How it works
What we handle
Before you hire anyone
If you live in Rockport, Port Aransas, or on Padre Island, do not buy painted aluminum fixtures. The salt air will eat through them within a year, leaving pitted, corroded metal that looks awful.
Not sure what your job should cost?
Answer a couple of questions and we will give you an honest ballpark before anyone calls you, so you know whether a quote you get later is reasonable.
What it costs
Permanent lighting is priced by the foot of roofline, plus whatever zones you add like patio, landscape, or a ranch gate, and whether it is installed for you or supplied as parts for a DIY build. The sizer on this site gives you an honest ballpark before anyone calls. The one rule worth repeating: on this coast the cheap strands are done in a season, so whatever you spend, buy for the wind and the salt.
Why people call
- Wanting permanent LED lights on the roofline that do holiday colors, everyday warm white, and game day colors from a phone, without the yearly ladder
- A DIY-minded owner who wants to build their own pixel system and needs the right controller, channel, and parts that survive the coast
- A ranch or country property that wants the gate, entrance, and long driveway lit so it is easy to find and safe after dark
- A business wanting the building outlined in programmable color year round, not just for Christmas
- Store-bought smart lights or a cheap kit that failed after one coastal summer, and wanting something built to last
- Wanting the look of the big permanent light brands but done as a smarter DIY build for less
Questions people ask
Who does uplighting for palm trees in Corpus? Looking for someone reasonable.
We can connect you with local pros who know how to aim uplights so your palms look great without shining into windows. They typically use solid brass well lights or adjustable spotlights buried at the base that can handle our salty air. Every pro in our network does free nighttime demos so you see the effect before you commit.
Need a recommendation for someone to fix my outdoor lights that stopped working after that last big storm.
Storms along the Coastal Bend often knock connections loose, trip GFCI outlets, or let water into old wire nuts. The independent electricians and lighting techs we match you with will trace every cable, check the transformer, and waterproof all splices. They carry marine-grade connectors that are a must this close to the coast.
Do I need to buy marine-grade landscape lights if I live right on the water in Rockport, or will regular brass hold up?
Solid brass or copper fixtures usually handle salt air fine, but right on the water you want fixtures with fully sealed LED boards and extra stainless steel hardware. Real marine-grade means the internal components are potted against salt intrusion, not just a brass housing. A pro can show you which fixtures have lasted years on other waterfront homes without pitting.
Anyone know a reliable guy to install some low-voltage pathway lights in Portland?
We will match you with someone who uses hat-style path lights that won't fill with water after a downpour. They will sink the stakes deep and use extra sealant on connections because of the constant humidity here. Many Portland clients also ask for an extra protective loop of wire at each fixture so it doesn't pull loose if a kid or dog bumps it.
Why do my outdoor lights keep tripping the GFCI outlet every time we get a heavy downpour?
Almost always a tiny bit of moisture getting into a splice or a fixture seal. The GFCI is doing its safety job. The fix is to have a local tech open up every connection, dry it out, and redo it with dielectric grease inside waterproof wire nuts or heat-shrink connectors rated for burial.
Who can hang bistro lights across my concrete patio so they actually stay tight and don't sag in our crazy wind?
The installers in our network use stainless steel cable guides, turnbuckles, and mounting hardware anchored into the home's frame, not just eyehooks in stucco. They will pull the cable tight enough to hold steady in a 30 mph gust but leave just enough slack to prevent snapping. They also recommend commercial-grade cord that won't dry-rot under our UV.
Looking for someone to put in some good security lighting around my barn and driveway out in Sinton.
We can connect you with pros who install high-lumen floodlights with shielded cutoffs so they light up your property without blinding you or neighbors. They often run the wire inside PVC conduit where it goes underground and add a photocell or motion sensor so you aren't burning lights all night. They know the rural county setback rules too.
Who is the best landscape lighting company in the Coastal Bend that won't charge an arm and a leg?
You skip the waterfront tax by working through our service. We line you up with independent licensed pros who compete on your job. They use the same brass fixtures and proper install techniques as big-name companies, just without the overhead.
Can anyone recommend a company to do those permanent LED trim lights that we can use for Christmas but also just regular accent lights?
Yes, those are often called track lights or J-channel trim lights. The pros will tuck an aluminum track right under your soffit so it's invisible from the street during the day. You get a million colors and warm white for every day, all controlled by a phone app.
Who do y'all use for underwater dock lights and green lights for fishing in Aransas Pass?
