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Outdoor Post Lights Can Brighten Your Yard

Outdoor post lights are an excellent way to add beauty and safety to your Buckhead home, your yard and the neighborhood. But getting the right lamp, standing it into the ground, running the necessary electrical wiring from the main power and wiring the necessary switches can be a big task. There are many things you will need to consider when undertaking the project either on your own or with the help of a professional.

Installation

You will not want an outdoor post light that leans, and the ground will not always be cooperative in offering support due to varying conditions, ranging from rain to drought and even freezing weather. In order to keep the post properly aligned, you will need a hole about 22 inches deep. Put about 6 inches of gravel in the bottom of the hole in order to increase stability, promote drainage and to help with any problems that arise from frost.

In order to get the wiring from your breaker box to a switch and out to the lamp, you will need to dig a trench through which the wiring can run. Use a wire with a rating that permits it to be directly buried in the ground. You will need to use a length of PVC conduit to protect the wiring coming out of the bottom of the lamp from the concrete you will pour. However, it makes a lot of sense to use such conduit all the way through the trench from the breaker to the lamp. This will help protect the wiring from the elements and protect yourself if you or someone else digs too close in the future.

Wiring

Once your digging is done, you can start to run the wire. The wires on most outdoor post lights run through the hollow post on the lamp itself and out the bottom. The PVC conduit will be required here, at minimum, to get the wire from the lamp base through the concrete you will pour to the trench. Fill the hole with 16 inches of concrete, but set the lamppost with the protective conduit about 4 inches off the bottom, so that only the bottom 12 inches of the post are encased. Once the concrete is poured, use a level and square to make sure it’s upright. Stake it with ropes to the ground to support the post as the concrete sets — and check it often.

After the concrete has firmed up, run the wiring back toward your house. Be generous with the extra wire here, because you will need enough to run from the breaker panel to any switch you plan to install for the lamp. Once this portion is done, you can backfill over the trench, tamping the earth tightly around the conduit so that it doesn’t settle and make a trough in your yard.

Unless you have the necessary experience, you should call an experienced electrical professional like those at Reliable for help with this project. If you do complete the project yourself, it’s a good idea to have a professional check your work, connect to the breaker and install any switches you will want for the lamps. Installing outdoor post lights can be a big job. A licensed electrician can help make sure you get your new lamppost installed correctly and have it brightening up your home, the yard and the neighborhood.

Image source: Flickr