Probably the most frequent question we get, is why should someone hire a professional company to install their lights, followed by, how do we know who we should hire?
Rather than eating the whole elephant in one bite, let us break each question down to its most simple aspects and expand from there.
So, why would someone hire a professional to complete a lighting installation? Three reasons...Safety, Safety, Safety!!! While many of us are able bodied and competent enough to handle a project such as hanging Christmas lights on our home, unfortunately Murphy's Law has a strange way of rearing its ugly head at the most inopportune moments. Most of us, however, cannot afford an accidental fall off a ladder or roof resulting in a broken bone or worse. In all reality, those with a full time job, spouse, children, loved ones, etc., should strongly consider hiring properly trained, licensed, and insured professionals. Other reasons to hire a professional include quality of materials and workmanship, prompt maintenance, all inclusive service packages, and timesavings.
Remember Quality vs. Quantity - Many companies out there use decorative lighting as a seasonal source of income. While their intentions are good, and they may be amazing at their other seasonal work, we find more often than not that unless decorative lighting is a company's sole focus, the quality and service leaves room for improvement. Typically, you can expect a seasonal company to provide service for 1-2 seasons.
This leads nicely into our checklist of what you should look for in hiring a professional. The following posts are not in any significant order but each item has a very specific purpose. In addition, we use the terms Avoid or Seek to identify the qualities you should avoid or look for in choosing a professional decorative lighting service provider. Always remember to ask specific knowledgeable questions; never make assumptions that all service providers are alike.
- Electrical Knowledge: Most seasonal and decorative lighting providers try to save costs by (Avoid) splicing cut strands of lights together using wire nuts and electrical tape. While this is very inexpensive for the company (and might keep your costs only slightly lower), it is a very temporary solution and could lead to possible fire hazards or inconsistent lighting. You should always ask any company providing a quote to show or explain exactly how they connect their strands of wire. (Seek) The best option is to find a company that uses proper electrical fittings such as Male and Female plug ends.
- Wire Quality: Currently there are three common "Grades" of wiring material SPT-1, SPT-2, and SPT-3 (1 being lowest quality, 3 being highest). To help us understand what we are working with, "SPT" stands for Service Parallel Thermoplastic (often referred to as zip cord or lamp cord). The number refers to the thickness of the insulation in 64ths of an inch. SPT-1, (Avoid) the most frequently used Grade with the thinnest insulation, usually 18 gauge wire; SPT-2, (Seek) rarely used, commonly 18 gauge with a fair amount of insulation; SPT-3 (Seek) most often for decorative projects 18 gauge wire is the Grade of choice but is virtually unheard of in the decorative lighting industry. But why is one lighting Grade better than another? Two reasons, ampacity - the maximum amount of electrical current a wire, conductor, or device can carry before sustaining deterioration (in other words, how many bulbs per strand), and durability - the ability to withstand weather conditions from one extreme to the other. So what is the conclusion? Very simply, better insulation equals longer lasting more durable wire life and more bulbs per strand. In our opinion, SPT-2 or SPT-3 is the only way to go.
- Visual Aesthetics: All the festivities and celebrating the holidays are some of the main reasons we decorate our homes. We also enjoy the creativity and beauty of those decorations while hoping that others gain joy and happiness from viewing them as well. This is why you should expect nothing short of perfection when it comes to how your holiday display looks. But it’s just hanging Christmas lights right? How much difference can there really be between professional lighting installers? There are 3 main factors you should keep in mind when hiring an installer.
1. Centered bulbs on peaks: For most homes, the roof-line is as unique as the family living in it. As such, the peaks tend to be the most prominent feature and should be accented properly. To do this, your installer (Seek) should take great pains to ensure that a bulb is centered at the very top of each peak. All too often, companies “turn-and-burn” through installations to maximize their profit. Unfortunately, in their doing so, (Avoid) they stretch the wire across gaps and voids, regularly ignoring the most prominent features of your roof-line.
2. Strand presentation: What in the world is strand presentation? In a nutshell, its the proper placement and spacing of bulbs and strand. In other words, twists and slack are removed from the strand, bulb placement is even and consistent, and extension cords are customized and invisible. If you've noticed a recurring theme, you have probably recognized that most companies are more interested in rushing through installations in order to move one. (Avoid) When this happens, you see slack lines and uneven spacing resulting in a less than satisfactory display. (Seek) While ensuring consistency may be more time consuming, a high quality installer will take the extra time to make your display truly shine. Removing twists in the strand makes sure bulbs are spaced exactly the same every time, while removing slack provides sharp, clean lines that will look good even during the day.
3. Hanging style: The main factor here is how the bulbs are actually attached to the home. In all reality, there are only 2 ways to do this. (Avoid) First, you can use the manufactured clip on the actual base of the bulb. While this is noticeably cheaper for professional installers, and you as a homeowner, there is one specific reason to avoid this method. Without fail, whether it be in the installation or removal, a few of the manufacturer's clips will break off the base of the bulb resulting in slack or drooping bulbs. Again, this affects the visual consistency of your lighting display. (Seek) The second way is to use individual clips specifically designed to hold lighting in place. Not only do you obtain consistent installation, but you have the flexibility of installing lights in multiple positions on your home. Whether installing along shingle, gutter, or soffit, if a clip breaks, you can replace it separately without going through the expense of replacing a whole strand.
