves nearly all your problems.

Find a "cage" to place around the camera. The "cage" can be darn near anything that the lens can lookout. Use security head lag bolts, left hand thread. Someone tries to loosen those with the standard "lefty loosy-righty tighty", they'll just wind up tightening them. Also, mount them too high to easily get to them.

Best of luck.

 

[Bushman]

Could run wire inside metal conduit and hard wire it to the outlet or put a locking cover on the outlet.

If you drill a hole through the wall, just make sure you aren't hitting anything. Caulk around hole so critters and other stuff don't get in.

Mounting them inside solves nearly all your problems.

Find a "cage" to place around the camera. The "cage" can be darn near anything that the lens can lookout. Use security head lag bolts, left hand thread. Someone tries to loosen those with the standard "lefty loosy-righty tighty", they'll just wind up tightening them. Also, mount them too high to easily get to them.

Best of luck.

I was just reading about another guy that mounted them outside with a box and conduit to protect the power source, making it more difficult to disable. What do you think about the cameras being inside versus outside?

I used to primarily use them to see if the alarm was legit and people were really in the house or if it was the pets. Now I'm thinking that it would be good to catch a plate number parked in the driveway, etc. Mounting inside would def. be easier.

 

[ikemay]

The placement of the camera is obviously pretty important. If it's inside, as long as it can be positioned to get faces, license plate numbers, etc, etc, etc then that's pretty optimal. Inside it's harder to mess with and it's protected from the elements.

Another option you might consider is disguising it. Something like placing the camera in a birdhouse with the lens in the hole where the birds are supposed to go in and out. Heck, hide it as simply a motion detector light somehow. There are countless ways you could disguise it to not be so obvious. Have fun with this, be creative........ actually, be sneaky.

 

[Bushman]

The placement of the camera is obviously pretty important. If it's inside, as long as it can be positioned to get faces, license plate numbers, etc, etc, etc then that's pretty optimal. Inside it's harder to mess with and it's protected from the elements.

Another option you might consider is disguising it. Something like placing the camera in a birdhouse with the lens in the hole where the birds are supposed to go in and out. Heck, hide it as simply a motion detector light somehow. There are countless ways you could disguise it to not be so obvious. Have fun with this, be creative........ actually, be sneaky.

Some of my interior cameras are inside but pointed outside. Useless at night though as the night vision glares on the glass. I can turn the NV off, and even with my super bright exterior lights (4K lumens per bulb) they don't see very well at night. Also, this is an upgrade in camera picture quality.

 

[Camelfilter]

Lawn gnome, planter, pile-o-crap...etc...

 

[Larrabee]

IMO the only way to go is with a camera that utilizes power over Ethernet.

 

[Camelfilter]

...oh & don't rule out garden hose, especially if you'd like a camera offset on your property away from the house and don't want to bury cable yet.

Edit: adding another good spot, one of those gardenn hose hangers/spools...even if you don't have a bib nearby...

 

[Bushman]

So are some of you suggesting I plug it in outside and find a way to disguise the camera in something? I like the planter idea. What else could I use to disguise it? Bird house was a good one. I need more ideas because I can't use the same disguise in each spot.

I guess the only benefit to having the cameras outside is capturing license plates or someones face if they attempt to kick in the door and fail (I recently installed door/jamb, and hinge reinforcement items from EZ Armor. HIGHLY RECOMMEND since most burglaries are done by kicking in the door).

I'd want to see who tried to kick in the door. Plus if they are stealing anything of real value (TV, etc.) they are not walking out of here or carrying down my loooong driveway to a car. They are parking in the driveway.

I did find this great article that I think has a lot of good tips that I'd figure I'd share. At this point I've found I am going to have to use at least one inside anyway as it doesn't get a signal to the NVR out there. I have some WIFI repeaters on the way but the NVR broadcasts a different signal so doubt it will make a difference, but it will finally give me wifi in my master bedroom, hooray!

Where To Place Security Cameras

 

[Camelfilter]

Another great thing about having outdoor cameras is they let you see if anyone has been scoping out your property.

They likely would be afoot, with there vehicle in the area, but not innitially near your house.

