Holiday & Permanent Lighting in the North Shore & Northwest Suburbs
Two ways to do the same job. Either we hang the lights each season and take them down in January, or we fit a permanent system once and you never think about a ladder again.
The work included
- Display design planned to the roofline, the landscape and the sight line from the street
- Seasonal installation on rooflines, gutters, fascia, trees, shrubs and walkways
- Clips matched to the surface they grip rather than fasteners through trim
- Runs loaded within their rated limit so a single long roofline does not trip a circuit
- Timers set so the display runs on its own schedule once it is up
- Full takedown after the season, and labelled storage so the same run goes back in the same place next year
- Permanent systems: site assessment and a layout planned to the roofline and sight lines
- Permanent systems: fixtures fitted to soffit, fascia or roofline, with wiring and power supply
- Permanent systems: setup and a walkthrough of the controls before we leave
- In-season maintenance, and service or repair of existing permanent systems
For a seasonal display the constraint is timing. Installation wants ground still soft enough to take a stake and a roof dry and warm enough to work on. The normal first freeze at O'Hare falls around the nineteenth of October, and inland suburbs generally get there sooner. Lights can go up in that window and simply be left off until the evening you want them on.
The attachment matters as much as the layout: a clip chosen for the surface it grips, whether that is gutter lip, shingle edge or fascia, rather than a fastener driven through trim.
A permanent system answers the same problem differently. The fixtures are fitted along the roofline, soffit or fascia and left in place, so the display changes without anyone going back up on the roof. That matters more here than in a milder climate, because seasonal lighting has to be installed and removed in exactly the weeks when roofs are least safe to be on.
It also stops being a holiday product. The same run lights the front of the house on an ordinary evening and a dark driveway in February, not just the last week of December — warm white most of the year, colour when you want it.
Holiday & Permanent Lighting we have done
Straightforward from the first call
- 01
Get in touch
Call or send the form with what the property needs.
- 02
We walk the property
Seeing it in person is the only way to quote it honestly.
- 03
You get a quote
Scope and price in writing, so there are no surprises later.
- 04
We schedule the work
Booked in, done, and checked before we leave.
Holiday & Permanent Lighting questions
Should I get Christmas lights installed each year, or a permanent system?
It comes down to how long you plan to stay and how much you mind the annual booking. Seasonal is lower to start and right if you want something different each year. Permanent costs more once and then nothing: no install slot to book, no takedown in January, and the same run lights the house on an ordinary evening in February. Most people who switch do it after a year when the takedown went badly.
When should holiday lighting be booked?
Early autumn, and the reason is weather rather than sales pressure. The install has to happen before the roof ices and before the ground freezes hard enough to refuse a stake, which in a normal year means the second half of October into early November. Booking ahead secures a slot in that window; booking in December means competing for whatever is left of it. Lights installed early can simply stay off until the date you actually want them running.
Does the install include taking the lights down?
For a seasonal display, yes — takedown after the season is part of it, and it is most of the point. Putting lights up in mild October weather is one job; getting them off an iced roofline in January is a different and considerably worse one. A permanent system removes the question entirely, because nothing comes down.
Is a permanent system visible during the day?
The fixtures are fitted tight to the roofline or soffit, so from the street they read as part of the house rather than as lighting. Not invisible up close, but not a string of bulbs either. Worth seeing an example, so ask on the walkthrough.
Can a permanent system be used when it is not a holiday?
That is most of the point. People who have it generally use it year-round rather than for one month — warm white on an ordinary evening, colour for a holiday or a birthday. What the system can do depends on which one goes in, so ask when we walk the property.
Why do sections of a seasonal display go out partway through?
Usually a connection rather than the bulbs. Moisture working into a plug, a run drawing more than it should, or a clip pinching the wire where it turns a corner. Repeated freeze and thaw is very good at working connections loose over six weeks, which is precisely why in-season maintenance exists as part of the service.
What happens if a permanent system stops working?
We service what we install, and we repair existing permanent systems put in by someone else. Call with what you are seeing and we will come and look at it.
Holiday & Permanent Lighting across the North Shore & Northwest Suburbs
Across the North Shore, the northwest suburbs and the surrounding area.
- Evanston
- Wilmette
- Winnetka
- Glencoe
- Northbrook
- Glenview
- Highland Park
- Deerfield
- Lake Forest
- Arlington Heights
- Schaumburg
- Palatine
- Rolling Meadows
- Mount Prospect
- Prospect Heights
- Buffalo Grove
- Elk Grove Village
- Des Plaines
- Hoffman Estates
- Inverness
- Barrington
- Libertyville
- Vernon Hills
- Mundelein
- Lake Zurich
- Grayslake
- Crystal Lake
One crew handles the rest too
Need holiday & permanent lighting?
Free estimates across Arlington Heights, Evanston and across the North Shore and northwest suburbs and the surrounding suburbs. Tell us what you are looking at and we will come and see it.