Roofline christmas lights for Colonie split-levels, ranches and colonials
Drive any side street off Central Avenue or Route 9 and you pass the same three house types over and over. Each one lights differently, and the house shape decides more of the plan than the light style does.
| House | What the roofline looks like | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Ranch | One long, low eave | Easy single-story ladder work; add the walkway or front shrubs so the bottom of the house isn't dark |
| Split-level | Two or three roof planes at different heights | Lots of short runs and corners; choose which levels face the street |
| Two-story colonial | Tall front eave plus gable peaks | Second-story ladder work; the roofline is the whole show |
Our take on split-levels: run one clean line on the upper roof and one on the lower roof, and leave the stub over the garage side dark. Two crisp lines read better from the street than five short ones. On a colonial, do the roofline christmas lights first and add trees next year.
Christmas lights for mature trees in older Colonie neighborhoods
In Colonie's older neighborhoods the front-yard maples and oaks are often taller than the house. Wrapping a full mature tree, limbs and all, is lift work and a big share of any quote. Wrapping the trunk and the lower limbs up to roughly gutter height gives you most of the look for a fraction of the labor. Foundation shrubs along the front walk are quick: net lights or mini lights, done in an afternoon. See tree wrapping christmas lights for how installers handle wraps.
Getting power to your Colonie christmas lights
Plenty of Colonie houses have one outdoor outlet, and it's often on the side or by the garage, not the front. Ask the installer to plan the runs around the outlets you have rather than stringing an extension cord across the driveway, where the snowblower and the plow will find it. A timer at the outlet means you never have to think about it again until January.
Christmas light takedown in a Colonie winter
Takedown usually happens in January, often around snowbanks the town plows have stacked at the end of the driveway and ice along the gutters. Gutter and shingle clips come off without leaving holes, which is one reason to let a pro do both ends of the season. Ask whether the lights are leased for the season or yours to keep, and where they go between seasons. More on that on the Christmas light removal page.
Latham has its own page, since its subdivisions bring different questions: Christmas light installation in Latham. Big lots and big trees in Loudonville? See Loudonville. Or skip ahead and request a free quote.