Roofing & Exterior
Light the Steps, Not the Neighbors' Windows
Low-voltage deck lighting built for the Northwest wet: sealed stair, post, and under-rail fixtures, tidy runs, simple controls, and licensed-electrician coordination whenever the work ties into house power.
Free inspection & photo report · Fixed, line-item bids· Written workmanship warranty
- ★ 4.9 · 52+ Google reviews
- 1,500+ projects completed
- Licensed & bonded in WA, OR & ID
- Written workmanship warranty
Signs to watch
Is this you?
The stairs disappear after dark
Unlit steps are the safety gap most decks share — you use the deck most on summer evenings, exactly when the treads vanish. Recessed stair lights put light where your foot lands without glare in anyone's eyes.
Old fixtures fog up, corrode, or quit
Fixtures that weren't sealed for Northwest wet fill with moisture, corrode at the contacts, and fail a season or two in. Weather-rated, properly sealed fixtures and connections are the difference between lighting you install once and lighting you keep replacing.
You want ambiance without floodlighting the yard
Post caps, under-rail strips, and step lights give a warm, even wash instead of one harsh flood. Layered low-voltage light makes the space usable at night without lighting up the whole block.
Exposed wiring or a questionable extension-cord setup
Cords run across a deck or splices left open to the weather are a shock and trip hazard. Anything tied into house power belongs on properly-rated, sealed connections — and, where the wiring requires it, a licensed electrician.
Your options
Lighting built for the wet, wired within the trades' lanes
We install recessed stair lights, post-cap and under-rail fixtures, and low-voltage path and accent lighting, on simple switch, timer, dimmer, or photocell controls. Everything is weather-rated, with connections sealed against Northwest damp and runs concealed in the framing rather than draped across boards. Low-voltage systems on their own transformer are landscape work we handle directly; anything that ties into your home's 120-volt wiring — a new circuit, a GFCI-protected outlet, panel work — we coordinate with a licensed electrician, because electrical permitting and who may legally do the work vary by jurisdiction and that's a line we don't cross.
The method
How we do it
- 01
Walk the deck and plan the light
We look at stairs, rails, seating, and sight lines, plan fixture placement and controls, and flag up front whether any part needs a licensed electrician and a permit.
- 02
Fixed-price quote, trades sorted
You approve the number before work starts, with low-voltage and any electrician-coordinated work spelled out separately so you see exactly what's in the price.
- 03
Install, seal, and test
Fixtures set, connections sealed and weather-rated, runs concealed in the framing, controls verified — then we walk it with you after dark so you see the actual light, not a daytime guess.
Straight numbers
What deck lighting actually costs
A handful of low-voltage stair lights on a transformer is a modest add; a full layered scheme with post caps, under-rail runs, and controls is a larger one, and any tie-in to house power adds the electrician's coordinated work. Fixture count, run lengths, and whether a new circuit is needed move the number most. We quote fixed prices and keep the low-voltage and electrical portions itemized so nothing is a surprise.
Where we do this work
Deck Lighting & Electrical Features: straight answers
Do I need a licensed electrician for deck lighting?
Not for self-contained low-voltage lighting on its own transformer — that's landscape work we handle directly. But the moment it ties into your home's 120-volt wiring, a new circuit, or panel work, that's electrician territory, and who may legally do it and whether a permit is required vary by jurisdiction. We coordinate a licensed electrician for that part rather than take it on ourselves.
Will the fixtures survive our winters?
The rated ones will. Most deck-lighting failures we see are fixtures and connections that were never sealed for Northwest wet, so moisture gets into the housing or the contacts and corrodes them. We use weather-rated fixtures and seal every connection, which is the whole difference between lighting you install once and lighting you keep replacing.
Can you add lighting to a deck I already have?
Usually yes. Low-voltage stair, post, and under-rail lights retrofit well because we can run the wiring along existing framing without tearing the deck apart. If you want anything on house power added, we coordinate a licensed electrician for that portion and handle the lighting design and install around it.
How are the lights controlled?
Whatever fits how you use the deck — a simple switch, a timer, a dimmer, or a photocell that brings them up at dusk on their own. We'll walk through the options and set up controls that make sense for the space rather than defaulting to the most complicated one.
Get the deck lighting & electrical features conversation started.
Free 20-minute inspection. Photo report you keep either way. Zero pressure.