Why the roofline and not somewhere else
From the street, what you actually see at night is an outline, and the roof edge draws that outline. Nothing else on the house gives you that much unbroken length, and nothing else has the sky behind it. Put light on it and the house has an edge again, which is the effect people are actually after.Which is why almost every permanent lighting system starts at that line rather than anywhere else on the building. It is the most efficient piece of exterior lighting a house can have, for what it costs to install.
The hardware, plainly
Roofline lighting is a color matched aluminum channel holding individual LEDs, fastened along the roof edge and left there. That channel is doing two things, carrying the LEDs and keeping the daytime look clean. Because it matches the trim, you generally have to be told where it is.
Not every edge needs it
The main roofline comes first, then the design decides what else is worth adding. Gables, dormers, porch edges, columns and upper runs all get considered, but not all of them get used. Outline everything and the house reads flat, which is the usual mistake.The run itself is worth looking at closely on a finished job, because a straight line held over a long span is harder than it looks.
The noon test
A roofline system is visible twelve months a year whether it is on or not. Matching the channel to your trim color is not a cosmetic afterthought, it is the thing that keeps the house looking like a house in July. Tight to the line, color matched, wire tucked: that is a clean install.
One line, several jobs
Once the run is in, it is a phone app and a color. Plain white most nights, color when there is a reason, on a timer so nobody has to remember. Most owners land on one white and leave it, and save the color for occasions.
What makes one roofline a bigger job than the house next door
Rooflines are not comparable by square footage. Linear
https://evercrestlighting.com/contact/ feet is the obvious factor, though it is rarely what separates two quotes. Every corner is another cut, another fitting and another decision. Two stories is a different day than one.
Does it go on the gutter?
Homeowners expect it to hang off the gutter, because that is how seasonal strands work. A permanent channel is a different arrangement. That distinction matters because gutters move, sag and get replaced, and anything fastened to one inherits its problems.
Getting a run designed for your roof
Because houses are not interchangeable, the design has to be drawn for your building. EverCrest Lighting designs and installs roofline lighting for residential and commercial properties across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, working out of Greenville. The consultation is free. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or
[email protected] to get started.