Cincinnati Outdoor Lighting FAQ

Earlier than in a warmer market, because the weather closes the window here. Installs run in the order they are booked, and once real cold and snow arrive in December the calendar stops flexing. The hillside properties in Mount Adams and Mount Lookout need dry days and daylight most of all, so those go first. Permanent lighting can be fitted outside the season, but it too needs weather to install properly.

More than a southern winter does. December here averages a high near 42°F and a low near 27°F, snow accumulates on a roofline rather than passing through, and a freeze can hold for days. That means the fixing has to carry load, not just stay attached, and every connection has to be sealed against sustained cold. We use commercial-grade product and build the run so a January fault can be reached without dismantling half of it.

Yes, and it is a different job from a new build. Those houses carry slate, deep cornices, steep pitches and gutter that has been replaced piecemeal over a century, so there is often no uniform edge to clip to. The run goes on the fascia line and is designed around the detail rather than through it, and nothing is fastened through roofing material. We measure on site every time.

Yes, and not as an afterthought — Covington, Newport, Fort Thomas, Florence and Independence are half of this market and each has its own page on this site. Our Deer Park office is a short run across the river. The Kentucky river towns are older and more historic than the Ohio suburbs, so the recommendation there is usually different from what we would fit in Mason.

Fairfield, Mason and Norwood in Ohio, and Covington, Florence, Newport, Fort Thomas and Independence in Kentucky, each have their own page here. We work well beyond that list on both sides of the river. If you are not sure about your street, call (513) 713-0490 — we would rather answer it now than find out on install day.

Carefully, and with the access planned first. Mount Adams, Mount Lookout and the Price Hill side put houses on steep ground behind retaining walls, often with no level place for a lift and a roofline broken up by additions. The design follows what we can reach safely, and because those houses are read from below, the roofline outline does most of the visual work anyway.

A properly installed one, no. A permanent track is fastened along the fascia or drip edge, the same surface your gutters already hang from and already carrying snow and ice load every winter. The specification and the fixing spacing matter more here than in a mild climate, which is exactly why we do not fit the same way we would in a southern market.

That is the main reason people here choose permanent over seasonal. The track runs warm white as everyday trim, colour through December, red for an Opening Day weekend, orange for Halloween, or off entirely — all from your phone, without anyone going outside. In a climate like this, not touching the roof between November and March is a genuine feature.

Both are permanent tracks fitted under the roofline and controlled from an app with a very large colour range. They use different fixtures and control systems, so which one we would fit depends on your fascia profile, drip edge and gutter type, and on the look you want. On the older brick stock here that choice matters more than it does on a new build, and we bring both to the consult.

No. Clips are matched to your specific edge — shingle, gutter or fascia — and nothing is nailed, stapled or screwed through roofing material. On the slate roofs common in Hyde Park, Clifton, Norwood and Wyoming we work off the fascia line entirely, because slate is unforgiving and a cracked tile is a roofing bill, not a lighting one.

Yes. Removal after the holidays and storage until the next season are part of a seasonal package, which matters more here than in a mild market — takedown gets scheduled around the weather rather than left to whenever you get round to it. When you rebook, the same set comes back out and installs faster because your measurements are on file.

It depends on linear footage, roof height and access, and which product you choose, which is why we measure before quoting rather than after. The design consult and the quote are both free, and the quote is the number, not an opening position. If something on site would change it, you hear that at the consult rather than on the invoice.