Anyone have any Volt hardscape light pictures installed in their project? I'm looking to use them but am not sure what size to get. There's 3", 6", 12" and 18". If you do please share! Let me know what size. Interested to see how it illuminates.
Have you looked at the gallery photos and the hardscape light install videos? https://www.voltlighting.com/videos
Thank you. I did check those videos out just now. Just trying to figure out if a 12" or 18" hardscape light is for me. I'm illuminating a garage door that's about 8 feet wide and about 8 feet tall.
Thank you. I did check those videos out just now. Just trying to figure out if a 12" or 18" hardscape light is for me. I'm illuminating a garage door that's about 8 feet wide and about 8 feet tall.
Hi, Beantown. Without seeing a photo, I'm not sure you'll find my feedback very meaningful. I will say that what you really need to ask yourself is how much light is sufficient to achieve the results you have in mind. If you're talking about using a single fixture above the door, understand that there's not a huge difference in light output between the 12" and the 18" hardscape light. And if other nearby lights (like the wall sconces that typically flank a garage door) will be part of your plan, the difference is likely to be negligible, IMO. Something else to bear in mind is that most (if not all) of the lights shown in the gallery are the higher profile "undercover" hardscape lights. The there are much higher lumens lamps available for these than the brightest of the low profile rotatable hardscape lights you're considering. I only point this out because I don't know what homework you've done already and if you like what you're seeing in the gallery pics, the fixtures you have in mind might not be be bright enough. Now, aren't you glad you asked me?
As a matter of fact i am! You are super helpful on this forum. Sorry I'll attach a picture. You see, I was thinking to mount Volt's 12" or 18" hardscape light where the "x" marks are tucked away under the frame. I thought this would he cool because the designs on the garage door seem to mimic a downward beam of light. What do you think? 18" fixture was my first choice but then the specs said both the 12 and 18" fixtures have a 120° beam spread. I thought the hardscape lights illuminated straight down from its one end of light to the other. If this is still the case I'll stay with the 18" but the 120° beam spread metric is fooling with me. Basically I just want a hardscape fixture that will illuminate the garage door (doesn't have to be all the way from top to bottom, nor do I think the hardscape lights can do that. And the other criteria I have is I don't want to get a fixture so wide that each fixture's light trespasses into the other section. Each light illumination spread stays within its section. Pretty sure 18" will still work but if not I'll go 12" just looking to get the opinion of folks who are more informed than me on here. Thanks as always for any help!
Glad to help. Your pic and a more detailed explanation of your goal are both very helpful. I'm wondering if a puck light might be a better choice for the effect you want to create. I'm attaching a few photos to illustrate why I feel that way. I mean it seems like depending on a linear hardscape light's width and the angle it's aimed you could create that conical or triangular shaped beam but I think because they more closely mimic a flashlight's beam, a puck light or spotlight beam will create the effect more precisely than the beam that's created by the linear hardscape fixtures. But if Evan or others don't chime in, it might be worth contacting customer service directly. They'll be able to tell you with more authority what effect each light fixture type can best create the effect you have in mind. .
Once again a great help! I really like the puck lights in the green garage picture. You're right the beam does mimic the downward design of my garage doors. It seems the middle 2 stone pictures are the 12 or 18" hardscape fixtures i was curious to see in action also? Those look great too. But can't deny the puck lights may be a better fit for me. When the puck light bulb dies it looks like I have to buy a whole new puck light, correct? May I ask a question about wattage and color temperature? Should a person try to stick with the same bulb wattage and color temperature throughout a project? My neighborhood has no street lights and no one around me turns their outside lights on. As a result, it's pitch black all around me on a moonless night. So I don't need very bright light for my project to stand out. I'm also shooting for more of a subtle light anyway so I don't blind the neighbors around me. So 2200K color temp is what I'm shooting for except it's not the most popular so it's only available in 60° angle for the MR16 bulbs (for the All Star or Top Dog spot lights I plan to use). I dont plan to go that wide of an angle. Mostly 15° or 38° throughout the facade. So as 2700K is most popular, it will have to be the predominant color temperature for my project. Should everything be 2700K? I was thinking 2700K for anything illuminating my facade but the path lights for my mulch bed do come in 2200K. Wondering if I should just make the path lights 2700K also. Maybe the 2 temps are close enough in range that they can be mixed without clashing. Same question with bulb wattage. 15° MR16s come in 3w, 5w, and 7w. 38° MR16s come in 2,3,5,7w. Looks like my sweet spot is 3w. I don't plan on setting my spot lights too far from what they are illuminating, perhaps a foot at most? I'm thinking I'll be ok with 3w throughout. Thank you for taking a moment to help me, a stranger on the internet!
