Don’t Compromise Your Lighting Investment With A Shoddy Installation.

Not all lighting installations are the same. Over the years, we have seen more than our fair share of nightmare installations. You know, the kinds of things that make you shake your head and say, “What was that guy thinking???” We have all been there at one time or another.

Often calls for repair come from frustrated homeowners who invested a pretty penny into a lighting system that never really worked the way it was supposed to, does that sound familiar? At California Outdoor Lighting we go above and beyond to make sure our installations are built to stand the test of time. Our 3 Step Professional Installation Process guarantees that nothing is overlooked, and the end result is a beautiful and extremely functional lighting system.

Step 1 – Preliminary Installation

Our installation staff will be using the original design plan to ensure that every detail has been met, exactly as it was intended.

Upon arrival, our team is divided into two major tasks : 

  1. Transformer Mounting and Installation 
  2. Fixture Placement and Lamping

Once all transformers have been mounted and fixtures have been set and lamped, our team will begin running direct burial cable above ground, and preparing each individual connection.

Waterproof Connections 

Direct burial cables are the veins of your lighting system. They need to be healthy to operate optimally so why do so many companies use connections that will fail? 

Splices where individual connections meet are the weakest point of your entire system and are where most failures occur.

Water-tight connections completely protect the splice and virtually eliminate any corrosion of the copper. Wire nuts and pierce point connectors allow water to enter and degrade the copper. This will eventually lead to major failures and the need for wire replacement.  Our connections, like everything else we provide are built to last. We will preserve the integrity of your system.

Our installation staff is also trained to think of the future of your lighting system. At each splice, an additional 1 – 3 feet of wire is added. As years pass and landscapes mature, this extra wire will make repositioning fixtures to highlight those changes much easier. 

Once each fixture is wired, our staff will run a test to make sure everything is working properly, now for step 2.

Step 2 – Night-time Adjustments and Walkthrough

Once all fixtures have been set and activated, the next step is scheduling an evening for night-time adjustments and a walkthrough with you.

This step is crucial, it ensures we did what we were supposed to do, knock it out of the park!!! 

Upon arrival that evening, our designer will spend as much time as needed to go through the entire scene, making sure that any needed adjustments are made before calling on you. Once that is done, we would like to walk the property with you. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss each and every aspect of the lighting design. 

If additional adjustments are needed, they can be done right then and there and if any additions are requested, they can be added during step 3. 

Our goal is to leave that evening, knowing that you will be standing there in awe, long after we have driven away. Then it’s time for step 3.

Step 3 – Final Installation and Documentation.

Now that you are completely ecstatic, it’s time for us to get things done! 

During final installation, we will make any additional that were discussed during the walkthrough and begin the process of burying cable. 

Our trenching is done by hand!  Trenching machines can bust pipes and cut communication lines. We take every precaution to leave your landscape in exactly the same condition we found it, with the addition of magnificent lighting that is!

We also want to make sure that we protect your investment from accidental damage.  Adding conduit to planter beds prevents damage to wires from planting annuals and setting wire a minimum of 8” deep in sod protects it from yard aeration. These are just some of the steps we take to raise the bar!

Once all cables are buried, a full system electrical test is conducted to ensure the transformer is running optimally. The readings will be recorded in the as-built documentation we put together for you. This will record the details of your system, should you ever need them in the future.

The only thing left to do is, set back, relax and enjoy your new atmosphere!

Us vs. Them

We take pride in the work we do and it shows! That’s why we make sure that every detail is considered when installing your custom lighting system, but not all companies think like we do. Over the years we have seen our fair share of bad installs. There is nothing worse than seeing someone invest good money in great products, only to see the system fail because the installers cut corners to save a few bucks.
Built to last is our motto, but don’t just take our word for it, take a look at some of these examples:

Bad Connections

The most common point of failure is in a bad connection. Wire nuts, silicone filled or not will allow moisture in, once corrosion starts, its not stopping. Our water proof connections are designed to keep water out.

Improper Wire Burial

Most of our completion barely scratch the surface when burying their cables, or even just cover their wires with mulch. No wonder it keeps popping up all over the place. Our staff is trained to properly bury cables at the required 6” depth, spiking them down so they can’t creep back up.

Improper Wiring Techniques

Tree lighting requires the right hardware and wiring techniques. Using improper cable straps like stapes pinch your cables as the tree grows and mounting hardware can cause tree rot. Eventually the tree will eat your installation hardware and wire or branches may start to die. We use only stainless steel hardware and hanger bolts to prevent this from happening.

We understand your lighting system is major investment in your home and we want that investment to pay off for you. That’s why we don’t compromise the quality of your system with poor installation practices.

Schedule Your Complimentary Nighttime Demo!