Plan Your Hardscape Lighting Before You Start Building

This one thing could prevent a project fail.

Are you planning to build an outdoor project at home soon? Most hardscape projects – like garden retaining walls, decks, and outdoor kitchens - involve the use of lighting. Most masons and hardscape builders are not electricians and almost certainly not landscape lighting designers.

You wouldn’t plan for the plumbing and power after you built your new home, right? It’s easy to imagine the waste and expense of all the rework that would be necessary to make your home function, and it would probably never be the way you really wanted it anyway without demolishing some of it to start over. It’s exactly the same for that gorgeous pergola or outdoor kitchen you’ve been dreaming about.

Bringing in a landscape lighting professional before the hardscape work ever begins will ensure that all of the essential elements are factored in and optimally designed before the lighting phase approaches, potentially saving thousands of dollars and inevitable disappointment.

When you imagine a beautiful garden retaining wall capped with granite in your backyard, you’re definitely not thinking about the edges being too narrow to use an attractive lighting fixture, and neither is your mason. A mason is going to cut the granite to the exact dimensions needed for capping that retaining wall. They’re not going to automatically leave an extra inch or two inches of material so that your light fixtures are recessed and invisible.

When you imagine those late-night cooking adventures and gatherings in your outdoor kitchen, you’re definitely not wondering what type of lighting design is enough to see properly without ruining the amazing ambiance. And neither is your contractor. If they don’t know the design the lighting pro will use while they’re building the structure, those outlets and fixtures you really need may not even be possible to add later.

It's common for me to be invited by potential clients to create a lighting design and proposal immediately after a hardscape project is finished. Sometimes I can work around the limitations, and sometimes I just can’t. On one occasion, a client walked me back through his property to reveal a stunning, freshly constructed pergola that he wanted illuminated. And I declined the project. I declined it because there was no way for me to wire the fixtures without some of the wiring being exposed. It would look horrible, and I refuse to do shoddy work.

Because different, specialized contractors are involved in these types of projects, it makes sense that people think of the material construction and the lighting in separate stages rather than as a cohesive design that should be created before any phase of work begins. When you think of the project more holistically, you achieve the best results aesthetically, functionally, and financially. That’s the wisest choice to make and the easiest step to miss.

Are you ready to start planning your outdoor project? I think you should sit down with a lighting expert before signing a contract with a mason. They order their material based on the agreement and only the exact amount they need to minimize their cost. They rarely consider what may be needed for lighting requirements. Once you sign, any changes will cause additional charges and possible delays.

I am Dale Daniel of Dale Daniel Landscape Lighting Design in Long Island, New York. I’m happy to give experienced insight, either in a quick conversation or in-depth consultation. Check out one of my 40+ Five-Star Google reviews and contact me online or by phone at 516-492-1696 to schedule a free proposal.

As a Bonus - Mention this article, and I will include an extra fixture during my installation at no additional charge in our signed agreement.

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