"When the puck light bulb dies it looks like I have to buy a whole new puck light, correct?" It will be a long time before you need to replace your puck lights (especially if they're only on in the evening) and they probably won't blow out like incandescent bulbs. They'll get gradually dimmer (so you'll have some warning when they're near the end of their life span). "May I ask a question about wattage and color temperature? Should a person try to stick with the same bulb wattage and color temperature throughout a project? My neighborhood has no street lights and no one around me turns their outside lights on. As a result, it's pitch black all around me on a moonless night. So I don't need very bright light for my project to stand out. I'm also shooting for more of a subtle light anyway so I don't blind the neighbors around me." There aren't a huge number of hard and fast rules when it comes to landscape lighting but generally speaking it's a good idea to use the same brightness and color temps on your house and and the same brightness and temps on your plant material. I started out using 2W 3000K on my trees and shrubs and 2700K 2W fixtures for my bricks and columns on the front of the house but after a while realized I just really didn't like the coolness of the 3000K on any surfaces at all. IMO, the 2700Ks work really well with both the plants and trees and my yard and the house itself. On the side of my house, the driveway is illuminated with 4000K down lights. It's a very different mood from the front of the house but I tried to do it in a way that was not too jarring. But there's times when it just makes sense to use different brightnesses and color temperatures here and there. Maybe you want to really emphasize a fountain or statue in your yard or make the foliage of a red maple really pop. If you have contrasting materials on your house (dark stone at the foundation with light siding), you might want to dial up the fixtures that are aimed at the stone or dial back the lights that are illuminating the siding. Same is true for plant material. Darker foliage may need slightly brighter lumens to look their best than plants with lighter leaves or glossy leaves. Those are just a few examples when people can feel like they can comfortably break the rules. "Same question with bulb wattage. 15° MR16s come in 3w, 5w, and 7w. 38° MR16s come in 2,3,5,7w. Looks like my sweet spot is 3w. I don't plan on setting my spot lights too far from what they are illuminating, perhaps a foot at most? I'm thinking I'll be ok with 3w throughout." I usually advise people to buy a few different bulbs (or at least one of each kind they are most likely to commit to) and then experiment with both of them. That way, they don't order a bunch of lights that are wrong for their project and have to pay to ship them back. And there's some things that will surprise you, no matter how carefully you plan. Take path lights, for instance. Keep in mind that because of the light-reflecting white coating beneath the canopy of the fixture, the brightness of whatever lamp you choose will be slightly amplified. You will learn a lot during your install. Again, glad to help!
Your help has been great. I've never done this so I think I'll go 2700K and 3w throughout. When I need to replace the puck light some day, will I need to replace the wire also? Meaning I have to undig any wires it's paired with? Sounds a bit of a pain When a path light says it illuminates a 9ft diameter, does it mean it illuminates 4.5 feet in all directions from the fixture? Any ideas on the wattage of bulb to use if I'm gutter mounting spot lights on the second level as shown below. There's a 6 foot distance that the light has to travel to get from the gutter to the siding beside each window. I'm thinking these lights should be 5w or greater because of the 6 foot distance.
Hard to say. If you know what brightness level you want for your columns and the puck lights, you can use that as your guide for choosing your gutter fixtures. Choose a lamp brightness for the gutter light that you think best compensates for that distance. If you're really struggling with the decision making, you can always get a second opinion from a VOLT rep.
Thank you! This forum might as well be the Mesodude forum! You run the show here and are very helpful for your time and views
