Try to steer clear of placing the route near any trees, since they’ll likely have shallow roots that will interfere with the installation process. Plan on setting up your transformer box next to an outdoor electrical outlet.

If you live in the United States, you can call 811 to be put in touch with your local utility company. Have the company mark the locations of any underground utilities in your yard so that you won’t accidentally dig into them.

Using a ditch-witch or trenching shovel is ideal since these tools will give you a more narrow trench. You don’t want to have to move a bunch of loose dirt around during this installation process. Don’t worry about the width of the trench; just make it as wide as the width of your shovel.

Make sure you can push the cable all the way down to the bottom of the trench, so that it won’t jut out of the trench when you go to bury it.

You can also use a utility knife to strip the wire, although it will be much easier to use the wire strippers. If the cable has cable nuts, remove them before stripping it.

The inside of the transformer box should include guidelines and brief instructions on how to safely attach these wires to the box. Be sure the screws are tightened all the way to prevent the wires from sliding out.

You can also mount the box onto the side of your house if you have wooden or vinyl siding. Use a screwdriver to drive a screw through the back of the box and into the siding.

Doing this will make it much easier for you to drive the stake into the ground later on. Your light fixtures should have come with stakes, if you purchased them from a store. If you don’t have one of these stakes, buy some metal stakes that are about 8 to 10 inches (20 to 25 cm) long to use instead.

Be sure the cable is not hooked up to a power source when you go to connect it to the light fixture.

You will most likely just have to snap the fixture onto the stake. However, some manufacturers ask that you use a screw and screwdriver to attach the two. Check to make sure the fixture is vertically straight after you insert it into the ground. If it isn’t straight, pull it out and reinsert it.

If the lights are dim, this means they’re not getting enough electricity. Make sure the cable isn’t running beyond the manufacturer’s recommended length.