Rancho Cordova Christmas Light Installation

Rancho Cordova’s street signs read like a wine list, and that tells you a lot about the houses behind them. The first postwar tracts went up on old vineyard ground, and the builders named the streets for wine grapes. Decades later, the Villages of Zinfandel picked up the theme with streets named for wineries around the world. Those older homes and the brand-new ones out past Sunrise Boulevard want very different things from a light crew, which is what keeps Rancho Cordova Christmas light installation interesting for us. We roll in from downtown Sacramento daily in December. Call (916) 313-4551, tell us which street you’re on, and you’ll have a number before you hang up.

On the original grape-named streets, the houses are single-story with long eaves and gutters that have weathered a lot of winters. We give each gutter a once-over before anything gets hung and clip only to the solid parts. We never staple. The front trees on these blocks are the biggest in town, so a trunk wrap often does more than a second roofline.

Near Zinfandel Drive, the Villages of Zinfandel went up around 2000. The homes are family-sized, and the front-yard trees are finally big enough to count. Ornamental pears, maples and crape myrtles all take a wrap well, and a lit tree on each side of the driveway frames the house nicely. Our spirals go on at a steady spacing, snug against the trunk but never cinched so hard that they bite the bark.

Capital Village, close to the Zinfandel light rail station, is contemporary townhomes on a walkable layout. Here it’s all about the front entry. A lit wreath at the door, lit garland along a stair or balcony railing, maybe the window frames. We work within your HOA rules and keep it tidy enough that the neighbors start asking who did it.

The old air base at Mather has turned into a residential area with newer homes, not far from the Mather Sports Complex. Newer houses there often have a second story, which means taller ladders and some planning around the upper eaves. The payoff is a roofline you can spot from down the block.

Out on the southeast side, Anatolia is a master-planned neighborhood full of newer homes, and plenty of them have concrete tile roofs. That’s a different job from composition shingle. We stay off the tile as much as possible and use tile clips that slide under the edge without cracking anything. Some HOAs out there have guidelines on light colors or on when displays go up and come down. Send us the rules and we’ll follow them. Our January takedown usually lands comfortably inside those deadlines.

Power is usually easier on the new builds. Many have an outdoor outlet on the garage front. The older grape-street homes are more of a treasure hunt, so we check what else shares the circuit and plan the cord runs so nothing trips on a cold, damp night when everybody’s heater is running too. Covered entries with columns are perfect for pillar wraps, and stake lights go in between the sprinkler heads along the walk.

Who owns the lights?

We do. The lights, clips, cords and timers ride in on our truck and ride out again in January.

Will you set up a timer?

Yes. It turns the display on in the evening and off at night without you touching it, and we’ll adjust the times if you’d like them earlier or later.

What happens if a section goes out?

Just phone (916) 313-4551. We’ll come out and track down the problem, whether it’s a loose connection, a tripped outlet or a bad strand.

Who takes everything down after New Year’s?

That’s our job. A crew swings back by in January, unhooks each strand, and drives off with it. Your garage shelves stay clear, and your gutters aren’t still dressed for Christmas in spring.

Do you work on businesses too?

We do, along Folsom Boulevard, Zinfandel Drive and Sunrise Boulevard, with timers set to your hours.

Rancho Cordova sits between our downtown base and Folsom, and we’re in Rosemont and Gold River most days in December too. Have a look at our lit garland work, reach out through our contact page, or just call (916) 313-4551 and say hi.