Installing Pathway Lighting

By Melody Roth

Garden lighting is a effortless way to increase the length of time you can enjoy The outside areas. This can be reached in several various manners.Footpaths, steps, shrubs, garden features, architectural components, waterfalls, and decks call all be accentuated through garden lighting. low-voltage lighting is easy and because it only requires 12 volts of electricity to operate, is safe for the person who likes to do things themselves to install.

To install your lights properly you need 3 different parts: the light fixtures, a transformer, and some low voltage electrical cable. If you take a trip to the local hardware store you should be able to find them. Also you can visit online shops like Amazon. Before you do anything, you must determine the areas that you wish to light and the result you would like to attain. Each light fixture is different. It is a good idea to find out the specifications of each light before planning out The design. For this article we will assume you have done Your homework, shopped for The light fixtures, and purchased the appropriate size transformer to handle the additive electrical power of those fixtures. With that done, lets begin.

The 1st thing you have to do is to lay out all your components. Arrange the path lights along the walkway you are lighting. Go around any tree or shrubs that are in the way when you string out the wire up to the transformer.Use 14 guage cable for jobs totaling less than 200 watts, and 12 guage wire for systems that surpass two hundred watts. The lights are typically around six to ten feet apart and your 1st light should be at least ten feet from the transformer.

Your second step is to dig your trench. You need to use the edge of the shovel to make a ditch about 3 " deep where the wiring will rest. If you don't want the dirt to tumble back in the best thing to do is to place something heavy over it.

The third step is to bury the wire. Set the proper gauge of low-voltage wire into the newly dug trench. Remember to leave the wire slack. Smooth the soil back over the wire, but leave a segment of it sticking out at each fixture so that the electrical joinings can be made.

Making holes for the fixtures is the 4th step. Make sure that you set your lights into the right spot so that they are equally spread out. Don't use a hammer to drive the light fixtures in, instead use stakes to drive them in.

Wiring the lights in is the final step. All light fixtures are different but with most you just take the connector at the base of each light and slip it around the electrical wire until you hear a snap. There are other ways to do this of course so check your light's manual if you're not sure.

And finally it's time to enjoy the hard work. Anyone can enhance their night-time curb appeal with attractive, functional landscape lighting with a little hard work and advance preparation. low-voltage lighting requires very little maintenance. Just remember to change the light bulbs shortly after they go out or you will shorten the life of the remainder of bulbs. - 29857

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