Prairie Oaks Christmas Light Installation

Prairie Oaks was built out between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s, and the street trees planted then are now roughly 25 to 30 years old. A two-story house behind a full-grown tree is a good canvas and a tiring one to light by yourself. Prairie Oaks Christmas light installation, here in Folsom, takes one phone call and a few pictures to plan.

We found no homeowners association for Prairie Oaks (the subdivision’s formal name is Prairie Oaks Ranch). It isn’t gated. The common landscaping is paid for through a city landscaping and lighting assessment that shows up on your county tax bill. That’s a city charge, and it doesn’t come with a rule book for your front yard. In plain terms: no association dates to work around, and no approval to request. Pick the weekend that suits your household. Then tell us which: (916) 570-9568.

On the phone, at (916) 570-9568, we ask a few things. One story or two? Which parts do you want lit? Where are the outdoor outlets? Photos come next, texted, emailed or dropped on the contact page: street face, garage, front door and any tree you’d like wrapped. What comes back is a layout and a price. Nobody has to be booked to come measure.

The housing stock is mostly two-story production homes from several builders. The upper roofline and the peak over the garage are what people notice from the street, and they’re the hardest spots for a homeowner to reach. Roofline lights are held by clips that slide onto the gutter or under the shingle edge. Nothing is nailed or stapled, so fascia and gutters that have been up for decades aren’t asked to take new holes.

Trees this age are the right size for lighting. The trunk and the first set of branches take a wrap well, and the tree is big enough to be noticed from the corner. Entry posts are candidates for pillar wraps. For the wreath, pick a spot: high on the gable or centered over the garage door. The front door gets a frame of lit garland.

Lots are comfortably sized, so there’s room for stake lighting beside the driveway or the front path. Stakes go where the mower and the sprinklers won’t find them. On the cul-de-sacs, where every front faces the same circle, a tidy cord run matters more than usual.

Some lots back to greenbelt preserves. If yours does and you’d like the back eaves lit for your own view from the yard, send a photo of that side too.

There’s more on stake lighting, on nearby Los Cerros and on the rest of Folsom.

If your street is on the way to Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary School, families pass your house on foot, and the entry and walkway details get noticed. If you’re on the Prairie City Road side, across from the Intel campus, a strong roofline shows better from a moving car than small touches do. Tell us which describes you and we’ll weight the plan that way.

We supply every light and set a timer. Should a section go dark, call (916) 570-9568 and a repair gets arranged. A Prairie Oaks Christmas light installation always ends on a January job: roofline, trees and yard are cleared, and the whole lot leaves on our truck. No bins in the garage.

Is the Prairie Oaks Ranch landscaping charge on my tax bill an HOA fee?

No. Common landscaping is funded by a city landscaping and lighting assessment on the tax bill, which is not an HOA and sets no holiday decoration rules.

I’m on the Prairie City Road side across from Intel. What shows from the road?

A strong roofline shows better from a moving car than small touches do, so we put the effort up high on that side.

Are older gutters a problem for clips?

Usually not. Photograph the gutters and eaves and we’ll choose a clip that grips without nails or screws.

Can you wrap the tree in my front yard?

Yes. Trees of this age wrap well at the trunk and lower branches, and the wrap is removed at takedown.