When it comes to your deck's lighting scheme, placement can have a large impact on the safety, usability and atmosphere of your outdoor space. Ample deck lighting is what allows you to safely walk across the surface of your deck without a trip and fall mishap. Strategically placed fixtures also serve as a functional source to improve your deck's ambience, provide a sense of warmth and illuminate your outdoor space. To help shed "light" on this topic, we're offering a few deck lighting pointers so that you can enjoy your deck night and day.

Step #1: Install deck lighting on stair treads to increase the safety factor

Properly illuminated deck stairs can greatly reduce the risk of an accident. They allow you to walk down the staircase at night without missing that final step.

To improve visibility and increase safety while on deck, consider installing surface mount lights or an LED universal light on stair treads. These types of deck lights illuminate the path and give an accurate sense of the height of a step’s drop, while not blinding someone as they climb up and down the stairs. In fact, these lighting fixtures actually add a warm glow that welcomes family and friends onto the deck.

Step #2: Attach post lights to deck railing to accentuate your outdoor living space

Once you’ve addressed deck stair lights, dress up your deck railing posts with vertical post lights to cast a warm glow across the surface of your outdoor living space. This lighting fixture screws into the sides of any railing post that is at least 2” wide. It can be placed up high to illuminate a broader span of space or down low to restrict light into a concentrated area. These fixtures shine downward, creating a source that’s perfect for shedding light on highly trafficked deck stairs or pathways. Plus, most of these low-maintenance deck lights come with some positive energy saving features. For example, Fortress Building Products’ vertical post lights contain a long-lasting waterproof LED that uses 90 percent less energy than a traditional incandescent fixture.

Step #3:  Make Your Deck Stand Out with Post Caps  

Accessorizing railing post caps with LED lights continues to be one of the most popular ways to brighten up your deck. Whether you install these deck lights underneath the rim of the post cap or wrap them around the sides of the post cap, they will cast a gentle glow and draw attention to details of your deck that you want to stand out. They also improve safety by lighting the perimeter of your outdoor living area, creating a defined and stylish border. With an easy installation process, Fortress offers several LED lighting options for post caps, including:

• LED Glow Ring: this style sandwiches a glowing “ring “between the two components of the post cap. Try installing this Fortress accent on every other post cap to achieve an inviting environment without flooding your deck with excessive light.
• Standard LED Light Cap Kit: this option is tucked underneath the rim of your post cap, emitting soft light that radiates downward onto your deck. To create a welcoming environment, try installing this Fortress accent on each one of your post caps.

When planning deck lighting placement, a little design inspiration never hurt. Follow us on Instagram at @fortressbldgproducts to see some of the creative ways contractors are using Fortress' proven outdoor living solutions to light up their projects.