How to Safely Hang Outdoor Christmas Lights | Ask This Old House
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- Heath Eastman helps a homeowner safely install a variety of Christmas lights.
SUBSCRIBE to This Old House: bit.ly/Subscrib....
Christmas lights. He installs a GFCI outdoor outlet and protects it with an expandable weatherproof In-Use cover. Heath secures an icicle string light set to the roofline using universal shingle/gutter light clips.
Along the tree Heath protects extension cords with outdoor extension cord covers. To turn all the lights on and off at the right times, he uses a timer.
In order to safely plug in the outdoor lights, Heath installed a GFCI outdoor outlet and protected it using an Expandable Weatherproof In-Use Cover, which is manufactured by TayMac [www.hubbell.co...].
Along the roofline, Heath installed String-A-Long 300 Light Clear Icicle Light set, which is manufactured by the General Electric Company [www.geholidayl...]. To secure the lights to the roofline, Heath used universal shingle/gutter light clips, which can be found at home centers.
Along the tree, Heath hung White Tube Snowflake Lights, which are also available at home centers. For the shrubs and the light post, Heath added 150-Light 4x6’ Net Lights, which are manufactured by Brite Star [www.britestar....] and available at home centers.
The extension cords to connect all the lights together are just general outdoor-rated extension cords. To protect the extension cords where they come together, Heath enclosed them in Cord Protect Outdoor Extension Cord Covers, which are manufactured by Twist and Seal [twistandseal.com/] and available at home centers.
To connect all the extension cords together and program them to turn on/off at the appropriate times, Heath plugged them into an Outdoor Stake Timer, which is also manufactured by the General Electric Company [www.geholidayl...].
Expert assistance with this segment was provided by Eaton and Eastman Electric [www.eatonandeas...].
Looking for more step by step guidance on how to complete projects around the house? Join This Old House Insider to stream over 1,000 episodes commercial-free: bit.ly/2GPiYbH
Plus, download our FREE app for full-episode streaming to your connected TV, phone or tablet: www.thisoldhou...
About Ask This Old House TV:
From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. Ask This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment-your home.
Follow This Old House and Ask This Old House:
Facebook: bit.ly/ThisOldH...
Twitter: bit.ly/AskTOHTw...
Pinterest: bit.ly/ThisOldH...
Instagram: bit.ly/AskTOHIG
How to Safely Hang Outdoor Christmas Lights | Ask This Old House
/ thisoldhouse
I love when I just find random dedicated 20 amp circuits in my house nearly exactly where I need them.
He called it an "abandoned 20 amp circuit". Yet it has an outlet receptacle attached to it, and it's connected to the circuit breaker panel. How is that "abandoned"?
@@Kevin-mp5of www.google.com/search?q=power+inlet+receptacle&tbm=isch
Surely it's just a seldom used socket within the property which just happens to be handy for the Yuletide season.
For all we know the previous owner installed said socket solely for seasonal exterior lighting projects???
I believe we'll run with that.
@@Kevin-mp5of 😁
Oddly enough and quite by chance I just found this post.
Anyway, oddly enough and quite by chance there are very similar to TOH type 'tutorial" offerings on this very topic of armoured cable from UK ... including the connection and testing of the install.
Hah! Nobody expected that sort of instant comeback!!!
@@Kevin-mp5of 😁it can and does happen.
However these vids were for apprentices who would be examined in their practical exams so did use the proper kit.
And what's more, interestingly, the apprentices would be using torqued screwdrivers for use on the screws used in clamping the neutral and protective earth onto the busbars.
In one video I recall the screws were set at 1.7 Newtons and the screws securing the live conductors were torqued to 2.3 Newtons.
Generally a single torque unit is used with interchangeable ends.
These tools are not cheap and have to be calibrated as per, and you have to provide a calibration certificate to any inspector who wants to see it.
So looks like a jobbing electrician would have to bear the calibration test costs and an electrician working for a firm would gets the tools calibrated for him.
The required paper trail these days is "impressive" and I can see how the home DIYer is being eased out, gradually, of doing his own jobs.
