Outdoor lighting can improve your property’s exterior appearance and security, as well as create a welcoming aura for residents and visitors. Knowing how to attach outdoor lights to brick walls is important, as this is a highly common place for installation on any property. Unlike wood or plaster, brick is a tough, dense material that requires special tools and techniques to ensure a secure and long lasting installation.
Whether you're installing LED wall lights, outdoor sign lights, or security floodlights, choosing the right mounting method is essential. In this guide, we'll explore the best methods for how to attach outdoor lights to brick walls. We’ll discuss the tools you'll need with step-by-step instructions, and expert tips to ensure a professional-looking finish.
Get the right tools and equipment
- Safety equipment: Glasses and gloves are essential for your safety and wellbeing. We don’t want any accidents now!
- Wire cutters and strippers: To wire up your new outdoor lights you will need some wire cutters to make sure you have the perfect length. Also, potentially a pair of wire strippers when making your electrical connections.
- Marker: This can be a pencil or a permanent marker, used to mark your holes for drilling.
- Chisel and hammer: If the brickwork is uneven, a chisel and hammer can help flatten the area where you want to mount your light. They can also be used to start or widen a hole ready for drilling.
- Drill: You need a masonry drill bit to create holes in the brickwork for your mount, frame, or bracket.
- Wall plugs: These are essential for attaching anything to brickwork, as they provide a secure base for your screws to tighten within the surface.
- Fixing bracket: Without properly fixing brackets securely in place, your new outdoor lights won't stay up for very long.
- Spirit level: To make sure your new installation is level and accurate.
- Screwdriver: You will need this to tighten the screws of your new light to the bracket, mount, or frame you have fixed to the wall. You can also use your drill with a screwdriver drill bit.
- Bulbs: Your chosen bulbs' IP ratings should be suitable for where and how they will be used. They should at least be able to handle exposure to moisture and outdoor elements. Our selection of LED bulbs are versatile, easy to install and appropriate for outdoor use.
Things to consider when attaching outdoor lights to brick
The positioning of the fitting - Will the positioning be suitable for the application? If it’s external, consider if it will be obstructing any CCTV cameras or whether it would create a glare on the footage when switched on. Your lighting could even potentially ‘leak’ into your neighbouring addresses, something that they may not be happy with.
Be aware of external guttering - If you have external guttering that is leaking, this could put your outdoor lights under a constant stream of water when it rains. Although some products may be IP rated, putting them in such a position may degrade the lights over time and could impact the warranty if it were to fail from this installation.
If it’s near an HVAC unit - If you have an HVAC unit that blows out hot air, this could make your outdoor lights run hotter and risk them failing to work, due to them exceeding their operating temperature range.
How to attach outdoor lights to brick walls in 6 steps
Preparation
The primary and most important step when thinking of how to attach outdoor lights to brick walls – turn off your power! Again, we don’t want any accidents now! Make sure you have the correct length of wire required for the spot you have chosen for your lights. If you need to hammer and chisel your surface to ensure it’s even, now is the time to do so. Then you can use your maker to mark the drilling points to align with your fixing bracket’s screw holes. Use your spirit level to ensure your fixing bracket is straight when positioning it against the wall first.
Drilling
Use a masonry drill bit to drill holes into the brickwork. Make sure to remove any dust and debris from the holes once you have finished, before inserting your wall plugs. Gently tap them into place with a hammer, ensuring they sit flush with the surface.
Mounting the fixing bracket
Place your fixing bracket over the freshly drilled holes and loosely attach the screws until they can take the bracket’s weight. Again, make use of your spirit level to ensure everything is straight and aligned. Then use your screwdriver to tighten the screws onto the wall.
Wiring up your lights
Using wire strippers, take just under an inch of insulation from each end of the wires, for the light fixture and the power supply. Secure them to their respective connections. You may need to use some electrical tape if required. It is advisable to have a qualified electrical engineer handle this, especially if you have no prior experience working with electrical equipment.
Attaching your lights
Align your outdoor lighting fixture with the fixing bracket and tighten any screws if they are required.
Testing
Apply silicone caulk if there are any gaps between the wall and the light fixture, to prevent moisture. Last but not least, turn on the power and turn on your new outdoor light to see if it works!
Now you know how to attach outdoor lights to brick walls!
Typical applications for outdoor lights
- Motion sensor lights
- Floodlights
- Wall mounted security lights
- Pathway lights
- Spotlights and up lights
- Deck and step lights
- Facade lighting
- String lights and lanterns
- Bollard lights
- Lamp posts and street lights
- Parking lot lights
- Solar powered lights
- Warehouse and loading dock lights
- Billboard and signage lighting
- Canopy lights
- Porch and patio lights
- Garden post lights
- Pool and water feature lighting
Looking for more than just answers to how to attach outdoor lights to brick walls?
We have lots more information on how to attach outdoor lights to brick walls, and numerous other outdoor lighting topics, on our main blog page. If you are thinking of installing an outdoor light on a brick wall in your garden, you should check out our other blog for some more inspiration – Garden Lighting Ideas for Your Home.
We strongly recommend that all external electrical works are installed by a qualified electrician. It is best to be on the safe side and rely on a professional. Otherwise, with the right tools and equipment, the rest of the job should be relatively straightforward. Here at Vision Lighting we have a vast array of high quality lighting products that are easy to install, and come with support from our experienced and professional team.
Get in touch for more information on the lighting products and services we offer, or for advice with your outdoor lighting aspirations.
You can also get in touch by emailing us at info@vision-lighting.co.uk or calling +44 (0) 1132 799 745.