Lighting Segmental Retaining Walls

By Allison Uher

Lighted segmental retaining walls with fixtures flush to the face of the wall, come with the necessary wiring. The ony additional items needed are the bulb and the required underground electrical cable.

A tall order perhaps, but manufacturers are eager to step up to the plate to make their products even more capable of multi-tasking. One way to do so is with lighting. As any good designer knows, lighting is a crucial means of making a space usable and beautiful. Effective lighting can be employed to draw attention to eye-catching landscape features as well as to illuminate obstructions that are potentially hazardous. A relative newcomer to the lighting scene is the category of retaining wall lights. A variety of options exist, but all aim to enhance the appearance of the walls in which they reside, while increasing the level of safety for pedestrians.

Segmental retaining walls are becoming increasingly popular, and the demand for accessories such as lighted retaining walls is heightening as well.

One popular choice for retaining wall lighting is the method of attaching a fixture to an existing block. A possible variant of this technique involves insetting the fixture so that it is flush with the face of the wall. The installer must first measure and drill out the hole to the proper width/diameter and depth, then secure the fixture to its power source (with the wiring presumably leading through the rear of the block). This process requires exact cutting and placement, making it less suitable for do-it-yourself landscapers. A less complicated manner of attaching a lamp to an existing retaining wall block is to simply fasten it to the face. Some drilling and cutting will be required, but since the attachment is not expected to be flush with the face of the wall, precision is not as vital an issue. These lights are often partially covered with a protruding shade that aims the light in a chosen direction. Please refer to the accompanying photos of the circular driveway for a depiction of how this effect can work beautifully. These photos are from a residential project that was completed in 1999 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

It is difficult to tell the difference between the lighting units and the concrete wall blocks.

Some retaining wall manufacturers have opted to create lights that can be built into the wall in the same way as the rest of the structural units. Risi Stone Systems produces RisiLights??????oe – self-contained, fiberglass and acrylic units that have been textured and color-matched to resemble their adjacent Pisa2??????oe or PisaStone??????oe blocks when installed. With the lights switched off during daytime hours, it is difficult to tell the difference between the lighting units and the concrete wall blocks. This seamless color and texture matching affords the walls the capability to truly blend in unobtrusively with their surroundings. RisiLights??????oe are shipped complete with instructions and wiring; the only additional items needed are the light bulb and the appropriate underground electrical cable. For an illustration of how these lights look in both day- and night-time conditions, refer to the accompanying photos of the terraced landscape.

Self-contained, fiberglass and acrylic units can be color matched to blend rather unobtrusively with their surroundings. The retaining wall takes on a new appearance in night time hours.

No matter which sort of retaining wall light you choose, planning must be done from the initial stages of design to ensure proper placement. Utilities must be located, underground cables positioned, and situation of lit areas – walkways, stairwells, and passages – determined. Any number of variables may need to be addressed during the design phase of a project. For example, if the design calls for stair treads to be illuminated via fixtures on the risers, high-strength lights that can withstand foot-traffic surcharges must be specified. With careful planning, retaining wall lighting can be an effective way to create a safe environment and accent your landscape design.

Allison Uher is the Marketing Assistant at Risi Stone Systems. For more information visit www.risistone.com.