# Client wanted his backyard lit...so I lit it.



## cwatbay (Mar 16, 2010)

The back story to this thread is another thread I started called: One little GFCI. 

So the client wanted his backyard lighted at night so his new camera system could see the backyard. The cams saw the house ok because of some house mounted LV lights and some motion lights, but the yard was a big sea of black. Half of his back yard is a sloping hill, then it flattens out to the pool, pond, and gazebo areas. 

Nonetheless, I put in 5 50watt LED floods running off 110vac, with a main control enclosure with the timer and manual on/off. Lots of trenching, with Sch40 conduit and fittings. Weather type back boxes, sealed with clear silicon. Two lights have dual GFCI outlets so he can plug in his garden equipment. Lights, back boxes and outlets are mounted on treated and pressurized wood, which are mounted to metal rods, which are then sunk into PVC tubes that are set into cement foundations.......they are secure and don't move.

All of this is on the sloping part of the backyard/hillside. It all follows a path. The lights have a 120 deg horizontal light spread and a 30 deg vertical spread. The idea was to have LED's with enough lumens to carry the light sufficiently across the yard to the house. 

I may fabricate some shrouds to limit the vertical illumination and concentrate it solely on the grounds (and off the upper part of the house)


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## Chopsaw Chick (May 6, 2011)

Wow! Looks cool but that's a lot of light! In the city where I live, we actually have an ordinance limiting "light pollution." All newly-installed outdoor lighting must be fully shielded and directed downward. This is enforced by the BI and can sometimes make it a challenge to find appropriate light fixtures. I think the ordinance is kind of a PITA but I'd be pissed if my neighbor's house was lit up like a Christmas tree all year!


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

It looks like plenty of light for the cameras! The grounds look to be in great shape after all that digging.:thumbsup:


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## cwatbay (Mar 16, 2010)

hdavis said:


> It looks like plenty of light for the cameras! The grounds look to be in great shape after all that digging.:thumbsup:


Thanks. We had to trench on the hillside which is just plain dirt. But there is a lot of clay, so going 15inch deep was kind of a pain. 70ft of trenching on the hillside, about 30 ft of trench in the lawn area around the Koi Pond. The lawn was easy. Had to find a way to not have to bore under a stone walkway up the hillside (you can kinda see it in the gazebo pic).


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## GettingBy (Aug 19, 2010)

He should have some neighborhood kids try to sneak onto his property at night, to test his layout. 

Tripwires are cheap but landmines might cost! :laughing:


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## cedarboarder (Mar 30, 2015)

Now its a pool party house:thumbup:. For the next photos please hire bikini models.


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## Builders Inc. (Feb 24, 2015)

cwatbay said:


> Had to find a way to not have to bore under a stone walkway up the hillside (you can kinda see it in the gazebo pic).


My electrician had to go under a driveway about a year ago. He used a garden hose and conduit, lanced it through. It was a referral job. I wasn't involved. I was wondering about washout and undermining the driveway. Have you ever had to do this? And did it cause problems?


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## cwatbay (Mar 16, 2010)

Builders Inc. said:


> My electrician had to go under a driveway about a year ago. He used a garden hose and conduit, lanced it through. It was a referral job. I wasn't involved. I was wondering about washout and undermining the driveway. Have you ever had to do this? And did it cause problems?


I have only gone under walkways. Maybe 4ft wide at the most. PIB with a hose and conduit. There is a motorized tool you can rent (I am sure a lot of guys on the forum know the formal name for this) for tunneling under stuff. 

There are specialists that will tunnel under just about anything, but it ain't cheap. 

Garden hose and conduit is ok for some stuff, like 2.5 - 3 inch concrete narrow walkways and sidewalks, but that is as far as I would go without worrying about degradation to foundation.


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## cedarboarder (Mar 30, 2015)

The shrouds are a good idea.


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## cedarboarder (Mar 30, 2015)

Doing some trenching by a tree. Lots of fun.


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## KennMacMoragh (Sep 16, 2008)

What kind of timer did you use? I'm curious. Did you find a way to avoid the problem of having to constantly readjust the timer throughout the year to account for the changing times of sunset? I used Zwave controllers on some outdoor lighting for my parents. That way they turn on at sunset regardless of the time of year. It can also be turned on or off with their cell phone if desired.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

KennMacMoragh said:


> What kind of timer did you use? I'm curious. Did you find a way to avoid the problem of having to constantly readjust the timer throughout the year to account for the changing times of sunset? I used Zwave controllers on some outdoor lighting for my parents. That way they turn on at sunset regardless of the time of year. It can also be turned on or off with their cell phone if desired.


Any astronomic light timer will do that...or any automation controller.


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