Southern California
Landscape Lighting Installation for New-Construction Backyards
Low-voltage path lights, accent uplighting, downlighting, and hardscape and step lighting, run on quiet transformers with timers, photocells, and app control. One licensed contractor designs the wire runs alongside your new planting and hardscape so the yard works after dark, not just at noon.
CSLB #1103138. Serving Southern California.
A new backyard that disappears at sunset
New-construction homes are handed over with the yard as a bare grade and the exterior lit by little more than the fixture over the back door. The moment the sun drops behind the hills, the patio, the steps down to the yard, and the walkways along the side of the house go completely dark. In most Southern California communities that means the backyard you paid a premium for is only usable for the few daylight hours after work, exactly the hours most families are not home.
Low-voltage landscape lighting is what gives those evening hours back. It is a 12-volt system, run from a transformer that steps household power down to a safe low voltage, so the light spread across your yard is gentle, warm, and easy to live with. Well-designed low-voltage lighting extends outdoor living into the evening, makes steps and paths safe to walk after dark, and turns the hardscape and planting you already invested in into something you can enjoy at night instead of only in the afternoon sun.
Designed with the yard, not bolted on after
The best time to plan lighting is while the backyard itself is being built. When wire runs are laid before planting beds are filled and before the last pavers are set, fixtures land exactly where they belong: grazing a stone wall, washing up the trunk of a specimen tree, tucked into a step, and there are no trenches cut back through a finished yard later. Five Stars Builders plans the low-voltage layout alongside the hardscape and planting design so the transformer, the wire runs, and every fixture are part of one coordinated backyard, not an afterthought stapled to the fence.
Why choose us
Low-voltage lighting, designed into the backyard.
Landscape lighting done well is quiet, warm, and looks like it was always meant to be there. Here is how we approach it.
CSLB License #1103138. Low-voltage landscape lighting falls under our C-27 landscaping classification. Verifiable through the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) before you sign anything.
We map path, accent, downlight, and hardscape fixtures to how you actually use the yard, so light lands where it is useful and the fixtures stay out of sight.
We plan low-voltage wire runs alongside your new beds and pavers, so fixtures sit exactly right and nobody trenches through a finished yard later.
Your lighting comes up at dusk and shuts off on schedule on its own, with smart app control available so you can adjust zones and hours from your phone.
What's included
- Path and walkway lights along steps, side yards, and routes from the house to the yard
- Accent uplighting to graze walls, columns, and specimen trees and plants
- Downlighting and moonlighting mounted in trees or under eaves for a soft, natural wash
- Hardscape and step lighting integrated into seat walls, retaining walls, and stair risers for safe footing after dark
- Low-voltage transformers sized to the fixture count, with room to grow the system later
- Timers, photocells, and smart app control so lighting runs on schedule and by zone
- Low-voltage wire runs planned and buried alongside new planting beds and hardscape
Our process
We start with an evening-minded site walk to see the yard, the steps and paths that need to be safe after dark, and the hardscape and plants worth highlighting. From there we draft a low-voltage lighting layout: fixture types and placement, transformer location, wire runs, and the zones you will want on separate schedules. Because low-voltage lighting is safest and cleanest to install while the backyard is being built, we coordinate the wire runs with your planting and hardscape work wherever the timing allows. After installation we walk the yard with you at night, aim each fixture, and set the timers and app control so the system comes up at dusk and behaves exactly the way you want.
Landscape lighting questions new homeowners ask
Straight answers for buyers lighting a backyard for the first time in a new Southern California community.
01What is low-voltage landscape lighting?
02When is the best time to install landscape lighting in a new backyard?
03Can the lights turn on and off by themselves?
04What kinds of fixtures do you install?
05Will the lighting highlight my hardscape and plants?
06Can you add more lights to the system later?
Complete the backyard
Lighting is one piece of the evening backyard. Here is what pairs with it and where we work.
The next step
Ready to give your backyard a second life after dark?
Call (818) 740-6519 or request a free estimate. We will walk the yard, talk through the paths, steps, and features worth lighting, and lay out a low-voltage plan before anything is installed.
CSLB License #1103138. Serving Southern California.