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Guide

How permanent lighting installation works, from the measure to the app, with times

By David Bogdanov, owner and lead installer · Published September 8, 2026

Four steps, and none of them involve you on a ladder. What each one looks like on a typical two-story in Clark County or the Portland suburbs, with the times we actually plan around:

1. The measure (20 minutes, within about three days of your call)

We tape every run you want lit, including both slopes of each gable, and note the fascia material, the drip edge (a magnet tells us whether the magnetic package is an option), the nearest exterior outlet, and where the controller will live. We hold channel color samples against your fascia in daylight. You get a written quote by package on the spot, with the monthly figure, and the quoted price is the install price.

2. Design and scheduling (same day)

The quote includes a sketch of the runs and zones, the controller location, and any lift line for gables above 28 feet. If you're in an HOA, we hand you the approval packet: product sheet, a photo of the channel color on your fascia, the mounting description, and a warm-white default statement. Committees usually take two to five weeks, so this is the step to start early in the fall.

We are a registered Washington contractor and an Oregon CCB licensee. Where a city requires a permit, or a job needs a licensed electrician for a new outlet, we arrange it and it appears on the quote before install day.

3. Install day (one day for most homes)

A two-person crew arrives in the morning. Surfaces are cleaned with denatured alcohol; channel is cut to your roofline, bonded with 3M VHB tape and clipped into brackets at corners and joints; the light strand is laid in and the covers snapped on. Power injection goes in every 200 lights so the far end of the run is as bright as the first. The controller mounts in the garage or a weather-rated box near the outlet.

A 220-foot two-story is a full day. Homes with four or more gables run into a second morning. Magnetic installs on steel drip edge take about half the time because there's no channel.

Where the lights go: eaves, gables, garage, porch, and the controller near an outletGABLE (counts as two runs)MAIN EAVEGARAGE EAVEPORCH▪ CONTROLLER at an exterior outlet, garage sideNot lit: soffit underside, roof ridge, valleys
Lights run along the fascia under the drip edge: eaves, gables, garage and porch. Each gable counts as two sloped runs, which is why two-story homes measure long.

4. App setup and walkthrough (10 minutes before we leave)

The Pixel Dancer app goes on your phone, connected to the controller on your Wi-Fi. We save a nightly warm-white schedule at the brightness you like and the holiday scenes you asked for, show you how to change colors and schedules, and leave a one-page cheat sheet. Remote access works from anywhere once the controller is on your network.

Weather and the tape

3M VHB needs a dry surface above about 50°F to bond, and it reaches most of its strength in 72 hours. From November through March that means we schedule bonding for dry mornings, and occasionally split an install into a bonding visit and a lights visit at no extra cost. Light rain doesn't stop the lighting and controller work.

Fall books out. Measures in September usually install within two weeks; by November we quote real slot dates, and January through March is the easiest time to get the day you want.

Packages mentioned

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Questions this guide gets

Do I need to be home for the install?
For the app setup at the end, yes, or we can do it by phone. The crew needs access to an exterior outlet and the garage if that's where the controller goes.
Do you drill into my roof?
No. Channel bonds to the fascia face with VHB tape and brackets; nothing goes through shingles or the drip edge. Magnetic pebbles use no fasteners at all.
What if a light is dead after install?
Every light is tested before we leave. If one fails later, it twist-locks out and a replacement goes in during a service visit; under warranty there's no charge for the light.

Get the exact number

A free 20-minute measure, a written quote by package, price locked for 30 days. Book by Oct 31 for a pre-Thanksgiving install.

Call (360) 555-0100Book a measure
Instant estimate

Price it before you call

Pick a package, set your roofline feet, read the range. The free measure makes it exact, and if the measure comes in under your estimate you pay the lower number.

Track packages from $32 per foot with the controller included · $2,500 minimum on permanent, $1,000 on seasonal · the full price list · financing

Instant estimate

What will permanent lighting cost on my house?

Pick a package, set your roofline feet, see the range and the monthly figure. Exact price follows a free measure.

Ranch front + garage ≈ 120–160 ft · Two-story with gables ≈ 200–260 ft · Full wrap ≈ 300+ ft
How to measure your roofline in Google Maps
  1. Open Google Maps, search your address, switch to satellite view.
  2. Right-click on a roof corner and choose Measure distance.
  3. Click each corner along the roof edges you want lit. The total in feet shows at the bottom.
  4. Add about 15% for gables you can't see from above. That is your number.
$4,400 – $5,200estimated range
Pebble Track · $32 per ft · control system included · 150 ft
≈ $413/mofinancing example, 12 months
half a daytypical install, app setup included
Book by Oct 31 for a pre-Thanksgiving install. Minimum $2,500. Exact price needs a measure; call to lock this number.
Call to lock this quote

Or text a photo of your house and we'll reply with a quote within the hour during business hours.