Safely lighting up holiday nights

Position ladders properly for safe light-hanging.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
It's time to channel your inner Clark.
Griswold, that is -- the holiday-lighting-obsessed hero of National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies.
Whether your preferred look is extreme or subdued in terms of color and wattage, a little planning and some inexpensive hardware can make your display more attractive and safer.
The smart time to install exterior holiday lights is now -- before it gets any colder.
The first thing to do is take inventory of the electrical equipment: lights, extension cords, power stakes and timers. All those things must be rated for outdoor use, said Garry Walker, manager at Strasser Hardware in Kansas City, Kan.
Getting grounded
In addition, Walker cautions, if you live in an older home, make sure the outlet into which you plug your lights is grounded (most three-pronged outlets are). In newer homes, all outdoor outlets are grounded.
Also make sure the outdoor electrical box is watertight. Use duct tape to seal it, if necessary. If water gets into the box, it could trip the circuit breaker.
Next, untangle your light strings, then plug them in to check for burned-out bulbs. With newer lights, a single burned-out bulb won't affect the entire string.
Any cords with a break should be discarded, Walker said. They could be a fire hazard.
When it comes to mounting the lights, do not reach for the staple gun. "If you staple through the cord, you could blow a fuse and ruin your lights," Walker said. Even worse, he said, "you're damaging your home. You're creating holes ants or other insects could start nests in."
Inexpensive plastic hangers and hooks that fasten to gutters or shingles are the way to go, hardware and landscaping experts agree. You can find them at hobby, hardware and discount stores for as little as $2 for a pack of 50.
Some people leave the hooks in place year-round, said James Spurgin, assistant manager of Westlake Ace in Kansas City.
How much lighting?
Measure the areas you want to outline with lights, and buy enough strings to get the job done. Cheating, such as joining two female ends with a connector, is a fire hazard and will short-circuit, Spurgin said.
You shouldn't run more than three or four light strings per outlet, Spurgin said. You can buy outdoor-rated power stakes if you need additional outlets.
Make sure no lights are touching the house -- they could start a fire, experts say.
If you have to use a ladder to mount your lights, practice good ladder safety, Walker cautions:
UKeep away from power lines.
UMake sure the ladder is in good shape.
UMake sure the feet are firmly planted on the ground and not sinking in loose bedding soil.
Hot products
When it comes to trends, Spurgin says, icicle mesh lights were a hit at his store last year. As for colors, last year blue was hot, he says; the year before, it was red.
Hardware experts say LED lights will likely revolutionize holiday displays, but only after the price comes down.
The ultra-long-lasting lights are currently sold by a few specialty retailers, including Solutions Catalog (www.solutionscatalog.com). They cost $25 to $30 per string, three to five times the cost of ordinary mini-lights.
Among clients of landscape and lighting designer Jim Keller of Kansas City, Mo., clear lights rule. Solid red and green are also popular.
The most offbeat color scheme his company has installed was orange and blue -- for a fan of the University of Florida Gators.
Keller's company charges $500 to $3,000 to install outdoor holiday lights.
For that price, the company provides the lights, clips and timers, puts them up, takes them down and stores them.
Keller, whose company does 30 to 40 lighting installations a year, says the biggest trend last year among his customers was double strings of lights: one string of traditional large bulbs with a string of icicle lights below.