Bring a landscape lighting designer in before the patio, walks or drive are poured, and before the planting plan is final. Any wire that has to cross under hardscape needs a sleeve laid while the ground is open, and a tree picked for uplighting needs its fixture spot and cable route settled before it goes in.
If your yard is already built, skip most of this; lighting a finished property is ordinary work. Timing matters when a patio, a driveway, a planting plan or a whole house is still coming. Those decisions fix where wire can run and what a fixture can point at, so a landscape lighting design drawn early, where the plan is the product, gets to shape them instead of working around them.
Why does the patio pour set the deadline?
Once concrete or pavers go down, any lighting run that has to cross them has a problem. The usual answer is a sleeve. That’s a length of conduit laid under the walk, patio or drive before the pour, so cable can be pulled through later, and pulled back out if it ever needs replacing, without anyone touching the finished surface.
Where the sleeves go is really a lighting decision. Think of the front bed that has to feed the side yard, the path lights on the far side of the drive, or new steps that will want riser lights. A designer who walks the site before the pour can list every crossing and hand that list to your paver or hardscape lighting crew.
Zones belong in the same conversation. Transformer sizing and wire layout change depending on whether the facade, the terrace and the beds switch separately or share a circuit, and deciding that at the start adds very little. Splitting a circuit later means opening the trench again, and if that trench runs under new pavers you are back at the first problem. We do retrofit lighting into existing hardscape, so a missed crossing can still be handled. It is just slower work around a finished surface.
What changes if the beds aren’t planted yet?
Lighting and planting feed each other. A specimen tree chosen for uplighting needs its fixture position and cable route worked out before it goes in the ground, because once the root ball is settled and mulched, nobody wants a trench beside it.
Going the other way, a lighting plan in hand before the beds are final can nudge where a landscape architect puts a focal shrub, since that shrub is about to be lit.
New construction adds a wrinkle. On a new build in a Franklin neighborhood like Westhaven, the elevations are crisp and the planting may be three feet tall. For the first few years the house carries the design, and the drawing has to leave room for trees and beds that take over later. That is far easier to plan with the planting plan still open. Building near Franklin? Our page on outdoor lighting in Franklin, TN covers the local trees and architecture.
How does lighting fit around the other trades on a build?
Your architect, builder and landscaper all stay in charge of their own work. Gemmell works alongside landscapers, irrigation contractors and pool companies, sorting out scope and timing so one crew doesn’t undo another’s work, and Phil can call your contractor directly if that is simpler than passing messages through you.
During a build that coordination is most of the value, because several trades share the site for the same few weeks and the order they work in decides what can still change.
What should you hand the designer?
Whatever already exists. The landscape architect’s drawing or a site plan helps most. With it, fixture spots and cable routes go on paper against the real grading and plant locations. Builder’s elevations matter for facade lighting, because window and column placement decide where an uplight makes sense.
If the site is far enough along, a few photos at dusk show how light and shadow already fall across it. Phil still walks every property himself, at dusk when possible.
None of it is required; a bare lot just takes more of the walk. Our step-by-step design guide shows the same process from the designer’s side.
What comes back, and how long does it take?
You get a drawing of your property showing each fixture, its beam and output, the zones, the wire runs and the transformer, along with a written quote. You approve both before anything goes in the ground, and you can revise the plan until then. The detail is on our design and installation process page.
On a build, the calendar is what to plan around. Our usual timeline puts the design walk three to five days after your call and has the plan delivered within a week. Leave a couple of weeks before the pour to read the plan, ask for changes and approve it. Once it’s approved, the same drawing works as a coordination sheet for everyone else. The paving crew can see where the sleeves go, and whoever plants the trees knows which ones are getting a light. Most residential installs take a day, and jobs with hardscape integration can take two.
Is a small project worth a designer?
Not in the sense this article means. Path lights along an existing walk, or uplights on one or two trees in a yard that isn’t otherwise changing, involve no sleeves and no planting plan to coordinate with. The design walk still happens, still free, just shorter.
If you are comparing a few companies for either kind of job, one question matters more than price: is the person drawing the plan the one who installs it and comes back to service it? Our guide to comparing lighting companies covers what else to ask. Not sure which kind of project you have? Book a design walk and ask.
Common questions
Should outdoor lighting be planned before a patio is poured?
Yes, if any lighting wire will need to cross under the new patio, walk or driveway. Before the pour, a length of conduit called a sleeve can go under the slab so cable is pulled through later without touching the surface. After the pour, a crossing is still possible as a retrofit, but it means working around finished hardscape.
A designer who sees the site first can find every crossing in time.
Can a lighting designer work from my landscape architect’s plan?
Yes, and it is the most useful thing to hand over. With that drawing or a site plan, fixture positions and cable routes get marked against the actual grading and plant layout instead of a guess. It also brings conflicts up early, while the plan can still move.
One example is a planned tree sitting right where a cable run needs to go.
What is conduit sleeving and why does it matter?
Sleeving means laying a length of conduit under a patio, driveway or walkway before the pour, so cable can be pulled through it later. With it, running or replacing a wire across the hardscape never touches the finished surface. Without it, the crossing has to be retrofitted around concrete or pavers that are already down.
That is why it matters most on a build, while the pour is still ahead.
Do I need a lighting designer for a small project?
Not always. Lighting one tree or one section of path in a yard that is already built rarely involves sleeves or a planting plan, which is where early design earns its keep. If there is still a pour or a planting day ahead, that is when to call a designer early.
For a finished yard, the free design walk still applies and is simply a shorter visit.
