Landscape Lighting

Ask any landscape architect and they'll tell you that well chosen and situated outdoor lighting is essential to all-season enjoyment of your garden.

When carefully planned and installed, outdoor lighting can transform your property at night, turning trees, buildings and other landscape features into dramatic focal points. Lighting is also essential for safety along paths and walkways, and around decks, patios, and stairs.

Low voltage outdoor lighting installation procedures should not damage the existing landscape. No digging or trenching is required. Minimal disruption is best achieved by installing after the landscaping is finished. This avoids the necessity of relocating the lighting if the finished landscaping deviates from the original landscape plan. It also avoids the possibility of damaging equipment put in place during landscaping installation.

An unswitched 120v outdoor receptacle is the usual power source. Since the lighting transformer will be permanently plugged into the outdoor receptacle this receptacle or the circuit breaker at the electrical panel must incorporate a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) device. Recent NEC (National Electrical Code) rules stipulate that a raintight-in-use cover must also be fitted to allow the receptacle cover to close over the transformer cord plug.

The transformer is solidly mounted close to the receptacle; an extension cord is not used. Fixture locations are marked and the main low voltage supply cable is laid on the ground to within 3 feet of each fixture. The fixtures are mounted onto a stake (supplied with the fixture or available as an accessory) and connected to the main supply cable by a lighter gauge wire using pierce-point attachments. Pierce-point attachment allows connection to the main cable without cutting and splicing. This method allows the fixtures to be moved during the fine-tuning of the lighting effects without compromising the integrity of the main supply cable. Deteriorating splices become major maintenance problems over time.