As summer days shorten and the daylight disappears earlier, you will need to rely on backyard lighting to enjoy your outdoor living area on fall and winter evenings. Upgrading the lighting outside your home is the perfect way to expand your space without having to spend thousands of dollars on home renovations. With carefully placed outdoor lights, you can enjoy the ambiance of your yard well into the evening.
Single garden lights are good for illuminating pathways, but when you are entertaining, you need more light in the backyard. This is where adding overhead lighting will provide the most benefit. If you want to mount a light fixture on a tree, use a strap-mounted system rather than nailing the light directly on the tree. With this option, a strap is wrapped around the tree to hold the light fixture in place. The strap can be adjusted as the tree grows, helping to prevent damage to the light fixture and the tree.
If you would like to highlight a single item in your backyard, such as a pergola, fountain or shed, consider using multiple landscape lighting fixtures with lower-intensity bulbs placed at various angles and distances. Avoid using a single bright spotlight on the object because this will create harsh shadows.
Outdoor LED lighting is the preferred option among lighting designers and homeowners because the bulbs last so much longer and they produce a brighter light for better illumination. Many LEDs have a rated life of up to 50,000 hours, which means when used 12 hours per night, LED bulbs will last about 11 years! In addition, LEDs are made of durable materials instead of glass like traditional outdoor bulbs, so they can better handle harsh weather conditions.
Sheds can serve as an interesting focal point in a backyard when enhanced by lighting. Hanging lights around and in a backyard shed can contribute to a cozy ambiance. By adding lighting to a shed entry or the shed interior, you also enjoy the added benefit of being able to use your shed during the nighttime hours. Lighting also enhances home security since poorly-lit sheds are more susceptible to burglary.
Need more storage? Get a storage building constructed of quality products from LP® Outdoor Building Solutions® to make your structure a cut above the rest. Find out where to buy sheds featuring LP products.
Sustainability Solutions
8 minIn our pursuit of sustainable and environmentally friendly products, we completed five LCAs and EPDs for our LP® Structural Solutions portfolio. Along with LP® SmartSide® Trim & Siding, these EPDs demonstrate the carbon negativity of our products. That means that our products store more carbon than is released during their entire life cycle, making us a meaningful part of the climate solution.
Continue ReadingSustainability Solutions
6 minIn an era where environmental responsibility is paramount, we are proud to announce a remarkable achievement: the LP® Structural Solutions portfolio has been officially designated as carbon negative. This milestone is a testament to our unwavering commitment to redefining construction materials for the better with a focus on sustainability, resiliency and groundbreaking advancements.
It’s no secret that many developers, architects and builders are reducing lot size as one way to hold down housing costs and maintain profitability. In fact, the rise of zero-lot-line homes, odd-lot/infill development and compressed parcel spacing is helping shape a new housing normal for many communities. This downsizing is focusing attention on minimum fire separation distance.
Resiliency Solutions
5 minThe short answer is no, but the real question is: how does rain and water affect oriented strand board (OSB)? Let’s dig into the details of OSB’s construction.