Thread: Question about lighting

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I got a question for you - what have you done to light the sidewalk and sidewalk steps coming up to your door. I do not want to use flood lights as they would light the tri county, but want to make it safe for those the venture out in to the night. I am torn between being too dark (not being able to see the steps) and over lighting the sidewalk/walk way. Thoughts?

Solar powered walk lights, slip some colored gels inside for color... usually have 4-6 in a box, and you can use them the rest of the year..

TJ

I have a couple of concrete steps heading up to the porch, I light them with an LED spotlight.

I have string lights on my fence that seem to give off enough light, but floodlights don't have to be overpowering. You can use a dimmer or buy lower output bulbs.

I share your concerns Great Pumpkin. The sidewalk leading to my front porch is long and curvy (kind of like me...hahaha). The porch itself is fairly high off the ground and kind of narrow. Here's what I am thinking right now. Maybe using some glow in the dark tape to mark the edge of the steps would reduce the tripping hazard without over lighting. I am also toying with the idea of painting some glow in the dark foot prints to put on the side walk and/or making some luminaries out of empty Crystal Light tubes. I drink gallons of Crystal Light and can't stand throwing away the containers.

I freaked out this year at the last minute because it was a much darker night than my practice runs. I ended up using trouble lights (clamp style) with very low wattage bulbs to help. I literally just put one in the bushes and one clamped to the basketball goal. I used one tiki torch to fill another dark area.

The reality is you can light the path without washing out the scene. Some of us use hurricane lanterns or landscape lighting. The beauty of this is you can run them off batteries or very low power.

Not sure if glow in the dark tape would work all night, would it? I physically separate people from hazards if possible, so I can put light where I want it and not worry about people being off course.

For my pneumatic props, I use police style tape to keep them at a safe distance. I use a fence to keep them on the path otherwise, which is lighted adequately. We park cars and set up bollards (sawhorses) to help steer the flow as needed.

Originally Posted by Madame Turlock

.... making some luminaries out of empty Crystal Light tubes. I drink gallons of Crystal Light and can't stand throwing away the containers.

Ah-ha, so we learn the secret why you arrrr so sweet 'love!

Originally Posted by CaptnJackSparrow

Ah-ha, so we learn the secret why you arrrr so sweet 'love!

I'm "peachy" sweet. My favorite flavor is Peach Tea, of course!

Wilbret, I don't know if the tape would glow brightly all night; but I do know that the concert halls I performed in for years always used white or glow tape to keep us from tripping on dimly lit stairways backstage. It worked very well.

I have seen some people that use orange or purple rope lights and run them along the edge of their sidewalk/walkway.