We match you with boat-dock electricians who install lights rated for submerged use inside PVC sleeves or marine housings that handle barnacle growth. They know how to run GFCI-protected circuits down the dock piling legally. Green is best for shrimp and baitfish, and they can demo both green and soft white.
My landscape wiring is a total rat's nest from the previous owner. Who can come troubleshoot and clean it up?
A tech will disconnect everything, label the lines, and use a tracer to find which wire goes where. They will remove old daisy-chained splices, install a proper central hub, and tuck the wire tight against edging or under mulch. You end up with a clean drawing of your zones so you never have to guess again.
Are there any local guys in Kingsville or Alice who do commercial-grade outdoor lighting for ranch entryways?
We work with pros who cover all the way to Jim Wells and Kleberg counties. For ranch gates they use tall, heavy-duty bollards or pole-mounted downlights that throw a wide pattern without dark spots. They use direct-burial poly cable rated for the oily clay soil out that way.
Will putting in landscape lights mess up my lawn and flower beds? I don't want my yard torn up.
Low-voltage wire is buried by slipping a spade into the soil and tucking the cable into the slit, so the grass goes right back. You will see a thin line for a week or two, then it disappears. Pros also hand-dig around roots and place lights right at the edge of beds to avoid damaging your St. Augustine.
Can I hook my outdoor lights up to my phone so I can turn them on and off from inside, or set a schedule?
Absolutely. Most new LED transformers plug into a smart outlet or have a built-in WiFi module. The tech will set up a schedule and connect it to your Alexa or Google Home so you just say, 'turn on the pathway lights.' You can also fine-tune colors and dimming right from your phone.
Can I build a permanent pixel light system myself?
Yes, plenty of people do. The DIY path uses outdoor addressable RGB pixels, an ESP32 controller running the free WLED software, mounting channel, weather sealed connectors, and a power supply sized with headroom. The tradeoff is your time and getting the waterproofing and power right. We can hand you a parts list and a plan, or build it for you.
What controller should I use for permanent lights?
For DIY, an ESP32 running WLED is the popular pick because it is cheap, reliable, and runs from a phone with no monthly fee. For big sequenced displays some people step up to a dedicated pixel controller and xLights. For simple everyday warm white with holiday scenes, WLED on an ESP32 is usually plenty.
Which pixels hold up best on the coast?
Outdoor rated addressable pixels, like WS2811 based strands or WS2815 strip, with sealed connectors and a slim channel, hold up best here. Salt air punishes cheap unsealed strip and bargain connectors, so the waterproofing and the channel matter as much as the LEDs.
How much power does a permanent pixel setup need?
It depends on how many pixels and how bright you run them. Long runs need power injected at more than one point or the far end goes dim and the colors shift. Sizing the supply with headroom and planning injection points is the part DIY builds most often get wrong.
Is permanent lighting worth it over hanging Christmas lights every year?
For people tired of the yearly ladder, hanging, taking down, and storing lights, most say yes. A permanent system stays up, hides in daylight, and does everyday white plus holidays from an app. If you only want lights a couple weeks a year, seasonal hanging can still make sense.
Are permanent lights noticeable during the day?
A slim channel mounted tight under the eave in a color near your trim is easy to miss from the street in daylight. Bulky housings show more. This is one spot where a careful build or a good installer beats a rushed one.
Can you light a ranch gate or a long driveway?
Yes. Country properties often want the front gate and entrance lit so people can find it, plus markers down a long driveway for safe turns at night. If there is power at the gate it can be wired, and if not, solar fixtures and markers are a common answer out here.
Will an HOA let me put up permanent lights?
Many will, since the channel is subtle in daylight and can stay plain warm white most of the year. Some have rules on color or hours. Worth checking your HOA rules first so you are not asked to change it later.
What breaks permanent outdoor lights first, wind or salt?
Around here wind is usually what takes lights out first, and salt air finishes off anything brittle or poorly sealed. The connections between strands and cords are the weak point, so a careful install reinforces and protects every joint, not just the fixtures.
Do people really run permanent lights all year, or just at Christmas?
All year now. It has become part of the look here. You see them on apartment patios year round, and whole streets where houses change color with the season or the holiday. For a lot of folks it stopped being just a Christmas thing.
Service area: Corpus Christi · Flour Bluff · Calallen · Padre Island · Robstown · Alice · Kingsville · Portland · Banquete · Agua Dulce · Falfurrias · Beeville