Do Christmas Light Installers Provide the Lights?

Short answer: yes — most professional Christmas light installers, including Castle, supply the lights. The good ones supply everything: lights, clips, timers, cords, and the storage bins they live in from January to October. Here's why that's the norm, and what to ask if an installer wants you to buy your own.

Why professional installers provide the lights

Uniformity

A display looks "professional" for one reason above all others: every bulb matches. Same color temperature, same brightness, same spacing on the same gauge of wire. That's nearly impossible with a mix of retail strands bought over several years, and it's automatic when the installer brings one commercial-grade product line for the whole house.

Warranty and mid-season service

When the installer owns the lights, keeping them lit is the installer's problem. Castle, for example, fixes any bulb or outage free for the whole season — something we can only promise because we know exactly what's on your roof. An installer hanging your strands can't stand behind lights they didn't choose.

Storage and next year

Lights the installer owns go back to the installer's facility in January, labeled by where they belong on your house. Next year's install is a phone call. Lights you own go into your garage, and everyone knows how that ends.

How the rental model works

Castle's version is a straight seasonal rental: we design the display, hang our commercial-grade LED lights, fix them free all season, take them down January 1–21 and store them until next fall. Nothing is purchased; the price covers the finished display for one season. For most homes that's $1,000 – $2,000, lights included. The full explanation is on our Christmas light rental page.

What to ask an installer who doesn't provide the lights

Some "we hang your lights" services are legitimate handymen and some are seasonal side hustles. Either way, ask:

• Who replaces a dead strand in December? If the answer is "you buy a new one and we'll come back for a fee," budget for it.
• Are you insured? Anyone on your roof should carry liability coverage and workers' comp. Castle carries a $2 million policy and workers' comp for every crew member.
• What clips will you use on my tile or stucco? Retail clips fail on barrel tile and can mark stucco; a professional has roof-specific hardware.
• Who stores everything? If it's you, count the garage space and the January untangling in the "savings."

The exception: permanent lighting

Permanent, year-round systems (the track-mounted kind) are sold to you and installed once — a different product with a different price tag. Castle doesn't offer them; if you're deciding between the two, read permanent vs. seasonal Christmas lights in Florida.

What "the lights" actually includes

When an installer says the lights are included, ask what that covers. With Castle it means the whole kit: C9-style roofline bulbs on commercial-grade wire, mini lights for tree and shrub wrapping, icicle strands where they're used, the roof- and gutter-specific clips that hold everything without screws, the timers that run the display, and the extension cords and splitters that get power where it needs to go. None of it is yours to buy, and none of it goes in your garage in January — it's coiled, tagged by where it lives on your house and stored at our facility in labeled bins.

What it costs when the lights are included

Because the price is all-in, it's simpler than shopping: most single-story rooflines run $1,000 – $2,000 a season, two-story homes $1,500 – $2,500, and full-property displays on large custom homes $4,500 and up. That's design, lights, installation, free in-season fixes, January takedown and storage in one number. The pricing page breaks down what moves it — footage, stories, ridgelines, trees and timing — and the per-foot figures we work from.

Why we chose to own the lights

When Castle added Christmas lights alongside the paver-sealing business, the choice was simple: either hang whatever a customer bought, or supply one product line we could stand behind. Owning the lights means every display uses the same bulbs, spacing and clips, so the mockup we draw is the display we hang. It means the free-fix promise is real, because we know what's on the roof. And it means the January takedown ends at our facility instead of a customer's attic — which is the part people thank us for in year two, when the same display goes back up from the same labeled bins without anyone shopping for anything.

A quick way to tell the two kinds of installer apart

• "Send us photos of your lights." They hang what you own. Fair for the price, but you're the supply chain.
• "Tell us what you want lit." They supply and design. The quote is all-in and the mockup shows the finished look.
• "We'll need a deposit to hold the date." Normal for both, and a sign the calendar is real — Castle takes 50% to lock an install date.

Wondering what your city's homes usually pay? Start with Christmas light installers in Port Orange or Christmas light installers in Lake Mary, or see every area we serve.

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