Carmichael Creek Christmas Light Installation

From the road, a lot of Carmichael Creek houses are a porch light somewhere behind the trees. The county zones this area for just one or two homes per acre. The setbacks are deep, with pasture in places and groves that were here before the houses. So a Carmichael Creek Christmas light installation opens with a question most neighborhoods never raise. How much of the house can anybody see, and from where?

When the roof is a long way from the pavement, the display has to be simple and bold or it disappears. Roofline lights still matter, and on a deep lot we concentrate on the outline: the main ridge, the gables that face the road, the front eave. Clips hold the strands to gutter and shingle edges, and no fastener goes into the wood. If you can’t tell what shows from the road, call (916) 999-5158 and we’ll go by your photos.

Then we bring the display forward, toward the road, where people are:

• The driveway. Stake lighting down one or both sides of a long drive leads the eye back to the house. We keep stakes back from the edge where tires wander and out of drainage swales.
• The fence line. A front fence can carry a run of lights across the whole frontage. See the fence line lighting page for how we attach without screws.
• Gate posts and porch posts. If there are posts at the road, pillar wraps on them mark the entrance. The same treatment on the porch ties the two ends of the driveway together.
• The door. A wreath and garland at the entry, both lit, are for you and your guests, since the road can’t see them.

Hobby farms and large animals are allowed in parts of the preservation area, and that changes where lights can safely go. We don’t put strands or cords on pasture fencing that an animal can reach, lean on or chew. If the front fence doubles as a paddock fence, tell us when you call (916) 999-5158. We’ll keep the lights to the gate, the house and the trees outside the pasture.

Power is the other thing to plan on an acre. Your outlets are up by the buildings and the frontage is nowhere near them. We work out cord runs along fence bottoms and bed edges, keep connections up out of wet grass, and put everything on a timer so you aren’t hiking to the road at bedtime to unplug.

The county’s own description of this area lists large trees, natural creeks, rolling terrain and major tree groves. We’d add that they’re the best thing to light. One big oak near the road, wrapped on its trunk and first heavy limbs, does more than a whole roofline hidden behind it.

We wind tree wraps on ourselves and fasten nothing into the tree. Weight stays on the trunk and the stout limbs, because an old oak sheds limbs when it feels like it and December storms help. Near a creek the ground is soft, so we keep ladders on firm footing and off the bank. Our tree wrapping page covers which trees take lights well.

The Carmichael Creek Neighborhood Association exists, and it’s voluntary. It formed in 1986 to speak up on zoning and land use, and it has nothing in writing about decorations. There’s no HOA here and no association calendar for lights. Sacramento County doesn’t set one for homes either, as far as we’ve been able to find. Start as early as you like.

One practical note. Street improvements are kept minimal in this area by design, so a lit house can be the brightest thing on its stretch of road. A modest display reads as plenty out here.

We price it over the phone or from photos. For a property this size, send one picture from the road, one of the house up close, and one of each tree or fence you have in mind. We supply every strand, clip and stake.

In January the whole install comes off the property, fence cords included. If a section fails before then, we come back and fix it.

Carmichael Creek lies between Sutter Avenue and Stanley Avenue, west of San Juan Avenue, with Ancil Hoffman Park on the river side. That’s home turf for our Carmichael crew. We also work in Barrett Hills, where the houses are single-level and the display gets seen from the sidewalk. Write to us from the contact page if that’s easier, or pick up the phone and dial (916) 999-5158 while the fall calendar still has room.

Can the Carmichael Creek Neighborhood Association tell me when my lights come down?

No. It’s a voluntary land-use advocacy group formed in 1986. It has no decoration rules, so nothing limits your dates in either direction.

With the house this deep on the lot, will lights even show?

They will if the plan accounts for the distance. We keep the roofline bold and simple and add light near the road on the driveway, fence, gate posts or a front tree.

Can lights go on a fence with horses behind it?

We don’t put strands or cords where an animal can reach or chew them. We’ll light the gate, the house and trees outside the pasture instead.

How do you get power out to the front of a large lot?

We plan cord runs from your outdoor outlets along fence bottoms and bed edges, keep connections off wet ground, and run it all from a timer.