Landscape Lighting Design: Do It Yourself

Getting great landscape lighting design in your yard in the space of a weekend might seem like an impossible task to you.  Many people resort to hiring professional contractors to make sure that they get things done right.  However, there’s no need to think that you can’t achieve similar results yourself in a very limited amount of time.  Follow these simple steps and you will be basking in the glow of your garden lights in no time.

Deciding Where to Put the Lights

The very first step in installing your outdoor landscape lighting is to decide where to put the actual lights.  Most people have absolutely no experience with this, but luckily there is a way that you can test out how your lights will look easily and without any extra expense to you.  All that’s required is a large flashlight with an adjustable beam.

What you need to do is go out one night and walk around your yard with a flashlight.  Identify potential places to put in lights and use your flashlight to try out how the light will look aimed in different directions and with different types of lights, from spotlights to floodlights.  While this method won’t reproduce exactly what your lights will look like, it will get you pretty close to what your landscape lighting designs will look like.

After you’ve decided where you want to put your lights the next step is to put your thoughts down on paper.  Make a sketch of a bird’s eye view of your property marking major landmarks like trees and shrubs.  Don’t worry if your drawing resembles the artwork of Picasso, as long as you can understand it, it will work.  Once you’ve sketched out your property, sketch in where you want to place your garden lighting fixtures.

Putting Your Landscape Lighting Design Into Action

Now that you’ve planned out your landscape design lighting scheme, its time to put that scheme into action and actually install it.  The first step is to pick out the lighting fixtures that you want to install.  Start your search out on the internet to save some time, but if you need to you can still visit your local hardware store, although your selection may be a bit more limited.

You can go several routes for installing your lights.  You can opt for solar powered garden lights, which only require you to stick them in the ground to install them, a low voltage lighting kit, or individual low voltage lights.  What you choose will depend on your yard and on what you can afford.

If you’re installing low voltage lights, it takes a few more steps than installing solar powered lights, but it is still very simple.  First, you need to figure out how big of a transformer that you need.  To do this, add up the voltage of all of the lights and find a transformer that is rated for seventy to one hundred percent of this power level.  If you’ve got a lot of lights, you might need to install more than one.  Whether you bought a kit or all the pieces yourself you need the following components to install your lighting system.

• Light fixtures
• Transformer or power pack
• 12 gauge cable
• Connector taps
• Electrical tape

You’ll also need the following tools

• Wire cutters
• Utility knife
• Flat head shovel
• Screwdriver

While this is a lengthy list of tools and equipment, landscape lighting installation is a snap.  First you need to find the plug outside your home you want to connect the transformer to.  Attach the transformer to the house nearby or to a stake that keeps it off the ground and reduces the chance of water infiltration.  Next, take your plan that you drew up and install your lighting fixtures where you drew them in on your sketch.  Once the lights are installed, lay out the cable to each light and connect it to the lights.

Now all that’s left is to connect the lights to see if they work.  Connect your cables to your transformer and the transformer to your home’s power.  Switch it on and see how it works.  If you’ve connected all your lights correctly, you should be seeing the fruits of your labor.

Once you’re sure your lights are working, the next step is to make any necessary adjustment to the lights and bury the cables.  While it’s not necessary to bury the cables, it removes a trip hazard and makes your yard look neater overall.

And there you have it, landscape lighting design from the idea in your head to the lights laid out in your yard.  If you put your mind to it and already had light fixtures in mind, you could finish the entire process in a weekend by starting on Friday with the flashlight, leaving you free by Sunday night to enjoy your new garden lights and recharge for work again on Monday morning.