There are several ways to light up your yard at night. But lamp posts brighten up a path, serving both an aesthetic and a security role. A lamp post and light fixture are usually sold as a unit in your local home improvement centers. The majority of the work is in digging a trench and running conduit from the house to the spot where the lamp will be installed. The depth of the trench depends on the type of conduit you use, in this case, PVC buried 18 inches deep will work best. A concrete filled fiber tube form acts as a footing to anchor the lamp post in the ground. The conduit runs up into the lamp post.

Stuff you will need:

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Tools:

Electrician's screwdriver

Combination tool

Lineman's pliers

Long-nosed pliers

spade

Materials:

PVC conduit

Pre-mixed concrete

Fiber tube form

Lamp post

Wire caps

Nipple

Fixture Strap

Coat Hanger

Appropriate Light Fixtures

NM cable or TW conduit wire

Lamp posts may differ in fixture styles or in material used for the posts. However, the electrical connections are simple and should be the same for all types of posts. When working with electricity, always turn off the power by shutting off the appropriate breaker at the service panel in your home.

What you don't see when you look at a lamp post is the work that went into the cable and conduit buried in the yard. PVC conduit is buried in a trench 18 inches deep and runs from the house to the location of the post . A concrete footing made with a fiber tube form provides support for the lamp post. The wire connections are a simple matter of joining three pairs of wires with wire caps.

Lay 3/4 inch PVC conduit with cable in an 18 inch deep trench. Run the conduit up the post by using an elbow. Place a fiber tube form with a slot cut for the conduit over it. Lower the post into the form and fill it with concrete. Strip the cable wires and connect them into the fixture leads. Twist and connect the black to the black, the white to the white, and the ground to the ground. Tuck the wires into the post .

Screw the cap to the top of the post , then mount the light socket in the cap. The mounting method depends on the type of fixture. Check the instructions that come with the lamp post. There are many different energy saving lightbulbs you can install in the fixture of your lamp post. Do not use a yellow bug bulb as it will cause more bugs to swarm around your post and lessen the attractiveness of your lamp post at night.

You also might want to add a transformer on a wall with a GFCI outlet to protect the lamp post and people from getting shocked if you installed a metal post . For wood siding on your home, use wood screws, for masonry, drill a hole for a lag shield, then screw into the shield. Plug the transformer into the outdoor receptacle and set the timer switch. Cover the GFCI with a plastic cover, usually sold also at home improvement centers. The plastic cover lets you leave the system plugged in without leaving the outlet exposed. Then you can set the timer to go on for when you need the lamp post the most.