Lot of sense in this as doubtless we have all seen some absolute horrors in the installation dept.
Legend says the electrician moved in shortly after.
@@brianglade848 on to a lobster?
Hahahhaha
Ran outta lights can you get mah pry bah outta mah cah???
step 1: have a completely unused 20a circuit already run to the exact place you need it.
got it.
The comments are gold let’s keep it going it’s TH-cam not a museum.
Am I the only person left who prefers colored Christmas lights? Except for the snowflakes in the trees those other white lights just remind me of Las Vegas.
i see enough white lights every day it just blends into the million others.
colored lights are much more festive and chasing blinking ones are more fun
Very gorgeous Christmas lights and they look safely put up
I still prefer the Clark W Griswold style of exterior lamination.
@@Kevin-mp5of Fixed the newel post!!
It’s required the stack at least 12 or more light plugs to pass Code, and make sure you put it on a switched circuit. Lol.
@@Kevin-mp5of Aluminum conductors with the cheap copper wire plug attached, not the special expensive alumina plug.
The safest way is to cover your own home in tin foil ... it will reflect all the lights in your road and everyone will think you are as rich as Croesus ... to be able to buy that much tin foil.
@@Kevin-mp5of Not bad at all!
Did I see a mention of gold foil earlier?
That wasn't bad either.
😁😁😁😁
Should have drilled a hole through the siding for a extension cord. A little duck tape, some silicone and call it a day.
i love this old house
@@Kevin-mp5of and some perfect yahds
@@Kevin-mp5of my yahd is gonna be pehfect soon
7:43 if he's leaving why is he walking away from dahh truck?
@UCdqRn_A6r9VpQK0MfM03AAA ahhhhhhhhh 🤣🤣
@@brianglade848 teach me the way
@@Kevin-mp5of man that's hilarious thanks hahhahahahahahah
@@brianglade848 ahhhh uhntil next time
@@Kevin-mp5of damnit bahb
Full time electrician. Part time mob hitman
The market ain’t what it used to be. The mob don’t even pay benefits no more.
😂
One thing I would highly suggest is installing an "in use" outdoor electrical box instead of the one used in this video. They are bulkier and will stick out further but allows you to maintain a more weatherproof seal when you have an extension cord plugged in all the time.
that is supposed to be one with a soft stretchy cover i like the heavy-duty metal ones that latch shut helps keep cords from pulling out
next week somebody will want to use that outlet in basement he removed he could have put outlet in the junction box, so they don't lose an outlet
hey what happened to the outlet for the dehumidifier I know we had one over here last summer
"How to safely hang Christmas lights", proceeds to show how to install outdoor electrical outlet, and then skip over the majority of how to hang the lights safely. Nothing about how to set your ladder to ensure it won't slip and fall on the ice and snow. Nothing about the other methods of hanging besides showing a generic gutter clip. What if your gutters have leaf screens? how would you or should you hang lights on the upper roof? how to safely run the extension cords through the yard so they aren't a tripping hazard? What are the correct types of extension cords to use rated for exterior use and amperage? nothing in this was about safety besides don't run the cord out the window.
i agree they show 0 to little of anything about how todo things safely
And he backstabbed the receptacle 😑
@@Kevin-mp5of he didn’t make a loop he stabbed in and compressed down still garbage
@@Kevin-mp5of I guess I see you think bad connections are acceptable in the electrical trade 😑
@@Kevin-mp5of no I just use proper technique when I should and I’m not lazy. Wish I could say the same about you
Hubby must have been busy getting a manicure...
This guy is relly good
I'll need Heath to come do my house when I get one.
@@brianglade848 Funny
Two observations:
1) At 1:03, what the heck is he measuring?
2) At the end, his truck is in the driveway, but he walks the opposite way after saying goodbye to the lady.
@@Kevin-mp5of I think that “measurement” was staged. Not even making an attempt to hold it level.
Is it safe to plug that module cord into an extension cord.
Clark taught me everything I know about exterior illumination.
@@Kevin-mp5of no. That was Kevin with his fisher price tools on TOH.
