Install a Lamppost

For illumination and decorative effect, install a lamppost at your front walk or drive. Tools: shovel, pliers, pipe wrench, screwdriver, brace and bit, garden hose, paintbrush. Materials: lamppost kit, premixed concrete mix, gravel or flat rocks, underground cable/conduit (check the electrical codes in your area), sheet plastic film, short piece of 1 x 3, two pieces of 2 x 4 x 8, wood preservative, wire nuts. Time : 1 day.

Caution: Follow the electrical codes for your area when installing a lamppost. The lamppost retailer will probably know code restrictions; if not, check with the city electrical department. Although connections to house power are fairly simple and instructions for this are usually included with the kit, don’t try to make the connection if you don’t know how; install the lamp and have it connected by an electrician.

Buy an exterior lamppost assembly in kit form, with all necessary parts included. Lampposts are available in a wide variety of styles to fit into the architectural and landscaping plan of your home.

To install the lamppost, dig a trench for the power lines, from the power source to the lamp itself. To protect the lawn, spread sheet plastic on the grass next to the trench and pile the dirt on this plastic. Dig the trench 18 inches deep-check the electrical codes-and just wide enough to hold the cable/ conduit. Set the cable/conduit into the trench; do not connect it.

If the cable/conduit must go under a walk or driveway, use a garden hose to make a pathway under the concrete. Dig a hole at the edge of the walk or driveway, 6 inches below the slab’s bottom. Dig another hole to the same depth on the opposite side of the slab. Then insert a garden hose, with the nozzle turned on full blast, under the slab, and turn the water on. The hose will act as a water ram as you push and pull it through the earth. When the hose appears in the opposite hole, turn off the water; then fasten the cable/conduit to the hose and pull out the hose with the cable/conduit attached. Set the cable/conduit into the trench; do not connect it.

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