Outdoor Landscape & Walkway Lighting With Rope Light

Rope light is incredibly flexible and can be used to easily contour landscape features and line walkways while blending seamlessly into natural surroundings.

Professional holiday decorators, landscape designers, business owners, and event decorators can all benefit from the versatility of rope light. This unique product can be bent, shaped, and customized to fit in a variety of spaces and settings, and is especially useful in outdoor landscape lighting projects. Wintergreen Lighting rope light is available in two varieties: 150' Rope Light Spools & 18' Rope Light Kits.

• To prevent light runs that are too short or too long, we suggest taking measurements of the desired install location and leaving your rope light on the spool until you have it securely in place. When your rope light is exactly as you want it, you can then cut it from the spool and connect your power cord.
• When rope light is first removed from the packaging, it will need some help getting straightened out. This extra step should not be skipped as it will make installation much easier. To straighten rope light, unwind the length you plan to use from the spool or remove it from the packaging if you're using a precut kit and lay the tubing out on the ground in direct sunlight. Use a few garden staples to anchor it in place in as straight a line as possible. Then let the rope light lay there for at least an hour, but several hours is even better. Do not cut the rope light from the spool.
• We highly recommend the use of LED rope light for outdoor projects, especially those of larger scale. In the event that you do choose to work with incandescent rope light, please note that it creates heat and should never be plugged in while still wrapped around the spool.
• When connecting rope light that you've cut from a spool, remember that the pieces of rope light being connected must be the same in voltage and wire count.

Rope light can be used to direct the flow of people moving through high foot traffic areas and will help keep visitors safe as they walk around outdoors. Lay rope light along one side of a walkway to highlight a drop off or edge and create paths anywhere you need them outdoors by laying two runs of rope light parallel to each other. The bright light output allows for visibility from far distances and the durable tubing means rope light can withstand extended periods of time outside, even in harsh weather conditions. Additionally, the watertight connectors that join two runs of 18 foot rope light together will prevent water intrusion and further extend the life of rope light when installed outside. If you're using a 150 foot rope light spool and cutting custom lengths of tubing, extra steps will need to be taken to ensure the connection you create between two or more runs is sealed.

The size and scope of your walkway and landscape lighting project will determine which type of rope light is best for your use case. Wintergreen Lighting 18 foot pre cut rope light kits have a power cord already attached and allow you to connect up to 15 of them together (270 total feet) with the attached watertight connectors. Alternatively, Wintergreen Lighting rope light spools will need to be cut and power cords and connectors added. Every spool includes the following accessories: 3 power cords & 3 power cord splice pins, 3 splice connectors and 6 splice pins, 3 end caps, 50 mounting clips, 1 tube of sealant.

Follow the steps below to install rope light outdoors along walkways, flower beds, and landscape contours.

If You're Using 150' Rope Light Spools:

1. Lay the rope light out in the location you plan to install it. Make adjustments to the positioning of the rope light along your walkway or landscape contours until you have it set where you want it.

2. Next, insert your first garden staple at the end opposite the spool. If you are lighting a straight path you can space staples further apart, however if the path is curved you may want to use extra anchors to keep the tubing in place. The more secure the rope light is around curves and edges, the better it will look when lit up at night.

3. When the rope light is held securely in place and you're sure you don't need any more length, go ahead and cut the rope light from the spool. To cut rope light, look for an indicator mark on the tubing where it is safe to cut. This is usually depicted as a pair of scissors or a dashed line. Use sharp scissors or a knife to cut the tube as cleanly as possible from the spool.

4. Finally, add a power cord to one end of the spool and an end cap to the other end. Plug the rope light in to confirm that everything is working properly.

If You're Using 18' Rope Light Kits:

1. Lay the rope light out in the location you plan to install it. Make adjustments to the positioning of the rope light along your walkway or landscape contours until you have it set where you want it.

2. Connect the rope light runs together by removing the end cap from one and the plug from the next run, then attach the two together. Repeat this until your rope light is all connected. Plug in the rope light to make sure it all lights up, then unplug the rope light before moving to the next step.

3. Next, insert your first garden staple at one end of your rope light run. If you are lighting a straight path you can space staples further apart, however if the path is curved you may want to use extra anchors to keep the tubing in place. The more secure the rope light is around curves and edges, the better it will look when lit up at night.

4. That's it!