Tis the Season to Hang Lights for the Holidays in Lexington, KY

With the holidays fast approaching, there are few things more satisfying than a home that’s spruced up with Christmas decorations. While you’ll need to spend a lot of time decorating the house, and choosing the right tree (or setting up your artificial one), the best way to make a big splash in the neighborhood is with an outdoor Christmas light spectacular. Before you start to hang lights, however, here are a few things you should think about.

Find a Focus

You don’t want your lighting display to appear scattershot, you’ll have to come up with a design. That doesn’t mean you have to be an expert in lighting, but you’ll have to come up with a focus point or it will appear disorganized. Most homeowners like to highlight their front door, and will hang lights around the frame and along the bushes that border it. Also, if you’re a first-timer, you might want to start small. Keep it simple and attractive this year, and maybe you’ll get inspired for a bigger presentation next season.

Test the Lights in Advance

If you’ve ever had the occasion to hang lights on a Christmas tree, you can appreciate how important it is to test those lights before stringing. Putting up lights on a tree or along your gutters takes a lot of work, and the last thing you want to have to deal with is a string of lights that isn’t working.

Secure Your Lights

If you’ve never hung lights from a bannister or a roof, you might be tempted to use nails or staples to secure them in place. Don’t do it! Other means of securing lights work better and won’t cause any damage to elements of your home. Electrical tape is easy to use and invisible at night. Likewise deck clips and shingle tab clips are inexpensive and effective.

Safety First

When a professional craftsman performs work in your home, they’ll never take any risks with their health and neither should you. Use only a reliable, sturdy ladder, and only hang lights that have the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) label. Also double-check to make sure the lights are designed for outdoor use.

Don’t Overload the Circuits

With holiday lights, it can be tempting to just keep adding more and more lights, but your home does have its limits. Be careful to avoid loading more than 1400 watts per circuit. If you notice that your home’s indoor lights dim whenever you power on the Christmas lights, you’ve definitely gone too far.

Contact Us

If you need any assistance with your Christmas lights — or any other holiday preparations in the home — call the experts at Handyman Connection in Lexington East, KY, today!