I'm thinking about putting a couple of lights in the yard shining up on my live oaks. Is this a tough DIY project? Any pointers or advice? Btw, you might remember my other electrical question I had a few weeks back about adding a power outlet in my closet for my cable amplifier. I finally came up with a solution. I just the cable from the amplifier (in a cable box above my closet door) up into the attic. On the end of a cable is a plug. From there I simply attatched it to an extension cord and plugged it in to an existing outlet in my attic. It was a pain in the ass getting to the corner of the attic, trying not to step or fall through my ceiling, but well worth the savings.
don't they have yard lights with solar panels built in them so you don't need to plug them in? Just stick them in the ground and let the sun power em.
Outlaw, Yep, I've seen those. But I'm talking about the lights that actually shine up on your tree. I'm pretty sure those need power.
Landscape lights are one of the easier DIY projects....and it's cheap too! Home Depot or Lowes will have everything you need. They do have solar ones available, but I don't have any info on how well (or bright) they work. If you're wanting to shine upwards, you'll need to concentrate on the floods, and you can generally get a kit with everything you need for four floods for around a hundred bucks. The lights use a transformer to change the voltage to 12 V DC, so it's pretty safe to work with. 30 watts is the brightest (if I remember) in the halogen floods. Basically, you just use a shovel to lift chunks of your sod and lay the cable a few inches below the surface. The lights are easy to wire, and you just stick them into the ground with a stake. The transformers will generally have a solar cell that turns them on when it gets dark. The whole thing is pretty easy, and it doesn't use much power.
The solar ones won't cut it for uplighting trees. How many live oaks do you have? My largest took 3 50 watt lights to do a decent job (you prob want to hit both the trunk and the canopy), it could have even used a couple more. I only used 1 50 watter on my skinny oaks. It is a very easy DIY. The lines are low voltage, so you don't even need to bury the wires; you could just lay them under your mulch or bury them shallow under your lawn. Some recommend running some pvc, but it's not necessary unless you think you'll be aerating your lawn or something. The lights really differ. Though they may claim that a 35 watt and a 50 watt are both floods, I found that one of the 35 watt ones has a much more focused light...much 'whiter'. Good for certain uses like highlighting good bark but not so good for illuminating a canopy, and not as 'warm' looking. * Carefully plan how many lights you'll need, and thus the total wattage (and add a little for growth) so you can get a big enough transformer. We kept finding more uses for the lights so I had to buy more transformers. I have 4 now. * I placed all 4 transformers in my garage, then drilled through the walls to run the wire. * Don't do really long runs (depends on the transformer, but I think the reasonable max is 200 feet). I think it stresses the transformer, and also the lights at the end of the line will be dimmer than at the start (esp. if you use the full wattage of the transformer). The thicker the wire gauge the better (less resitance), but it will be expensive for long runs (maybe $50) * Buy extra bulbs; they will burn out * You can buy splice kits to splice a second wire to the first so they can go off in different directions * Might as well consider adding path lights at the same time, or some to highlight your home. If you have a seating area or a nice understory tree, you can mount one light up in a tree and point it down for a 'moonlight' effect. * Also, be careful where you place the transformers. I had one burn up and almost start a fire. Good luck!
Oh...and we bought ours from Home Depot. 'Malibu' brand. If you want to add lights later, just run all the lines now and wait for sales. (We bought our copper pathlights on sale for about $7 each)
You should get a diesel generator and bury it in your yard to run the lights. You know, to help out the oil companies and all.
Why did it burn up? How did you keep it from happening again? My trees, 2 of them, are about 10-12 feet high...I've only lived in the house a year and they were put in buy the builder. How much did your lighting increase your electric bill?
I have been thinking about adding offset lighting in front of my house. I have an exterior electrical outlet on the front side of my house. The only problem I have is that I have to run the electrical line under my front side walk to get to the other half of the front of my house. I could dig a hole under the side walk, but that seems like overkill and a lot work. I figure that there has to be an easier way. Any ideas?
Originally posted by Free Agent Why did it burn up? How did you keep it from happening again? Unknown. Guess just bad. I just won't place them by flammable material. My trees, 2 of them, are about 10-12 feet high...I've only lived in the house a year and they were put in buy the builder. How much did your lighting increase your electric bill? Prob not much at all. E.g., a 200 watt transformer is just like a couple of hundred watt bulbs. You could prob offset most of the expense by locating areas in the home that can use lower wattages.
If anybody can recommend some solar lighting that actually works, I'd appreciate it. Just for lighting up sidewalks, garden paths, etc.
I was going to have the same issue until we decided to build a porch area. I had the contractor lay some PVC under it and I ran the wires through it. With the right piece of garden equipment, digging under the sidewalk may not be as bad as you think. If I had been forced to do that and it turned out to be infeasible, I was going to rip-out the cedar expansion joint in the sidewalk and lay the wire there (in 1 inch pvc if it would fit). Then either replace it with a new piece of cedar or some colored, heavy-duty exterior caulking. (When replacing an expansion joint, it would be easier when the concrete is cooler )
I'm thinking you could dig a small to medium size hole on either side of the sidewalk, then take a piece of rebar and kind of poke/work its way through from one side to the other. Of course, you'll have to dig the start hole a bit bigger so you can kind of lay the rebar flat (so you don't push it down at an angle). If you have wooden expansion joints, it might be easier to try and pry one out. Then you could lie the cable between the slabs and hammer a piece of wood back over it.
Be sure to see it in action before you invest the money. They're more expensive and are not entirely effective. I would say they don't really 'illuminate'; it's more like they just 'glow'.
my parents bought some for their backyard that don't even glow! it's like this small orange flame inside..that's it!!!! there's virtually no light output at all. I'm looking for something a little better than that. My understanding is the ones that also have batteries inside get the job done. But if someone has some direct experience with it, I'd appreciate him/her sharing it with me!
