Start at the top edge
From the street, a house is mostly a silhouette, and the roof edge draws that outline. It is the one line that runs the whole width of the house, and it has open sky behind it, which is why light on it reads from a distance. Put light on it and the outline comes back, which is the effect people are actually after.Which is why the roof edge is where permanent lighting goes rather than anywhere else on the building. It is the most efficient piece of exterior lighting a house can have, measured by what it changes for what it takes.
What is up there
Roofline lighting is a color matched aluminum channel with LEDs set into it, mounted along the edge and left in place year round. The channel does two jobs at once: it holds the lights and it hides them. Because it matches the trim, it disappears into the roof edge in daylight.
Where the run goes
Every plan begins at the main roofline, and works outward. Gables, peaks, porch edges, posts and upper runs all get considered, though a good plan leaves some of them dark. Outline everything and you end up with a shape and no depth, which is the most common way a roofline plan goes wrong.Look along a completed run from one end, because a line that stays true over that distance is the mark of a careful install.
Daylight is the other half of the design
A roofline system is visible twelve months a year whether it is on or not. That is why the channel gets matched to your trim rather than sold in
https://conneruglh166.cloudhinter.com/posts/eave-and-soffit-lighting-the-detail-that-decides-how-it-looks-why-the-eave-is-the-right-place-for-the-track-and-what-it-means-for-your-house-soffit-eave-fascia-which-part-is-which one color. Mount it tight to the edge, match the color, and route the wire out of sight, and the daytime house is unchanged.
One line, a lot of uses
After install the system runs from your phone. Plain white most nights, holiday color when the calendar calls for it, and a schedule that runs it without you. Most owners land on one white and leave it, and save the color for occasions.
Why quotes vary
Two houses on the same street can be very different jobs. Length matters less than people assume. Complexity does more: straight runs are quick, and every corner, peak and level change adds work. Two stories is a different day than one.
A question people ask early
Homeowners expect it to hang off the gutter, since that is how the temporary version goes up. A permanent channel does not work that way. Fastening to the roof edge is why the run stays true.
The next step
No two rooflines have the same shape, so the design comes from a look at the actual house. EverCrest Lighting installs permanent roofline lighting for homes and businesses throughout Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, based in Greenville. Consultations are free. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or
[email protected] to get started.