Landscape lighting, and the electrical behind it
Five kinds of work. Most plans use three of them.
Paths, steps and walls
Low, shielded lights set so you see the ground and not the fixture: the walk from the drive to the door, step risers, retaining walls and wall caps.
Path lights in warm white
Step and riser lights
Wall wash, set in or on the wall
Trees, cacti and boulders
Uplights set low and aimed up through palo verde, mesquite or a saguaro, or across the face of a boulder. We move each one until the shadows land where you want them.
Uplight and downlight
Narrow and wide beams, chosen by the plant
Boulders and walls lit from the side
Patios, pergolas and string lights
The lighting for the places you eat and talk and stay up: string lights on posts or a pergola, lanterns, and step lights where the patio ends.
Posts and cable for string lights
Lanterns and wall lights
Dimmable, in zones
Controls and timers
A dusk sensor, a timer or an app, so the lights come on without anyone thinking about it. Zones let the patio stay lit after the front path has dimmed.
Dusk sensors and timers
App control, by zone
Scenes for dinner, guests and night
The electrical behind the light
Outdoor outlets, GFCI protection, new circuits and the transformer a plan needs, done by the same licensed crew. We also test and repair systems that have gone dim.
Outdoor outlets and GFCI protection
A new circuit or transformer, permitted where required
Repairs to wire, connectors and fixtures
Questions about the work
What about the hard ground, and the irrigation lines?
Much of the Valley has caliche under the topsoil, and it is slow digging. We call Arizona 811 before any trench, we run cable shallow where the code allows, and we plan around irrigation lines on the dusk walk.
Will monsoon storms damage the lights?
Fixtures and connectors are chosen for wet locations, and connections are sealed. After a big storm we are glad to check a system; call and we will book it. Standing water and a fallen branch can still break a fixture.
Do you do other electrical work?
Yes. We are a licensed electrical contractor, so the outdoor outlets, GFCI protection and new circuits a lighting plan needs are ours to do. The owner lists the other work they take on.
Start with the walk, not the quote
We design the plan on your yard at dusk, then price it in writing before any work starts.