The roof edge is the strongest line on the building
From the street, what you actually see at night is an outline, and the roof edge draws that outline. Nothing else on the house runs that far uninterrupted, and nothing else is backed by open air. Put light on it and the house has an edge again, which is the effect people are actually after.That is the reason the roofline gets the hardware, and why one line up there outperforms a dozen fixtures at ground level. It is the most efficient piece of exterior lighting a house can have, for what it costs to install.
What is up there
The system is an aluminum channel, matched to your trim color, carrying LEDs along the roof edge. That channel
https://blogfreely.net/teigetnhoj/h1-b-outdoor-lighting-for-businesses-why-a-dark-storefront-costs-you-why is doing double duty, holding the diodes and keeping them out of sight. Matched to the trim, it looks like trim from the sidewalk.
Where the run stops
Every plan begins at the main roofline, and grows from there. Gables, peaks, porch roofs, columns and upper runs are all candidates, though a good plan leaves some of them dark. Outline everything and you end up with a shape and no depth, which is the usual mistake.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 half the job
A roofline system is on the house every day, lit or unlit. Matching the channel to the trim or fascia is not a small detail, it is the thing that keeps the house looking like a house in July. Mount it tight to the edge, match the trim, and hide the wiring, and nothing about the daylight view changes.
What you do with it once it is up
Once the run is in, the rest is what you set it to. Plain white most nights, color when there is a reason, and a schedule that runs it without you. Most owners land on one white and leave it, using color for the handful of days that call for it.
What makes one roofline a bigger job than the house next door
Two houses on the same street can be very different jobs. Linear feet is the first one, but it is not the main one. Complexity is what drives it: straight runs are quick, and every corner, peak and level change adds work. Two stories changes the job.
Does it attach to the gutter?
The gutter comes up in almost every consultation. 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.
How to find out what your house needs
Because every roof edge is different, a real answer needs a visit. EverCrest Lighting installs permanent roofline lighting for homes and businesses throughout 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.