Lighting Installation in Portsmouth, VA

03 — Historic Districts

Porch Lights in Cradock and Truxtun

Two of Portsmouth’s five local historic districts, Cradock and Truxtun, have design guidelines noting that exterior lighting on their houses appears to have been minimal, with small fixtures on the wall beside the front door or on the porch ceiling lighting the entry.

Both sets of guidelines ask owners to retain historic light fixtures, repair and refurbish them when possible, and replace one only when parts can no longer be found or replicated. New fixtures should be compatible with the house, and Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles are named as appropriate. Truxtun’s guidelines call small surface-mounted or ceiling-mounted lights within the porch area the most appropriate fixtures.

The guidelines also list pole-mounted fixtures and a series of small fixtures lining a walkway or driveway as not appropriate. They ask for light levels that provide adequate safety without overly emphasizing the house, and they note that existing porch lights may be sufficient. That wording comes from Cradock and Truxtun, so check the guidelines for Olde Towne, Park View, and Port Norfolk separately.

Which lighting changes get reviewed

The guidelines’ review chart lists a major lighting scheme for the Historic Preservation Commission’s review in all five districts.

The city has started updating the guidelines for all five districts. Before fixtures are ordered, we call Planning and get the review level in writing, then install once that is settled.

04 — Apartment Buildings

Hall and Stair Lights in Small Portsmouth Apartment Buildings

For an existing building, Virginia’s Maintenance Code does not set a fixed brightness for halls and stairs. Virginia’s version requires habitable spaces, hallways, stairways, and bathrooms to keep the natural or artificial light the applicable building code requires, or the building provides.

Lighting circuits and fixtures that were required or provided also have to be maintained. In practice, the fixtures and circuits that light a building’s halls, stairs, and landings need to keep working.

Common problems include a failed or flickering stair fixture, a landing light not rated for weather, or a photocell or timer that leaves a stair dark. We replace failed fixtures with ones rated for their location, repair the circuit, and set the controls so the stairs are lit when residents use them.

Replacement fixtures for shared halls and entries

For a stairwell or shared entry, an enclosed, sturdy fixture holds up better than an open one. Integrated LED fixtures reduce lamp changes on tall staircases, and matching the color temperature from floor to floor keeps the halls from looking patched together.

When a building is built or renovated

New apartment buildings fall under the Virginia Construction Code, which adopts the International Building Code, and renovations of existing buildings are governed by the Virginia Existing Building Code, with the building official confirming which code applies. The building code sets minimum light levels along exit paths and stairs, and in buildings that require two or more exits, it calls for emergency lighting on exit stairways and exterior exit landings that runs for at least 90 minutes.

Whether a building needs two exits depends on its design, which the design professional and building official determine. Detached duplexes and townhouses up to three stories fall under the residential code instead.