Beginning in late August, brothers Ken and Richard Divers of Pennsylvania Lawn & Landscape have their expert crews up and down ladders to bring the cheerful sparkle of holiday lights to the Lehigh Valley's homes and businesses with their Christmas Décor service. Adding lights to your property during the short, cold days of winter doesn't just give you a warm welcome anytime you come home, it's also a gift to your neighborhood and passersby. Here's how to get started.
Design Your Display
The Divers brothers collaborate with their clients to give them the look they're envisioning, be it classic white touches or full, multicolored Christmas.
There's no judgment here. Take a step back from your house and choose the focal points you'd like to start with, often around a door or along a gutter. “Some people like to just do one or two bushes or trees,” Ken says. “Less is more.” Aiming for a balanced look is a good idea.
One piece of advice encouraging to any light-lover on a budget is to grow your display over time. “A lot of people want everything up the first year. We encourage them to add a little more each year,” he says. Not only does this strategy save money, it creates a yearly tradition to look forward to. With every shrub or roofline that joins the party, the glow of pride and holiday spirit gets a fresh boost.
Plan for Power
Pennsylvania Lawn & Landscape employs proprietary expertise in understanding “power rules” to make sure a light display is adequately and safely energized, and after about 20 years in the holiday light business, they can eyeball a project and rattle off how many lights are needed.
For us civilians, some measurement is called for, and there are ample guides online to calculate how many feet of lights you'll need for wrapping trees and shrubs of various sizes.
As for power, most newer homes are built with GFI (or GFCI) outlets to protect from shocks, especially in environs subject to moist conditions, such as the outdoors. If your house isn't equipped, you can easily install them. Make sure to use extension cords rated for outdoor use, and monitor them since they'll be the first to show any melting or scorching if something is going wrong.
Overall, Ken says, “You're going to be fine 99 percent of the time unless you're one of these Griswold people.”
Let There Be LEDs
Many of us grew up with the relatively subdued glint of the incandescent, dealing with broken glass and the tedious testing of individual bulbs to get a dark string back online. Nowadays, it's LEDs all the way. “The energy saving is a win in the most important way,” says Richard. “You can install a lot more lights.”
They're far more durable, don't shatter and repair is a simple matter of checking a fuse. If one light goes out, it's likely that it has merely unscrewed itself, so give it a little twist and you're back in business.
Avoid Accidents
Unsecured dads banging away on the roof with hammers and staple guns should be a thing of the past. Ken and Richard recommend tabs and clips designed specifically for hanging lights without damaging your house. But before you start shimmying up and down drainpipes, a few words on safety:
“Any time you leave the ground,” Richard says, “you need a helmet on.” It may sound silly, but one traumatic brain injury and its prevention is suddenly paramount. “One guy broke his leg falling from one roof landing to the next. The fire department had to come and get him down.”
The best methods to stay safe on the roof involve D-rings, or tying yourself off on a chimney or stationary object on the other side of the peak, like a large, sturdy tree. “Never tie yourself to the bumper of a car,” Richard says, “because you never know when that car's leaving.”
Have someone there to spot you at all times—they can also tell you if you're putting things up crooked!
Put Away Properly
“If it takes two hours to put the lights up,” Ken says, “it should take longer than five minutes to take them down.”
Unless you enjoy the mental exercise of untangling snarls of wire, roll the strands neatly, perhaps around a coffee can or something like it, and store them in a plastic bin. Mice have a way of getting into cardboard boxes, chewing and nesting and making a mess of things. And even if they don't, boxes can deteriorate all by themselves over time.
For their clients, the Divers brothers' operation inspects, repairs and stores all lights in climate-controlled safety. Give your own lights the star treatment and you'll have a heartwarming display every year.
The Experts:
Ken Divers & Richard Divers
Co-owners
Pennsylvania Lawn & Landscape | 3439 Weidasville Rd., Orefield | 610.395.9821 | palawnlandscape.com