@@Kevin-mp5of fixed the newel post.
Sure you can do it like this IF you have about $2000.00 to spare and just happen to have an unused 20 amp circuit in your box. Not everyone can afford to just have work like this done and not everyone has the space or an old unused circuit in their basement. Also not everyone is lucky enough to have someone from TOH come to their house and probably do the labor for free or extremely discounted.
That's pretty much how life is, right? Equal outcomes are not guaranteed in a free society governed by Capitalism. But whether you can afford to have someone come to your house or not to perform this service, the information is brought to you absolutely at no cost. Information can inspire and help guide a DIYer toward a proper and safe installation unique to his/her situation.
@@brianglade848 sure if you have nice open basement ceiling and electrical knowledge most people who could do that are not calling TOH to put in an outdoor outlet lol
I am crazy i put in half switched /half always on outlets around outside so i can switch them on from inside house a bit excessive though and you have to remember to turn them off and on
"turn them off at night"? Isn't that when you want them on?
what you think im made of money? stop trying to light up the whole neighborhood.
Get ur goddamn fingers off the thermostat too . . .before I break them off! Put on yah lobstah swehtah if yah cohld!!🦞🦞
yeah, those timers shut it off 2, 4,6 hours or so after they come on at dark, so they don't have to go out at 11 pm and turn them off
I couldn't find a 20 amp ran where I need it. Help?
I use those same gutter clips and he definitely used them wrong.
Wow Kevin just an observation you replied to everyone comment, some don’t make sense but it’s ok. How much wood woodchucks chuck wood if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
I tawt dis wush da lobstah cohmmehmt sehcshun. . . .was dis guhy tahkin ahbout wit dah woohdchuhcks? Nahm? Bawb? Rahdgah? Lobstah?🦞🦞🦞
If there was a ground stake with a longer cord u would not need an extension cord.
Interesting, I thought black was ALWAYS ground?
lol I've seen people switch every color of wire around my neighbor wired his lamp post with black as ground I guess the worms around pole were not happy with him, he didn't know anything was wrong till he got shocked from pole in the rain
This guys videos are top notch content. Everythings installed safe and explained well. It almost looks like he used burial NM cable for the outdoor outlet, is that common?
Not common, but yes - it appears he used Type UF cable. An excellent solution here, since exiting the home with the more common NM cable (Romex) into an outdoor box passes into a wet location. NM cable is not allowed in wet locations. Another choice would have been a rated MC cable (some are rated for wet environments).
Alaskan here. Do it in may and leave them up all year.
It would be nice if you had a special series on different lighting and decorating for the holidays? Something that would give you different ideas on different types of lights and designs?
Looks great. Nice job. Does he hire out? 😄
Who plugs in an electric leaf blower!?!?!?
Lovely :o)
yuk horrible white lights it needs some color
Should rename this to "How to add an outdoor outlet and safely hang outdoor Christmas lights." Just sayin.' 🎅🏼
HOLIDAY LIGHTS!
(Just doing my part in the War on Christmas.)
HELP, HELP, HELP, HELP, PLEASE ANYONE….
Good video however my issue that I’m trying to figure out is how do I connect all the different strands of lights, for instance my lights say you can connect three strands together so once I connect three strands do I need to start with another extension cord? I’m putting up 10 strands so does this mean I would need 3 to 4 different extension cords ?? Hopefully someone may see this and can let me know… thank you so much and Merry Christmas to all.
use led lights you can connect a lot of strands like 20. regular incandescent bulbs draw more power so if you put too many together the tiny fuse in first string will blow. we use heavy duty cords that split off in three different cords about 15 feet each we bought after Christmas clearance one year and put 3 outlet connectors on end but sometimes rain will trip gfi with lots of connections, so we put plastic bags or electrical tape on them, so they don't get wet. some people use old plastic rubbermaid leftovers containers for plug connections with notch in each side for cord
Quality install by Heath Eastman
Didn't know about the cord protectors and power distribution unit. Thanks!
