Epic Fails: Landscape Lighting Installers Let It All Hang Out

Wonky Wires Bare All

Landscape lighting installers should know: Homeowners opt for outdoor lighting to bring long-lasting beauty to their property. But these six examples lay bare the uncomfortable truth that most lighting contractors aren’t professionals. During their installations, they lose sight of the goal, and LUX Landscape Lighting is called in to rescue the situation (which, we love to do!).

Why Is It Always the Wiring?

This landscape lighting installer decided the drip irrigation staples would work just fine for securing the landscape lighting wire, and he buried the whole thing under just two inches of soil. It’s no wonder the fixtures stopped working. Wire should be buried at least six inches deep. In a landscape bed, it should also run through a conduit, to prevent mishaps with garden trowels.

This particular landscape lighting fail is the result of poor planning and lazy installation.

MacGyver Takes Up Landscape Lighting Installation

If you’re confused looking at this photo, it’s no wonder. This wiring approach might make MacGyver proud in a pinch, but a professional landscape lighting installer should have a fully-stocked truck. It only took about a year for this jerry-rigged wiring to fail.

Outdoor wiring is designed to withstand temperature and weather changes, but not when it’s separated and stuck together with indoor electrical tape.

How Hard Is It to Just Bury the Wire?

“Thanks to this bush, no one will ever know we didn’t bury the wire.” Except, it won’t take long for UV exposure to weaken the coating. The sun doesn’t care that this landscape lighting installer wanted to take an early lunch break.

Homeowners Don’t Want Landscape Lighting Installers to Color-Match the Wire

We wonder if this landscape lighting installer was proud of himself for color-matching the wire to the poured patio. Besides looking sloppy, this dangling wire is just asking to get snapped. And if that doesn’t get it, sun exposure will. All exposed wire should be run through a conduit.

Which leads us to our next epic fail…

Conduit Isn’t Always the Answer

Conduit is the answer when your questions are, “How do I run wire down a fencepost?” or “How do I get the wire from the foundation to the ground?” But conduit is the exact wrong answer for crossing a sidewalk or path. What an ugly tripping hazard! Instead, a professional landscape lighting installer will slice a channel with a concrete saw and set the wire into it. It’s the attractive, invisible solution.

One Final Fail Exposes Everything

What a mess. If the landscape lighting installer had at least buried the wire, we couldn’t see he used the wrong wire nuts (not that it matters what kind of wire nuts are used, if they’re going to lay open to the weather). This homeowner was so disappointed that their new landscape lighting system created an eyesore in the daytime. Fortunately, they called LUX, and this story has a happy ending.

See More Landscape Lighting Epic Fails

Our Epic Fails series is very popular (we blame Schadenfreude). Here are four more installations:

If these landscape lighting fails look familiar, contact us. We service, repair and upgrade all lighting brands. We’ll bring your dreams to light!