Lighting is a small part of the build and a large part of whether you use the deck in the dark months. We treat it as part of the frame, not as a string of fittings bought later.
Light on steps and edges
The step is where people fall. A small fitting in the riser, or a low light at the side of the flight, shows the nosing without flooding the garden. We aim it down. A bare lamp at eye level is glare, and glare hides the very edge you meant to show.
Edges of a raised deck get a marker too, especially at Wynyard where the ground falls away. You should see the rail and the last board. You do not need a lamp on every post. A rhythm of fittings is calmer and it uses less cable.
The way back to the door matters as much as the view. A single light by the threshold, switched from inside, is often the one people actually use. We ask how you come out at night. The answer changes the layout more than a catalogue does.
Fittings are specified for outdoors. Indoor lights under a board edge fail in the first wet winter. We use low-voltage LED where it suits, with a driver somewhere dry and reachable. The electrician connects the circuit. We do not invent a consumer-unit job and fold it into a guess.
Cables on a concrete yard
Concrete is hard on a badly laid cable. There is no soil to bury in, and a lead trapped under a joist that sits tight to the yard will sit in damp. We plan a route in the void, clipped up, with slack at the ends so a board can be lifted later.
Where the deck stops and the concrete continues, the cable should not lie in the joint that takes the rain. We bring it up, across, and down in a way that stays clear of the wet line. The concrete guide is about the surface. This is about not pinching a wire in it.
On a flood-aware plot we keep junctions high. The flood water guide is why. Drivers sit somewhere dry and reachable, not in a buried box.
Neighbours, the river path and glare
Stockton gardens look at other gardens. A bright fitting aimed sideways will sit in someone's kitchen. We shield and aim down. If you want more light for a task, we use a fitting you can switch, not one that burns all evening at the boundary.
Near the Tees, some plots back towards a path or an open bank. We do not light the path. A beam across the water or along a walk is a nuisance and it does nothing for your steps. The deck can be welcoming without advertising itself to the far bank.
Rails and lights can share a post if the post was designed for both. We do not screw a fitting through a glass channel or through the only fixing of a spindle. Guarding and steps come first. Lights follow the structure.
What goes in a lighting quote
The quote lists the number of fittings, the type, the cable route and who connects the supply. It says the deck height separately. Lights do not push a surface through the thirty-centimetre line, and they do not excuse a deck that is already over it. If the deck needs an application, the lights are just part of that same scheme.
Ask for a quote and say whether you care about steps, a seat, or both. Composite and timber take the same fittings. The board does not dictate the lamp. It does dictate where we can hide a cable without pinching it.
We fit lights while the frame is open. Adding them after the boards are down means lifted boards and a messier route. If you think you might want them, say so at the visit. Empty ducts are a fair compromise if you want to decide the fittings later. We would rather leave a route than a regret.
Questions we get asked about deck lighting
Do lights mean I need planning permission?
Not by themselves. The deck height does the work. A surface more than thirty centimetres above the surrounding ground is the usual prompt for an application. Fittings on a low deck do not create that prompt. We still aim them so they are not a nuisance.
Can you run cables across an old concrete yard?
Yes, in the void, clipped up off the concrete. We do not trap a cable in the wet joint at the edge. If the run has to cross open concrete, we agree a route you can live with, not a loose wire over the yard.
Will the lights dazzle the house opposite?
Not if we do the job properly. Beams point down at steps and edges. We avoid a lamp aimed at a window or at a river path. Tell us if a neighbour's room is close. We will place the fitting with that window in view.
Can we add lights after the deck is built?
Sometimes, by lifting boards. It costs more trouble than fitting them with the frame. If you are unsure, we can leave a duct. Say so in the quote. A later retrofit through a tight concrete void is the awkward version.
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