Using Deck Lights to Create the Perfect Setting

Print This

Decks are wonderful additions to your home that enlarge your living space. When lighted correctly, they bring as much enjoyment at night as they do in the day, enabling you to safely enjoy your fresh-air environs and highlighting your yard in a unique way. While it’s doubtful you’ll want to light your deck like your local mall, it’s important to avoid creating glare, blinding your guests with errant light, or having your light spill over excessively and invade your neighbor’s property. In some cities, there are codes and official handbooks regulating how bright you can light your yard. Also, improperly lighted areas can create problematic shadows. Properly designed landscape lighting can eliminate these issues and save money through increased efficiency.

Instead of bouncing strong lights directly off of your hard surfaces, consider mounting lights directly above or below an object or wall where it can diffuse its beam away from visitors’ eyes and create a soothing area of light that softly emanates to the common area. This way people can see well enough to enjoy their surroundings and it feels more like a moonlit night.

Besides creating a safe pathway, lights on your steps may be needed to meet the code requirements of your city. Several options for lighting steps include recessed and surface mounted lights and rope lighting. Recessed lights are installed into the vertical wall of each step and provide a mini spotlight for people to see where they are walking. You select their brightness depending on the size and depth of the step, but even with larger steps, they are much less obtrusive than flooding the step area with an overhead light. Recessed lights can also be used in other areas of your deck with the benefit that they can be walked on without damaging them. Surface mounted lights provide a wider illuminated area and only need to be placed near every other step. They’re usually positioned on an adjacent wall or post about 12 to 24 inches above a step, as to decrease the chance of someone bumping into them. As with recessed lights, the size and depth of the step will dictate how bright a light is needed. Rope lighting can be run under the entire length of the front edge of the step. To make it less noticeable, you can create a groove in the step for the rope to fit into and you’ll have the benefit of the light without the hazard of exposed rope. Rope lighting is also effective under railings.

Posts are another natural place to include lights. There are fixtures that include the entire cap of the post as well as ones that fit under the lip of the cap to create a more subtle look with the light emitting downward. For areas that aren’t main traffic areas, there are a variety of accent lights you can use make an area more comfortable. Depending on the style of your deck and the atmosphere you want to create, there is everything from simple and elegant half domes to more intricate ornamental fixtures.

No matter which lights you’d like to include on your deck, there are a few other characteristics to consider. If you live near the ocean or another body of salt water, there are lights that are made with marine grade stainless steel or coated with a special material that helps to lengthen their life and reduce the rate of rusting. Low voltage lights are a good alternative for saving energy and they are easy to work with. They can be expanded and relocated without turning them off, making it easier to try several locations and see where you like the lights best. Solar lights are an option in places that receive enough sun, enabling you to light your deck with less of an impact on your pocketbook. Motion sensors and timers are also a good option for safely lighting your deck at a reduced cost. For help in deciding what’s best for your deck, view the landscape lighting photo gallery from EnhanceScape.