Edit, adding: if your system doesn't have motion activated recording, consider lawn features which let you know if someone has been on your property. Sand features come immediately to mind.

Locked gates help, provided the fence is not easily scaled both ways.

 

[Member 5605]

Attic to soffet then through flexible conduit to camera. The higher up and out of reach the better.

That's how I would do it here, except I would mount those dome ones under the soffet so nothing is on the wall.

 

[Bushman]

IMO the only way to go is with a camera that utilizes power over Ethernet.

I buy a new house every 1.5 years. Too much work to install, drilling holes throughout a huge house to pull all that cable, in each and every house.

I just remembered a house next to one I was making an offer on had security cameras run with cable around the exterior. I talked to the owner and turned out he didn't even use them. They belonged to the previous owner (it was a 5 year old house in Maple Valley).

I suppose I could just do it that way. Ultimately nothing is 100% fool proof. Sure they could disable the power source but they could also just steal the NVR. I AM actually going to disguise it inside the house now that you guys mentioned using disguises to hide the cameras outside. Beautiful! Keep the ideas coming fellas, this is great.

 

[Bushman]

Another great thing about having outdoor cameras is they let you see if anyone has been scoping out your property.

They likely would be afoot, with there vehicle in the area, but not innitially near your house.

Good point. Studies show the majority of burglars will knock on the door to 1) see if you are home 2) see if you have a dog 3) see if your door is unlocked. Many will even leave something to see if it is retrieved over time. You can actually see videos of burglars caught on video doing this all the time by door bell and other surveillance cameras. I've also read the statistics and watched the videos of burglars doing time and they always say that's what they do first when they target a house. Surprised how many of them said they were deterred by a no trespassing and beware of dog sign alone. I put the ones I had bought years ago up finally.

 

[Camelfilter]

Split wood pile, paint can, foam rock, fake electrical junction box, overturned bucket, pile -O- crap (wood for re-use/recycling pile etc), extra gutter downspout but not connected...

 

[Bushman]

Split wood pile, paint can, foam rock, fake electrical junction box, overturned bucket, pile -O- crap (wood for re-use/recycling pile etc), extra gutter downspout but not connected...

Boom! Foam rock is pretty damn brilliant. As is the garden hose. You know I have this HUGE privacy tree in the front yard and oh man, not only are there two outlets near it but I could use your garden hose idea to feed the power supply cables for both to the cameras and hide the cameras on opposing sides of tree shrubs. Perfect height to catch license plates and foot traffic including people walking up to the door. Tree is like this: Nellie Stevens Holly on Fast Growing Trees Nursery

Edited to correct spelling on height.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Lawn gnome, planter, pile-o-crap...etc...

Big Metal Chicken

 

[ikemay]

Nanny-cam ........... put it in any stuffed animal place by a window.
Fake peephole in door ......... knock-knock/ring-ring ...... gotcha!
In a dog house, even if you don't own a dog, and why your at it get a "beware of dog" sign.
In an outside surface mount junction box, just looks, like, well ....... an outside surface mount junction box.

Pretty limitless really.

 

[Camelfilter]

Boom! Foam rock is pretty damn brilliant. As is the garden hose. You know I have this HUGE privacy tree in the front yard and oh man, not only are there two outlets near it but I could use your garden hose idea to feed the power supply cables for both to the cameras and hide the cameras on opposing sides of tree shrubs. Perfect hight to catch license plates and foot traffic including people walking up to the door. Tree is like this: Nellie Stevens Holly on Fast Growing Trees Nursery

Great! Remember though if your system does motion active recording, that camera will have 1000 clips/day, which is fine so long as you have another camera pointed in its general direction to record true incursions. That will make your reviewing much easier, and give you a time stamp to check that camera footage with.

 

[ikemay]

Fake fire hydrant.

 

[Bushman]

Nanny-cam ........... put it in any stuffed animal place by a window.
Fake peephole in door ......... knock-knock/ring-ring ...... gotcha!
In a dog house, even if you don't own a dog, and why your at it get a "beware of dog" sign.
In an outside surface mount junction box, just looks, like, well ....... an outside surface mount junction box.

Pretty limitless really.

Dog house is another good one, I think I will use that one. I have a dog and a beware of dog sign.