Floors & Exterior
Christmas & Holiday Light Installation in Portland, OR & Vancouver, WA
Your lights hung on rooflines, peaks, trees, and entries with clips, put on a timer, and taken down in January — you buy the lights, we install them.
What's Included in Christmas Light Installation
Holiday lights are a ladder job in the wettest, darkest month of the year. We install Christmas and holiday lights across Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA: your lights on rooflines, peaks, and gutters with clips, trees and shrubs wrapped, wreaths and garland at the entry, everything on a timer. You buy the lights, we hang them, and in January we take them down, label them, and box them for next year.
- Roofline, gutter, peak, and dormer lights on shingle-tab and gutter clips — never staples or nails
- Trees, shrubs, columns, porch railings, windows, and pathways wrapped and lit
- Wreaths, garland, bows, and entry displays hung and secured against the wind
- Your lights — tested on the ground before they go up; we tell you what and how much to buy after the photo plan
- Timers and extension cords connected off the ground and out of the rain, on the outdoor outlets you already have
- January takedown included — strands labeled by location, boxed, and ready for next season
Common Problems We Solve
A two-story roofline with peaks nobody wants to climb to
Peaks and dormers are where the ladder work gets real. We work from the right ladder with a second pair of hands at the base and clip the strand along the edge so the line reads straight from the street. Over two stories or steeper than 8/12 we decline, and we do not walk a wet or icy roof.
The lights keep tripping the outdoor outlet
Usually too many incandescent strands on one GFCI, or a connection sitting in a puddle. We count the load per outlet before anything goes up and lift every plug and splice off the ground. If your strands are old incandescents, we say so at the plan stage: LED strands draw a fraction of the power, and one outlet then runs the whole front.
Half a strand went dark the week before guests arrive
One bad bulb or a loose connection takes a whole section with it. Every strand gets plugged in and checked on the ground before it goes up, so what we hang works the day we leave. A strand that fails later is the product, not the hang, and it isn't covered by the install; if you want it swapped for a spare, that is a separate short service call we quote at the time.
The lights are still up in March
Takedown is part of the install price, not a separate call. Removals start January 2: everything comes off the clips, the strands are coiled and labeled by where they went, and the box goes back in your garage, so next season's install is a repeat of this one.
How It Works
Photos and a plan
Text us a daytime photo of the front of the house and tell us what you want lit: roofline only, peaks and dormers, trees, the entry. We measure the roofline from the photo, confirm where the outdoor outlets are, and send a written estimate for the install and the January takedown, plus a shopping list: how many feet of outdoor-rated LED C9 or mini lights, how many timers and cords.
Your lights, tested on the ground
You buy the lights, or hand us the boxes from the attic. Every strand gets plugged in and checked before it leaves the driveway. Anything cracked, spliced, or not rated for outdoor use stays in the box, and we tell you before it goes up rather than after.
Clipped, not nailed
Strands go on shingle-tab clips along the roof edge or gutter clips on the lip, pulled straight so the bulbs point the same way. Trees are wrapped trunk and limbs, wreaths and garland are tied off so a windstorm does not take them. Cords run along the trim to the nearest outlet, each on a timer, every connection lifted off the ground.
Lit before we leave, down in January
We set the timer, turn everything on, and walk the street side with you. Takedown is already on the calendar: starting January 2 we take it all down, label the strands by location, and box them for next year.
Before Install Day
- The lights, timers, and outdoor extension cords from the shopping list, or your own strands out of the attic and in one place
- A working outdoor outlet — the lights plug into what the house already has; we do not add outlets or circuits
- Wreaths, garland, bows, and any décor on hand if they are part of the plan
- Gates unlocked and cars out of the driveway so the ladders can go where the roofline is
- Gutters clear — clips grip the gutter lip, so a gutter full of needles gets cleaned first
If the lights or the outlet are not ready, say so and we move the date — a second trip costs you more than a reschedule.
Typical Projects & Pricing
Install pricing with your lights — the January takedown is included. Clips and small hardware we bring are itemized on the estimate. Ranges are illustrative for common Portland-area homes; the written estimate is the price for your house.
Labor pricing. Materials are itemized in your estimate. Estimates are not final contracts.
What's Not Included
- The lights, timers, cords, and décor themselves — you buy them, we hang them; we send a shopping list with the estimate
- Permanent (hardwired) architectural lighting systems — those are wired into the house and belong to a licensed electrician
- New outdoor outlets, circuits, or repairs to an outlet that trips on its own — licensed electrical work, referred
- Roofs over two stories or steeper than 8/12 — we don't take them; wet or icy roofs we don't walk, so those days are rescheduled
- Commercial buildings, lifts, and bucket-truck work
- Gutter cleaning before the clips go on, if the gutters are full — see Gutter Cleaning, Pressure Washing & Roof Moss
What Affects the Price
- Linear feet of roofline
- The total length of roofline, gutters, peaks, gables, and dormers is the main driver: more feet means more clips and more time on the ladder. A compact single-story front is around 100 ft; a full two-story roofline is closer to 300.
- Number of stories
- Two-story homes take taller ladders, a second person at the base, and more care per foot than a single-story of the same length — height moves the price more than length does.
- Trees, shrubs, and landscape features
- Each wrapped tree, lit shrub, column, railing, or pathway run is priced by its size and how densely it is lit, on its own line of the estimate, so you can add or drop pieces before anything goes up.
- Wreaths, garland, and décor
- Hanging your wreaths, garland over the entry and along railings, and any larger décor pieces is priced as labor on top of the roofline, by the piece.
- Where the power is
- One outlet near the roofline keeps the cord runs short. A house whose only outdoor outlet is in the back yard needs longer rated cords and a cleaner route along the trim, which adds time.
Christmas Light Installation — Frequently Asked Questions
Do you supply the lights?
No — you buy the lights, we install them. After the photo plan we send a shopping list: how many feet of outdoor-rated LED C9 or mini strands, how many timers, how many outdoor extension cords. Buy them anywhere you like, or hand us the boxes you already have; every strand is tested on the ground before it goes up.
What should I buy?
Outdoor-rated LED strands — C9 bulbs for the roofline, mini lights for trees and shrubs — in the colors you want, a plug-in outdoor timer per outlet, and outdoor-rated extension cords. LEDs matter here: they draw a fraction of the power of incandescents, so one outlet runs the whole front without tripping. The list we send has the footage and counts for your house.
Will the clips damage my roof or gutters?
No. Nothing is nailed or stapled: shingle-tab clips slide under the tab, gutter clips grip the lip, and both come off clean in January. Roofs over two stories or steeper than 8/12 we don't take, and we don't walk a wet or icy roof — those days get rescheduled.
What do the lights plug into?
The outdoor outlets the house already has. We count the load per outlet before anything goes up, put each run on a timer, and keep every plug and connection off the ground and out of the rain. Adding an outlet, a circuit, or any hardwired lighting is licensed electrical work, and we refer it.
When do you install, and when do they come down?
Installs run from mid-October through early December and fill up fast after Thanksgiving, so earlier is better — the lights can go up dark and stay off until you want them on. Removals start January 2; we confirm both dates when you book, and takedown is part of the install price.
How much does Christmas light installation cost?
Installing your lights on a single-story roofline of about 100 ft runs $750–1,000; a full roofline with peaks, a tree or two, and the entry about $1,000–1,600; a full two-story roofline with trees, railings, and your entry décor $1,600–2,500; large properties from $2,500. Those are install prices with the January takedown included — the lights themselves are yours to buy, and clips are itemized.
Areas We Cover
Free estimate
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