June / July 2011 - The Hays Daily News

LIGHTING
up the night
Outdoor lighting isn’t just for
Halloween and Christmas
anymore. It’s a growing trend
in the Hays area that has
endless possibilities.
Derrick Unrein, manager of
Unrein Earth Design in Hays, said
lighting up a landscape is relatively
inexpensive and can be done with
some planning.
Solar lights
Using solar lighting in a landscape
is less expensive than having
the lighting wired in.
“You have to have good sunlight
to get the lights bright to get it to
accent everything,” said Unrein, who
has 10 years of landscape experience.
For
l i g ht i n gu p THE NIGHT
By GAYLE WEBER
instance,
placing solar
lights on
the north sides of bushes when the
sun comes from the south during
the day won’t produce the desired
amount of light. Strategically placing
lights is the key to using solar.
“Plan it out and think about
where the sun’s going to be,” Unrein
said. “Try to get your solar rays
aligned with it so it has sunshine
most of the day.”
Below ground
Brighter and more consistent
lights are possible through the use
of wired-in lighting, a method Unrein
usually recommends to his customers.
However, he said homeowners
should always think “below the
ground up.”
“Don’t try to do something to
where you’ve got (all the landscaping)
done and now you have to tear
everything apart” to put the wiring in
for the lights, Unrein said.
Sometimes, the wiring can be run
along with a sprinkler system installation.
Unrein said he hand-trenches
the wiring about 4 to 6 inches below
the ground to avoid tearing up too
much of the yard.
On a wooden deck, wires can be
hidden in posts.
Unique uses
Halloween and Christmas lighting
ideas can be continued all year,
such as when a resident puts a
spotlight on a tree at Halloween.
8 • JUNE / JULY 2011 DAS HAUS • w w w.HDNe w s.n e t