Landscape Lighting Planner
Dear Ray
Practical, encouraging answers for homeowners doing the work themselves. Dear Ray questions are representative homeowner situations informed by common DIY problems and questions people search for.
I cut my landscape-lighting wire. Can I fix it?
A calm place to start after a misplaced edging pass cuts a low-voltage cable.
Can one transformer run two areas of my house?
How to think about two branches, transformer capacity, and the longest cable run.
Why are my landscape lights dimmer at the far end of the yard?
A practical way to trace voltage drop, wire length, and weak connections.
What wire gauge should I use for my landscape-lighting run?
Choose cable by the load and distance of the actual run, not just the spool price.
How many landscape lights can I put on one transformer?
Count fixture wattage, leave headroom, and check the branch lengths before adding lights.
How far apart should path lights be?
Use a starting range, then test the real pools of light along your walk.
Can I add lights to existing stone steps?
A careful approach to adding low-voltage lighting without making stonework the project.
Where should I put landscape lights around my house?
Start with the route home, safety, and the features you enjoy seeing after dark.