CJ Sparks Electrical, Data, Fire and Security contractors

Mistake 3: 230v lights

Clipping all of our cables above ground and making sure we mounted our joint boxes to the fence was best. This meant that if something went wrong we could get to the appropriate joint and cabling and do what we needed.

For 4 years we were installing 230V GU10 spike lights with LED lamps with fairly few problems.

Then the manufacturer we were using changed the way they make the lights. At which point every garden had some sort of issue with a light and we had to go and replace these.

We were only given a 1 year warranty but honoured those lights for 2 years at our own cost.

Third party light - water in base
A light we installed, after the change in manufacturing causing issues with water
Condensation within a light fitting

Finally the right recipe

The whole time we were fitting outdoor lighting, one thing didn’t change. Generally, for ground lights, we were fitting Collingwood, and we were never getting call backs on these (apart from one LED driver issue which are a separate part that powers these lights).

Warranty issues were becoming a big problem a problem with other lighting, so we spoke to our suppliers and tried to negotiate the best deal we could on Collingwood.

Unfortunately, the price was fairly consistent across all the suppliers and it seems Collingwood are pretty stubborn on their prices. Maybe, quite rightly, they are very good products. We’ve fitted Hunza and Luxr before, both with at least a 10%+ failure rate in our experience.

Anyway, we started fitting Collingwood spikes – among other products and making sure we only run SELV (<50v ac or 120v dc) within the garden. This means our installations are as safe as they can be, least likely to trip and are as reliable as they can be.

Since then, we’ve had one driver failure out of over 100 gardens with this type of install over a 3 year period.

Outdoor lighting in a Wandsworth garden
Seating area LED lighting
Spike lights, highlighting the feature trees
Seating area hanging lighting (Moon light)
LED spikes highlighting features in the garden
Hot tub lighting

Pricing

We have fairly standard pricing for most of the outdoor lighting products we supply and fit.

See the gallery below:

Prices are typical but may change depending on the circumstances including the number of fittings, environment, fitting media etc.

3W warm white LED Collingwood spike light in black finish - £222.00 excluding VAT (£198.00 including VAT) supply and fitting
1W LED micro spike light for illuminating small features finished in polished stainless steel, suitable where the light fitting will be seen - £135.00 excluding VAT (£162 including VAT) supply and fitting
Deck/Ground light - 1W LED for inserting in the side of steps or decking £135.00 excluding VAT (£162.00 including VAT) supply and fitting

Find us on Checkatrade

Reliability & Timekeeping
9.92
Tidiness
9.87
Courtesy
9.94
Workmanship
9.83

Find us on Checkatrade

Reliability & Timekeeping

Tidiness

Courtesy

Workmanship