Deck Lighting in North College Hill, OH

Most outdoor lighting schemes lean on something overhead. A fitting under a soffit, in a porch ceiling or on a wall at first-floor height throws down across a deck and does a great deal of work for one position. On the houses in North College Hill (ZIP 45239) the roof comes down low at the back, and that option is simply not there.

A low eave means the wall above the door runs out of height almost immediately. There is no soffit deep enough to hide a fitting in, nothing high enough to mount to that would not be at head height, and a downlight put where the wall allows would be shining into the eyes of anybody walking out of the door. So a scheme that assumes a source above the deck has to be redrawn for one where every source is below waist level.

That is a real constraint and it produces a better deck than people expect, because light from below at low output is what evening lighting is supposed to look like. Riser lights in the flight, a continuous run under the rail cap facing down onto the boards, post caps marking the corners and the head of the stair, and a fitting or two at the deck edge throwing outward into the yard so the space does not stop at the guard. Nothing on the deck stands above three feet and no lamp is in view from a chair.

The one thing worth adding is at the door. With no overhead fitting, the threshold is the darkest point on the route in and out, so a small light goes at floor level beside it, throwing across the boards. It marks the change from house to deck without putting a lamp at face height in the one place people stand still.