WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — As we approach the holidays we will all start to see festive light displays on houses. Some homeowners may choose to do it themselves but more people are paying professionals to do the installations.
2 On Your Side checked out a relatively new trend involving the "light-hearted" crews carrying out this work.
It is hard to forget National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie with Chevy Chase hanging off the gutter as he tried to install Christmas lights on his family home. But some folks are really serious about giving their home and property a holiday glow.
And they may hire an installation crew like WNY Lights. That is a group of enterprising UB students we found Monday afternoon in Williamsville. They are bonded and not afraid to climb ladders with heights. And they are busy right now according to team leader Nathan Allen. As he puts it "Everyone wants the lights up before Thanksgiving and we get it done."
They can install along roofs, ridgelines, peaks, windows, shrubbery, and trees with the measured light strings and power cords. Allen explained "This is a C-9 bulb right here. This is a gutter clip. Basically, we put it in there and it clips on to the - goes behind the gutter and clips on top of the gutter here. This is one one-color combination - a lot of people choose warm white. Warm white is the most solid color combination."
Allen says they can plan various holiday installations for buildings and trees. "We can go around the windows. We've done up the side of the house to kind've make the gingerbread look. We've done the tops of the house. The ridgeline. Make the house "POP." We do peaks. We install wreaths.
Reporter: Got the whole gamut there.
Allen: We do the bushes. I love doing bushes. I love wrapping trees. Last night we just finished a job where we put up about five thousand landscaping feet. It turned out pretty nice. we wrapped four trees - 50 feet tall."
You can actually rent the lights for installation. The price quote for an average home maybe $700 or so.
Lights for larger homes run more but the newer trend that can in some parts of the country cost thousands of dollars - permanent all-year-round light installation.
Allen says "Can have them up St. Patty's Day - turn them green. Halloween - turn them orange. Bills - turn them red and white or red and blue. You can do whatever you want and they're there for seven to ten years - no issues. That's kind've been the thing that has stood out to me this season."
Allen adds "So WIFI timers are pretty cool because you can go on your phone. Click a button - turn them on with the button. Turn them off. And they all go on at the same time with different outlets."
So does Nathan also like to drive around at night checking out the bright examples of his work and others? "It's a good time. That's my favorite part of it actually. Driving around and actually seeing the displays."