As the 2023 Christmas lighting season of hanging lights has already started please choose you holiday lighting company carefully. There is no permit, license, or training required to sell and install Christmas lights. As a result, many companies each year decide to offer lighting as a new service who lack experience on the safe and proper way to do things which often creates fire or shock hazards.
This picture shows where the 120 volt wires comes into one side of the socket on staked lights and lurking under the lip of the plastic stake is the end of the exposed copper wires just waiting to shock any little kid who gets too close.
Here are shots of lights from multiple past companies where they used wire nuts on stranded cable which is not something that should ever be done. Wire nut must be used on only solid wire where they can self-thread onto the solid copper to prevent them from falling off. This is both a shock and fire hazard.
The arrow in this picture points at an exposed 120 volt wire. The circles show the improper use of wire nuts.
Wire nuts used by another company.
Lights should never be stapled to trees. Simply wrapping the lights tightly around the tree is all that is required 99% of the time. At a home of one of Plantscape Solutions clients they have a massive tree leaning sideways where lights will not stay put. In this rare case stainless steel screws actually were used to pin the lights in place which is the only way lights should ever but held onto a tree.
Here is a pictures of lights that were stapled to a tree. This work was done by a very large pest control company so beware companies large and small often do improper work.
Plantscape Solutions has been selling holiday lights since 2009 and working with wiring in the landscape lighting business for over 20 years. Here things are done the right way or not at all. We would not take chances at our own homes and we give our clients the same level of care.
Please give David the owner a call for you Christmas light installation needs. His direct cell number is 512-626-8400.
