Electrician Brisbane Southside will attend your request during renovation of your home or office. The actual design of an outdoor lighting system is determined by the site characteristics, the landscape effect desired its function, and the homeowner’s personal tastes.

Most hardware stores and home improvement centers sell low voltage kits with a built-in transformer and a timer which lets you determine when the lighting is activated or deactivated.

The transformers use 120-volt current, which is standard in nearly all households. The transformer then converts the current to 12 volts resulting in a safe and economical power source.

A GFCI receptacle will be required to install low lighting. Most homes don’t have these receptacles and it will be necessary to have a licensed, qualified electrician to install one.
Before starting to dig, it’s absolutely necessary to contact your local utility companies (gas and electric) to make sure that you will not cut any existing underground cables or piping.

The first planning requirement involves deciding which type of outdoor lighting you will install. There are basically five from which to select.

Up-lights: These lights provide ground level illumination with the lights pointed up. The purpose of the up-light is to highlight points in the landscape, such as trees, and other architectural features. Up-light fixtures include spot and flood lights as well as in-ground fixtures.

Backlights: Back-lighting can create a very dramatic effect when done with taste. Be sure not to use overpowering back-lighting because it may result in a “Halloween effect”. The basic idea of back-lighting is to strategically place a lighting fixture behind an object such as a statue or even a small plant. This object or plant should be fairly close to an outside wall. The goal is to use this fixture, such as a spot light or a floodlight or even an in-ground light, to create a silhouette on the wall. The fixture should be out of sight to provide some “magic” to the desired effect.

Path lights: One of the most common (and dramatic) uses of outdoor lighting is to create a guide on either side of a path or walkway or even a driveway. Besides providing an appealing decorative look, path lighting can be a safety feature, keeping visitors from wandering off the lighted area. Unlike most other outdoor lighting, path lights should be placed above ground (but fairly low) and should be the kind that spreads the light with a gentle glowing effect. Don’t use too many path lights in a particular area to avoid an “airline runway” look. The lights should be strategically placed with understatement being the operational consideration.

Down lights : Spotlights and floodlights can be used to illuminate an entryway such as a rear door or an entrance to a bordered garden area or even over a gazebo. Unlike a path light, a down light should not be seen so that a natural lighting effect is achieved. Besides providing a decorative effect, down-lighting offers security for areas, deterring most intruders

Specialty lights: Creativity is the key to the use of specialty lighting. The goal in using this lighting is to create a magical and inviting mood to an area. If you have a rock garden or an area with water and perhaps even a waterfall, strategically placed lighting can highlight these landscaping features and provide a very dramatic nighttime effect. Remember, specialty lighting is limited only by the homeowner’s creativity. There are a variety of home and garden magazines on the market and some very innovative uses of specialty lighting can be found by perusing a few of these periodicals.

Before beginning the installation phase, be sure to match the areas to be illuminated with the style and types of lighting fixtures that you will use. Don’t be reluctant to visit neighbors who use outdoor lighting and ask what they selected in terms of lighting fixtures. This may involve several trips to other neighborhoods but these trips will certainly be worth the effort. Although you will be paying night time visits, a polite and sincere introduction to the homeowner with a word of two of flattery will no doubt provide you with an invitation to look at the work that they have done and most will be more than willing to share their secrets with you.

Most outdoor lighting is either four or seven watts. Keep in mind that these lights are designed to highlight a fairly small area with the goal of providing understated intimacy. If the area you plan to illuminate is fairly large, you may want to purchase a few more lights than you expect will do the job. You can always return the extras for a refund. The lighting specialist at the store can help you select the right transformer and may suggest you buy one that can accommodate the additional wattage you may need if you decide to expand your outdoor lighting later on.

Rather than just jump into grabbing that shovel and starting to work, remember why they include instruction booklets with toys, etc. that need to be assembled. What I’m getting at is that you need a written plan from which to work. While this may be a time-consuming part of the project, it will pay dividends as you begin the actual work. Many homeowners who jumped right into installing outdoor lighting, ended up having to do much of it over again as they found that their mental plans didn’t yield the same benefits that a carefully laid-out written plan did. Another advantage to putting it in writing is that you may discover additional areas that could benefit from outdoor lighting as you move along. The written plan will allow you to note this so that you can revisit the area to install the additional lighting.

With all the preliminary work completed, you will be ready to start the actual project. Although there are a variety of approaches that can be used, one of the most effective is to refer to your plan and lay the lighting fixtures at the area where they will be installed. Some of the lighting fixtures such as path lights will include a detachable stake that you will use to anchor the fixture into the ground. A common mistake some homeowners make is to attempt to drive these stakes into hard soil. In today’s market, most lighting fixtures and accessories are made of plastic. While the plastic stake may be made of high-grade material, driving it into hard soil or a soil-clay mixture may result in the stake breaking. It’s often difficult if not impossible to find a replacement stake and the homeowner may end up “biting the bullet” by having to purchase another complete lighting fixture. To avoid this potential pitfall, you can do one of two things. First, you can use a spade to loosen the soil and then pack it down firmly. It’s often not necessary to loosen the soil to the complete length of the stake. Try loosening it about ¾ of the length of the stake. Generally, with a good start, the stake will not be damaged when fully inserted. Second, you can water the area liberally the day before you begin the project. If the soil is very dense, use a pitchfork or similar tool to create irrigation holes. You may find it necessary to repeat the watering process several times.

With the soil prepared, place the lighting fixtures where they will be installed. At the GFCI fixture, run the cable to each of the lights. Don’t run the cable so that it’s tight because you may decide to reposition your lighting fixtures at a later date. Most lighting fixtures have instructions that indicate how they are to be attached to the cable. This is usually a fairly simple process that doesn’t even involve the use of any tools.