That was nothing but a fancy extension cord with a timer built-in to it.
they are crazy expensive a piece of electrical tape would do same thing what they really need is plastic bag over that stake with a rubber band so gfi does not trip in rain since it is not watertight in use plugs on it
First off...I love This Old House! Second... the comments on TH-cam videos are the best!
Third... I'm thinking of starting a TH-cam subsite, nominating This Old House clips for solving the most 1st World problem. Thinking this clip would be in the running for sure! All in good fun! 😊
😎
Great video, thank you!
That shot of the "This Old House" logo on the truck showing through the basement window. I wonder if that was planned from the beginning or if the cameraman saw it and went with it.
And now come inside for your payment!
20 amp circuit with white wire....?
Yep, my house has tons of it. It wasn't always yellow.
@@Kevin-mp5of Most modern NM cable uses a standard color code for the outer jacket so you can easily identify the circuit's capacity. White is 14 AWG which is only rated to 15 Amps. This does not mean that all brand use the same color code and I'm sure the Mr. Eastman checked the required printing on the jacket to confirm the gauge.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoplastic-sheathed_cable#North_America
@@Kevin-mp5of Sorry, my reply should have been to @Cpake13
yeah, back in 90's it was all white wire the new code came out with the yellow for 20 amps so lots of houses are part old white 12-2
The husband can’t even hang Xmas lights . Dang
I would, just sayin.....
Or ... before hanging the lights you need to put them on trial first ...
This is 2020. I'm pretty sure that hanging lights is a sign of white supremacy. That's what the gods from Mount Television have been saying lately.
Wow galing Naman mag install nakakainspire
I like that merry Christmas 🎄
I might be wrong, but I heard professional electricians never use electrical tape on outlets?
Yes use tape unless your using a wireless receptacle
Not required, but when using a metal box, offers an additional measure of protection. Especially when using the GFCI device, which often comes within a fraction of an inch of the grounded metal sides of the box.
Don’t use those white clips they are plastic pieces of crap and break
Was that UF cable from receptacle to splice box?
Couldn't you just use romex?
@@Kevin-mp5of whats that got to do with anything? Uf rated wire is for direct burial, no conduit needed.he probably just used whatever wire he had enough scrap. Overkill wire, yella Rome would have been perfectly fine.
@@Kevin-mp5of whats that got to do with anything? Uf rated wire is for direct burial, no conduit needed.he probably just used whatever wire he had enough scrap. Overkill wire, yella Rome would have been perfectly fine.
@@Kevin-mp5of Romex would have been perfectly acceptable in this application.
Romex!! No, UF!! UF!! No! Romex!!
Get Scott Caron in here to settle this eletchicken pissing match! Rabbit season! Duck Season! Lobstah season!!! Shoot!!!!🦞🦞
supposedly you need uf in wet locations I guess they are leaning towards extra safe it is kinda wet location
30 ext. Cords later
Did you both have a stroke while typing?
Dats not a Gankasaurusrex. . Eetsa bahby fuhhkin whehl mahn. . A BAHBY FUHHKIN WHEHL
@@Gankasaurusrex It are two childs littering the TOH comment sections like this for the last few episodes. Just got to wait until they get bored of themselves 😉
No wago's ?
Ugly decorations.
Less is more.
1st
@@brianglade848 okay
Congratulations can yah see if they can bake you a cake?
You should tightly wrap electrical tape around EVERY connection - extension cords, Christmas light strings, etc. That way it will be waterproof and you won’t be tripping breakers every time it rains.
Yea dummy since when was electrical tape waterproof
@@AlMai222 waterproof enough to keep cords from shorting in rain to grass
Ran outta lights can you get mah pry bah outta mah cah?
Just wait until you have to take them all down....what a pain
Ehvan dah buhmpa trihck is too muhch effaht. . . Jus hope thah fuhcken thihngs staht a fihya . . Aahnd buhhrn dah houshe to dah grouhnd
I can't get family to help take down lights in January too cold out lol everyone wants them up in November when it's nice out the best part is inflatables frozen into snow LOL
Maybe see if you can change the spock plug so the engine dont run hahdah!!!