Christmas Light Installation · Cambridge

Christmas Light Installation in Cambridge

A Cambridge roofline can be a straight vinyl soffit on a 2005 two-storey or a stone gable with a carved bargeboard on an 1870s Galt house. The lights are the same; how they go up is not.

A seasonal install starts on the ground with the house in front of you. Which lines read from the street, where the outdoor outlets are and whether they are GFCI-protected, where the overhead service wire comes in, what is under the ladder, and what you want: a crisp warm-white outline, multicolour, or a single colour on the peaks and a different one on the trees. The design is sketched on a photo and priced from it, so nothing is a surprise on install day.

What goes up

• Rooflines and eaves. C9 or C7 LED bulbs on commercial-grade wire, cut to length so there are no dangling surplus loops, clipped to the eavestrough lip at a steady spacing.
• Peaks and gables. The steep front gables of Galt and the cross-gables on newer houses are lit from the ridge down, with the line held on shingle clips so it follows the pitch.
• Windows, doors and railings. Mini-light or bulb lines around frames, porch posts and railings, held with clips or ties, never adhesive that lifts paint.
• Power and timing. Connections lifted clear of the eavestrough floor and the ground, outdoor outlets checked for GFCI protection and a weatherproof in-use cover, and timers set to your electricity price plan.

Lights that are fit for a Cambridge December

Every string used is outdoor-rated and carries a Canadian certification mark from an accredited agency, which is the first thing ESA asks you to look for. Commercial-grade LED has sealed sockets and heavier wire than the boxed sets from a store shelf, and it survives the freeze-thaw cycles that December brings: about two days of freezing rain a month on average at the airport station, and lows below freezing on almost every night of the month. ESA also says no more than three strings joined end to end; long rooflines are fed from more than one point instead.

Old houses

On Galt's stone and brick houses the eavestrough may be newer than the house and the trim much older. Clips go on the eavestrough and shingles only; nothing is screwed into stone, mortar, carved wood or original trim. Where a gable has no eavestrough at all, a freestanding approach, such as uplighting the facade from the beds, is often the more handsome answer.

Timing

Installs run from late October to the first week or so of December, while rooflines are dry. Lights can go up in early November and stay off until the date you choose. Most Cambridge households switch on around the third week of November; the night parade on Hespeler Road falls around then.

Through the season

A seasonal install is not finished when the ladder comes down. Wind off the open fields on the city's edges, wet snow sliding off a steep gable and a freeze after a thaw can all knock a section out or trip a GFCI. Service calls through December are part of the job: a dark run is reported by text with a photo, and it is put right on the next service round, usually within a few days. If an outlet keeps tripping, the cause is found, whether it is water in a connection, a cord pinched by a storm door or a circuit carrying too much else. Tripping that will not clear is a sign to have a Licensed Electrical Contractor look at the outlet, and you are told so plainly rather than having the GFCI bypassed.

Townhouses and semis

Cambridge has plenty of freehold townhouses and semi-detached pairs where one roofline belongs to two or more owners. Your half can be lit cleanly to the party wall, and neighbours often book together so the whole block matches. In a condominium townhouse complex the exterior is usually common element, so the corporation's rules on decorations apply and the board or property manager should be asked first.

Frequently asked questions

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