Outdoor lighting built into pavers, steps and pillars in Kissimmee, FL
Outdoor lighting built into pavers, steps and pillars in Kissimmee
Low-voltage LED lighting installed as part of the hardscape: paver lights in a driveway border, riser lights in entry steps, cap lights on seat walls and pillars, path lights along a walk, and downlights under a pergola. Wire is run in conduit under the pavers before the field is laid, so the fixtures look built in. A 12-volt transformer on a photocell or timer runs it all; a licensed electrician installs the outlet if one is needed.
Fixtures and where they go
| Fixture | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paver lights (brick-sized LED) | Driveway and walkway borders | Sized to match a soldier course; drive-over rated |
| Riser lights | Entry steps, terrace steps | Recessed into the riser under the tread nosing; the safest light on a step |
| Cap lights | Seat walls, pillars, columns | Wash the wall face; the pillar light in our gallery is a surface-mount version |
| Path lights | Walks, planting beds | Stake-mounted; easiest to add later |
| Well and up lights | Palms, oaks, house facade | Landscape lighting; coordinated with the hardscape wiring |
| Pergola and kitchen lighting | Outdoor living | Downlights and task lights on the same transformer |
How it is installed with the hardscape
Conduit and pull strings go into the base before the bedding sand, junctions land in accessible boxes at the edge, and fixtures are set as the field is laid so nothing is cut afterward. The transformer mounts near an exterior GFCI outlet; if there is no outlet where it is needed, a licensed electrician adds one under an electrical permit. Everything downstream of the transformer is 12-volt and does not need a permit. Retrofitting lights into an existing paver drive means lifting a border course and running wire in the bedding; it is a half-day job with the lift-and-relay technique.
HOA
Fixtures visible from the street are reviewed in most communities; Solterra's guidelines have a lighting section and Celebration's ARC reviews exterior fixtures. Warm white (2700–3000 K), aimed down, is what boards approve (Solterra Resort, Celebration (CROA)).
Lighting that is built into the hardscape rather than added to it
| Fixture | Where it goes | Decided at which stage |
|---|---|---|
| Paver lights | Set flush in a driveway or walkway field | Before the field is laid; conduit under the base |
| Riser lights | In the face of a step | During step construction |
| Wall and cap lights | Under a seat-wall cap or in a pillar | Before capping |
| Well lights | Uplighting a palm or a façade | Trenching before the hardscape edge is set |
| Path lights | Beside a walk | Can be retrofitted, but conduit is cheaper now |
| Under-coping lights | Below the pool coping | During deck construction |
| Transformer and timer | At the house, near the panel | Sized once the fixture schedule is known |
Low voltage, and who does what
Landscape lighting here is low-voltage, typically twelve volts from a transformer plugged into or wired to an existing exterior outlet. The low-voltage side, meaning the transformer's output, the runs, the fixtures and the conduit in the hardscape, is work we do as part of the hardscape. The line-voltage side, meaning a new circuit, a new outlet or anything inside the panel, is a licensed electrician's work and we coordinate it rather than performing it.
Two practical notes. Size the transformer for the final fixture count plus headroom, because adding fixtures to a fully loaded transformer means replacing it. And run conduit sleeves under every hardscape crossing even where no fixture is planned, since the sleeve costs almost nothing during construction and is the difference between a future addition being a half-day job or a demolition.
A typical fixture schedule
| Area | Fixtures | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Driveway entry | 2 pillar or column lights | Marking the entrance from the street |
| Driveway field | 4 to 8 paver lights | Edge definition rather than illumination |
| Front walk | 4 to 6 path lights or recessed step lights | Safe footing and approach |
| Entry steps | 1 riser light per step, or 2 per flight | The single most useful safety lighting on a property |
| Seat wall or planter | Under-cap lights every 4 to 6 ft | Washing the surface below |
| Pool deck perimeter | Under-coping or in-deck lights | Defining the water edge at night |
| Feature trees | 1 to 2 well lights each | Uplighting palms and oaks |
| Transformer | 1, sized for the total load plus headroom | Undersizing it is the common mistake |
Why we sleeve even where no light is planned
A conduit sleeve under a driveway or a walk costs very little during construction and is the difference between a future addition being a half-day job and a demolition. So we run sleeves at every hardscape crossing on any job where lighting is even a possibility, and we photograph and mark the ends so they can be found later.
The same logic applies to irrigation crossings, low-voltage runs for a future gate, and the conduit for a summer kitchen that is two years away. None of it is visible in the finished job and all of it is expensive to retrofit. It is the kind of thing that separates a contractor thinking about the next ten years on the property from one thinking about this week's invoice.
Maintenance of a low-voltage system
Low-voltage landscape lighting is durable and not maintenance-free. Fixtures set into a paver field collect debris and want clearing. Lenses cloud in Florida sun and are usually replaceable. Connections corrode where they were made with the wrong connector or left in standing water, which is the most common cause of a section going dark. And transformers have timers or photocells that drift and eventually fail.
None of that is expensive if the system was installed with accessible connections and a transformer sized with headroom. All of it is expensive if the connections are buried under a paver field with no junction access, which is why we place junctions where they can be reached and note their locations on the same drawing that records the conduit sleeves.
Finished outdoor lighting from our crews
Job photos from our crews around Central Florida. Every lot gets its own base, slope and drainage plan, so use these for finish and pattern ideas rather than as a template. Images marked "concept rendering" show a finish or layout, not a job we photographed.
Concept rendering
Concept renderingSee the full gallery, with real photos and renderings labelled →
Questions we get about this
Do outdoor lights need a permit?
The 12-volt side does not. A new 120-volt outlet for the transformer does, through a licensed electrician.
Can lights be added to my existing paver driveway?
Yes, by lifting the border course, running wire in the bedding sand and setting paver lights in place of border units.
What does hardscape lighting cost?
Fixtures $45 to $140 each installed plus a transformer ($250 to $500) and wiring; a typical driveway border with 12 paver lights runs $1,400 to $2,600 when done with the paver job.
What color temperature?
Warm white, 2700 to 3000 K, aimed down. HOAs approve it and it does not glare into neighbors' windows.
Can lighting be added to my existing paver driveway?
Path lights beside it, yes. Lights set into the field mean lifting pavers and trenching the base, so the conduit is far cheaper to place during the original installation.
Get a written estimate for your project
Tell us the size, the surface you have now and where the lot is. We visit, measure, check access and drainage, and send a written proposal. No pressure calls.
What changed in this update: 2026-09-11 — first published