How To Install Garden Path Lighting

To illuminate a walkway or driveway, all you need is a GFCI-protected outdoor electrical outlet and some basic electrical skills.

Landscape lighting operates on 12 volts of electricity; kits widely available consist of a transformer, an electrical cable, and the fixtures themselves.

Step 1

Place the transformer near the electrical outlet, but don’t hang it on the wall or post yet. Assemble then place the lighting fixtures along the path by driving the stake bases into the ground.

Set the first fixture at least 10′ from the transformer and put the rest of them at least 8’–10′ apart. Using a garden spade, dig a three-inch-deep trench along the path, as well as a trench perpendicular to each fixture. Leaving five feet of slack by the transformer, loosely lay the electrical cable in the trench. Attach the fixtures to the cable and then bury it.

Step 2

Using wire strippers, strip a ½” strip of insulation off the ends of the cable. Attach the wires to the terminal screws on the transformer and tighten the screws. Mount the transformer to the wall or onto a post near the outlet, and plug it into the GFCI-protected electrical outlets.


Tags: gardening gardens Lynn Elliott OHJ May 2015 Old-House Journal

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