After separating the end of the cable, strip off about ½ inch of insulation and attach the wires to the proper terminals on the transformer. You are now ready to see if the lighting circuit is working. Turn on the plugged-in transformer and then look at each light to make sure it’s working. Bury the cable as you install the light fixtures. Four or five inches will do in terms of the depth the cable should be buried.

The last step is to set the timer to come on at the right time and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Author’s Disclaimer

The information contained in this article is written by a non-certified and non-qualified electrician. I take no responsibility for any injury or other accidents or damage to equipment that may occur as a result of following any of the information contained herein. If you have any doubts about your ability to follow these directions or to safely install your outdoor lighting, I strongly urge you to hire a qualified professional electrician to do the job.

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Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Chuck_Lunsford/42859

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I always keep meatballs and pizza crusts in the freezer for on the spot night meals. We constantly associate barbecue with fun and family. The barbecue can be a simple dish that you could offer your family members or as lavish as hosting a multitude of visitors in a BBQ party. No matter who you want to offer it to, whatever time you want to do it, here are pointers that you should keep in mind when doing a barbecue:

Marinade, marinade, marinade

No matter how great your meat is, if you do not souse your meat, it will certainly not taste as great as you would like it to be. A sauce is a concoction of different herbs and spices where your meat will certainly be immersed over night.

Prepare all your barbecue equipment and devices before you start

Before any activity is started, you need to prepare all your devices and equipment so that you will not need to go to and fro just to obtain the right devices for the task. It is irritating and very tiring to go in and out of the house as you obtain the equipment needed to cook your meals. Outdoor grill, tongs and charcoal starters are the fundamental needs for cooking your set food. If you are to grill bacon, onions, eggs and tomatoes, you will need a griddle. If you will do your barbecue in the evening, then you will certainly need a barbecue light connected to your grill. A grill lifter is needed to put additional charcoal on the grill.

Choose your charcoal

• Not all charcoals are created equal- with regard to how quick they burn. Some charcoals burn fast, some charcoals require time to heat up. Whatever you choose, you need to consider this if you are in a time constraint. If you will serve lots of people, then a charcoal that burns fast is recommended.A charcoal that burns quick is recommended if you will serve lots of people. If you are just cooking for a group of buddies or family members, then the usual charcoal will do. Bear in mind: A charcoal that burns fast costs more.Some charcoals burn fast, some charcoals require time to heat up. If you will serve lots of people, then a charcoal that burns fast is recommended. If you are just cooking for a group of buddies or family members, then the usual charcoal will do.

Cooking the Food

Chicken meat beef and pork need to be smoked a certain amount of time before they reach their juiciness and tenderness. Quick piece of advice: if you desire your meat to be cooked much faster, ask for a leaner, thinner cut of meat.

Grease lightning

Cooking meat produces grease due to the fats that are contained on the meat. For this, you need a drip pan for the grease and for some types of grill, a grease mat. It not only makes your job of cleaning easier, it additionally keeps your yard from smelling like a slimmed oil.

All it takes is a little amount of information. Now go and have a barbecue in your house. Enjoy!

Your rubbish bins should be emptied before they are too full so that the office rubbish removal Sydney can collect them. Waste management, correct collection and timely disposal, all these things have become immensely important seeing the ever-depleting condition of our nature and ozone layer. One thing that not many people are aware of is that the entire process of waste management starts with timely rubbish removal and for this, there is no one better than rubbish removal Adelaide companies. There are several of them, but not all are competent of catering the services that you expect from them. Even if they are, those looking for their services often have no idea of how to find the best one. But this will not happen anymore as we have come up with the post describing the top features of the best companies. Ideally, you can start by looking at what the company offers before trusting it with your waste management needs.

Integrated waste solution

• Companies claiming to offer the best quality services related to waste and garbage should first of all reveal that they can offer you comprehensive waste solutions for your facility.
• This feature is a “must have” in the character of these companies as only then, they will be able to take care of all your garbage and waste related needs.

For example – a company offering services like recycling, reusing, etc. is way better than a company that could only cater to you garbage collection and unfettered garbage disposal services.

• Such companies can offer you benefits by collecting your garbage on a timely basis, but they are extremely harmful for the environment, as they only harm the nature by unregulated garbage disposal.
• There are waste companies that actually offer environmental audits together with their waste removal services.
• According to the experts, the more comprehensive waste solution you get, the better the results you will get from the company.

Advanced equipment

• The next feature to look for in shortlisted rubbish removal firms is whether they have advanced equipments to serve you professionally or not.
• Remember that an ill-equipped will definitely face hardships dealing with some kinds of refuse and might compel you to pay heavy fines for not disposing the garbage as per government standards.
• This makes it really important that the company is equipped with all the modern gadgets needs for proper and full-fledge rubbish removal services.
• The staff should be wearing protective clothing for their protection and they should even offer rubbish bins to their clients for in line garbage collection.
• Other than this, they should even have skip trucks, cranes and other important machines that can help them in proper and flawless garbage collection.
• Their rubbish bins like ( Single, Doubles, King Size, Queen Size, 8m, 6m ) should be used to keep your area clean before they come collecting your waste.

Competent staff

• The next feature of these rubbish removal Adelaide firms is the staff that should be competent and trained to meet all your needs.
• They should be aware of the fact that different kinds of waste materials require sensitive and careful handling.
• Other than this, they should also know that without proper training, they can become vulnerable and end up exposing themselves to health risks and dangers.
• The staff should also be armed with all necessary gear to keep them safe and secure as they handle the waste.