Christmas light installation for Houston families can be fun if you are fearless in walking on your roof, have a basic understanding of how electricity works, purchase the right equipment and tools, and cut yourself some slack. There is a significant learning curve when once a year, you hang up your lights and a team that installs a minimum of five houses each day over an eight-week time period. While proper planning does take some extra thought and time, the results are well worth the effort to pull off a show stopper display. Proper planning for holiday lighting involves sketching your house and lawn and determining your power source. If you are using commercial holiday lighting, Houston homeowners must know how to make jumpers and choose the correct bulb size if you want your Christmas light installation to look professional. There is a distinct difference between store-bought holiday lighting and those used by a Christmas light installation company such as Christmas Wonder Lights. But if you haven’t noticed, let us help point out a few key differences.
Every bulb is precisely aligned with the next bulb for every dormer, ridge row, and peak.
No extra cords are hanging off the end.
Clarity and brightness
Bulbs are spaced every 12 to 18 inches apart.
While these things may seem minute details, they add to the wow factor that people come to expect when hiring a Christmas light installation company in Houston. So where do we begin? Let’s start with choosing the appropriate materials.
Christmas Light Installation Options For Houston
There are two key differences the type of Christmas lights you can purchase from your local hardware store and the type of holiday lighting we provide our Houston customers. The first difference is that our bulb has five diodes, unlike retail lighting, which has one diode. This is why commercial-grade holiday lighting is crisper and brighter. The second difference is the cords we use. If you purchased your holiday lighting from a Houston retailer, you would receive a 25 to 50-ft cord with the bulb already inserted and a plug molded onto the end of the cord for you to plug into a wall outlet. Seems much easier but herein lies the problem. What do you do with the leftover cord once you install holiday lighting on your Houston home? This is why our Christmas light installation pros never use stringer sets but instead use wire that can be measured and cut to the precise length of the roof so there are no cords to hide, and everything looks neat and tidy.
Two types of cords are available, one for a size C7 bulb and the other for a C9; you can also choose your spacing. Some Christmas light installation companies in Houston space their bulbs 18” inches apart, whereas we have a bulb every foot. The bulbs are spaced much closer together with retail holiday lights because they only have one diode. Still, they differ remarkably from the brightness and clarity you receive from five diodes. Some of the other types of holiday lighting we offer Houston clients in our “all-inclusive Christmas light installations” packages are:
•5 MM Dome Lights
Mini lights of all types and colors
•Icicle Lights in different sizes and colors
•Permanent holiday lighting
Until 2017 we used incandescent or LED, but we only use LED or permanent lights today. LEDs do cost triple, but they are not a fire hazard and are far more energy efficient. On homes where we add thousands of twinkling lights, you will not see any noticeable difference when you receive your electric bill. Another benefit is that LED lasts longer. Of course, this also depends upon the brand you use. While lights come from overseas, who makes them is another difference. We use Seasonal Source and Minleon. Both offer the highest quality of holiday lighting in Houston. The next thing you will need to purchase are clips; if the bulbs don’t stay in place, then everything else is irrelevant. You want to ensure that you have a clean, straight line of holiday lights when your display is complete. Here are a few helpful pointers:
Only use one clip per bulb, regardless of how closely they are spaced.
Use the correct type of clip for your project. For example, if you have a metal roof, use magnetic clips or all your hard work will be ruined.
Use A commercial-grade, UV-protected light clip used by Christmas light installers.
Now that we have a clear understanding of the differences between retail vs. the commercial grade lighting that comes with our all-inclusive Christmas light installation package for Houston and Katy residents, you are ready to plan your design which will determine how much material you will need to purchase to complete your project.
Create A Holiday Lighting Design
The secret to a professional-looking Christmas light installation project is designing. This can include your roof, windows, columns, sidewalks and walkways, and landscaping features where you plan to install Christmas lights on your home or a commercial business. This will be a helpful reference and save you multiple trips to gather supplies. First, you want to create an outline; this doesn’t have to be elaborate such as the one shown here. Add each of the features, and make sure to consider colors as well. Will you go with the classic colors of red and green or warm white? This has a soft candlelight glow and is the most requested color. If you really want to stand out, consider multicolored or bright white, which has a blueish tint. We have even had a request for Astro orange and blue. Also, consider adding garland around your doorway or a large wreath to your peaks. Once your sketch is complete, you will want to take measurements of each area. A traditional tape measure may not work, so we suggest using a wheel. If you are planning to add holiday lighting to outdoor trees or shrubs, you want to estimate 100 mini lights per foot of a tree. Take a piece of string and wrap the kit around the base of the tree, then lay the string out and measure the width of the trunk using your wheel. One of the things that’s surprising is that trees will be the most expensive thing to wrap. This is because mini lights are much smaller than C7 or C9 bulbs. Therefore, they require more materials and are more time-consuming. For shrubs, use 50 lights per set on a green cord—they'll blend in and look much better than netted lights. Using an S pattern, you want to zig-zag the lights through the foliage working from the top down for an entire nonuniformed appearance. Make sure to tuck the lights nice and neat but not too deep so that they can be seen; keep the cord 4 to 6 inches apart. For a 4 to 6-ft-tall bush, you will need approximately 200 mini lights. When working with any holiday light, you need to be mindful of your power source and how everything can be tied together so that it plugs into your 110 outlet. Once you have determined how many C9 and mini holiday lights your Houston home requires, you will need to gather supplies, including:
Supply List For Christmas Light Installation In Houston
•Paint Roller Frame
•Extension Pole
•HAMMER DRILL
•6” Diagonal Cutting Pliers, 6"
•3 Foot GFCI Extension Cord
•WORK POUCHES
•ROOF SHOES
•LADDERS
•SPT1 WIRE C9 REEL 500’ 12” SPACING GREEN WIRE
•SPT-1, 18/2, UL Listed, 500' Spool
•Green Zip Cord with Matching Plugs - 25 Male & 25 Female
•Holiday Lighting – Mini (bushes & trees)
•CLIPS
•Extension cord
•Dusk to Dawn Timer
Now safety is paramount when working on a ladder, so always enlist a helper and make sure to never step on the top wrung or install Christmas lights when it’s raining.
Hire A Christmas Light Installation Pro In Houston
If the thought of spending your day off hanging lights doesn’t sound amusing, or you don’t have the time, we would love to provide you with a free estimate for Christmas light installation in Houston, Katy, Cypress, or Bellaire. Our fully insured team provides indoor and outdoor Christmas decorating in Houston. Our all-inclusive packages start at $1500.00. Give us a call today at (281) 545-7740.
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