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How would you light this dry-stacked stone wall?

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#22 ·
irrig8r said:
I'm going to look into pricing on these FX fixtures. The MR-11 uplight is a new one to me. 8,000 hrs. for the Xenolux sounds promising. And 4" diam. sounds good. With the glare shield of course.

http://www.fxl.com/products/documents/119463464318660144.pdf

The Unique Nova also looks interesting. Not sure how they can squeeze an MR-16 into that diameter housing though...

http://www.uniquelighting.com/Spec Sheets/Nova.pdf

I also like the FX CG, and the ML-20 is a smaller version of it. Still 4.85 " across though. For on the walls above the steps.

http://www.fxl.com/products/documents/119463380518656432.pdf

And I might be able to get Nightscaping to customize a Seegarliter with a flat/ blunt end so it doesn't look quite so phallic. Fits OK in 1" conduit.

http://www.nightscaping.com/pdfs/seegar_gd7520cu.pdf
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I got novas here. VERY compact and well built..Comes with assortment of lenses and 2 different face plates and a pvc sleeve...Im not crazy about the well light idea. I think it will look good but I would be concearned about gravel and that dust from it setteling on the lenses and such and the glare factor. Maybe im looking at this wrong. Either way im due home for a visit in Gilroy again... fly me out and I will be more than happy to help on this one :)
 
#23 ·
steveparrott said:
Given the nature of the wall - very irregular and loose, I would avoid deck-type lights. Also tons of labor. Thinking also of consistency in design, I would look to light both stairs and paths in the same way. The obvious conclusion would be to use china-hat type path lights spaced about 10 ft. apart just behind the uphill side of the stone walls. Where possible you could have path lights on the opposing side as well. Of course, being sure to select path lights with no glare when viewed from below.

I also see a nice pergola at the top of the path - that may be a useful mount for a downlight for addtional illumination at the path head.
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I wasnt thinking of labor but I did do 4 cast deck lights on a very similar wall here and it came out great. Really brought out the texture of the wall. Perhaps your looking for more intensity than a deck light would provide.

BTW... 4 deck lights... including drilling the wall (backed by cinderblock) and 1 foot of excavation on the back side to retrive and run the wires then drill anchors into the wall and attach fixtures took me about 1.5 hours. With this type of wall you would be able to find spots to snake the wire in without much issue I would think... I am thinking the well light idea would be just as much if not more labor plus disturbing the compacted base so close to the wall may pose an issue ???? not sure just a thought.

I think its wonderful how different designers will have so much of a varied technique.

Better yet... cap that wall off and run a dadoe with a rope-fiber type of lighting :)
 
Discussion starter · #24 ·
Pro-Scapes said:
I got novas here. VERY compact and well built..Comes with assortment of lenses and 2 different face plates and a pvc sleeve...Im not crazy about the well light idea. I think it will look good but I would be concearned about gravel and that dust from it setteling on the lenses and such and the glare factor. Maybe im looking at this wrong. Either way im due home for a visit in Gilroy again... fly me out and I will be more than happy to help on this one :)
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LOL. You have a good point about the dust. More of an issue in summer, but that's when the entertaining will likely happen more anyway. I'm also thinking there may be a solid concrete footing (haven't checked yet) and maybe even a drainline...both making well lights more impractical.

My conclusions:

1. Lighting from the top seems it might be the way to go after all, despite it being "conventional".

2. By doing that I can highlight some of the plant material that will probably be spilling over the edge of the wall too.

3. It will probably be a lot less labor in the long run too.
 
#25 ·
In grade lighting is subject to being covered by leaves more than dust/dirt. This is only a short lived problem in the fall season of the northern states. I think the wall would best be lit using Brass deck style lights, mounted with tap con screws(hidden), or nylon anchors with matching fasteners (visible). A small wire access hole behind each fixture can be dug with a post hole digger. We use a fiberglass fish rod with a wire pulling braid at the end to pull the wiring between the rocks and up through the hole. Installation goes very quickly. This tool is also very handy when installing deck lighting on an existing deck.
 
#26 ·
Anthony!! I gotta disagree with your mounting ideas.

I wouldnt fish the wire straight in... I would enlarge the hole thru an existing crack and install a small piece of flex conduit to protect the wire should the wall settle (hello ever feel an earthquake out that way ? How about loma prieta??) then slip my wire thru that. A hammer drill with a 3/4 inch bit would slide right thru there. Then leave about a foot of the lead in wire behind the wall for service in the future and find a place to mount your light. It doesnt have to be completly flat... you can shim it up with some stainless strips if you need a few degrees of adjustment. I would consider lighting the plants as needed but I would try to keep the fixtures concealed / blended in during the day and keep disturbance of the wall. I really feel an aged cast deck light or if you patina one it will work well here. Best bet is to grab a few fixtures and go demo it. Make sure you and the client are on the same page here.
 
#27 ·
I would approach this with a completely different solution, as I find paver lights and deck lights to be so very limited in their output and effect. With such great landscaping and views, beautifully functional walls and a pathway that needs lighting, I would go with area lights above the walls to light the landscaping and spill over and light the path as well. In areas like steps or turns I would add additional lighting for safety, like small deck lights that will making navigating easy. Looks like the cart path needs a guardrail or at least a definitive well lit edge.

Kirk
 
#30 ·
I'm no expert like you guys but I agree with Dreams To Designs. You should put tall area lights in. They would cast a larger light area and give you something to mount to if you need additional spot type lighting.
 
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Discussion starter · #32 ·
At this point iIthink path lights are what I'm going to use.

Nobody is going to look at them "all day long". They will be run from a switch when the area is used, but I don't expect it is used except for on weekends. Otherwise they will be visible only from above, and in that large expanse of landscape, once the plants are installed and start to grow, I think they'll blend right in.

Right now I'm favoring the FX FG, because the look blends well with the setting, they will weather nicely, and the light is slightly forward of the fixture, but not so much of an angle to be a glare problem (I think.) I will see if I can get them with wedge base socket and use some 912s or a Xenon equivalent.

My other reason is they will light up the plants that spill over the wall. I don't recall what they are going to be, but I'm imagining creeping rosemary, purple lantana or other spreading groundcovers with flowers and Mediterranean themed perennials.

On the stairs themselves I'm considering the pathlights on one side and something like the Cast Decklight on the other.

For soft uplighting of some of the walls along and up the slope I'll be using Nightscaping Sazliters w/ wedge base Xenon lamps.

Thanks for all the input.
 
#33 ·
Pro-Scapes said:
Anthony!! I gotta disagree with your mounting ideas.

I wouldnt fish the wire straight in... I would enlarge the hole thru an existing crack and install a small piece of flex conduit to protect the wire should the wall settle (hello ever feel an earthquake out that way ? How about loma prieta??) then slip my wire thru that. A hammer drill with a 3/4 inch bit would slide right thru there. Then leave about a foot of the lead in wire behind the wall for service in the future and find a place to mount your light. It doesnt have to be completely flat... you can shim it up with some stainless strips if you need a few degrees of adjustment. I would consider lighting the plants as needed but I would try to keep the fixtures concealed / blended in during the day and keep disturbance of the wall. I really feel an aged cast deck light or if you patina one it will work well here. Best bet is to grab a few fixtures and go demo it. Make sure you and the client are on the same page here.
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Hey Billy!!,

I'm open to any suggestions you wish to offer. Since we are out here on the East.. life is pretty boring.. No earthquakes or Loma Prieta (I thought it was a animal! lol). You make a very valid point. Every geographic region has it's particulars. I'd like to hear more of problems/improvements that you run into on an installation.
 
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