Riles, good question.

I have put in several low voltage systems and like the multi tap systems. I also want to put in some lighting in my Ipe steps and am looking forward to recommendations from your posting. I have LED lights in my current system for landscaping and they are fantastic.

I just installed recessed LED and lighted post caps from De-kor. Overall I put in 10 post caps and 24 lights. They are quite nice and a little tedious to wire up and can get pricey.

There are a few pics over at contractortalk.com. Run a search on De-kor and check out the portfolio of Greg Di on piccassaweb.

I wanted LEDs for the low energy use and long life. Overall, I'm very happy with them. Installation was tedious since the wire is 22g and hard to strip without breaking it. There are no installation clips, just loose wires so there is a lot of use of wire nuts. Since they were going under the deck boards, I soldered the wires before putting the outdoor silicone filled wire nuts on.

I had looked at the De-Kor stuff and wondered if it would be a problem with them not shining down on the tread and feeling like it was shining in your eyes.

However the price difference and ease of installation might make it worth it. This system is much less expensive. Thanks for the link.

riles

riles,

De-kor have down lights specifically made for stairs. They are more economical than Highpoint for recessed. The lighted post caps are a bit pricey, but look great.

I wouldn't recommend spacing of 5 feet. Anything more than 3 feet and you will have fairly wide dark spots. Also if you buy them run some silicone seal around the light before sticking on the lens. You also don't need their wire. Direct burial 18/2 sprinkler wire will do and is less expensive.

Noobs,

Thanks for the tips on the install.

I would love to do a couple of the lighted post caps on the bottom of the main stairs and was wondering how you wired yours. My posts of solid Ipe and do not lend themselves to drilling the center very far. I also would want the wire totally concealed. How did you wire yours?

Do you have any pictures?

Thanks,

Riles

Riles,

I wanted IPE railing with aluminum balusters, but didn't want the maintenance. So I went with Timbertech Radiance Rail. I think it probbaly cost more that IPE. The rail has a 5" sleeve that fits over a 4x4 PT post. It was easy to wire it. The FDekor post caps are 5 1/8" that fit.

The only way I think of doing it with an IPE post is to run it though the rail and down an aluminum baluster if you are using them. Maybe one of the pros has a better idea.

No pics yet, contractor is finished, but I still need to install a couple post caps that I am waiting for. I bought a couple of 8' railing sections hoping to span them 7', but our code only allows 6' max between posts.