How to Install Christmas Lights on Residential Property in South Carolina
- 1). Ask your local code enforcement officer or fire marshal about ordinances for holiday decorations. Chances are any restrictions on the books pertain to outdoor decorations only, but he probably has some safety advice for the indoor decorations as well. Outdoor Christmas lights might be regulated, but not necessarily prohibited, in some historic neighborhoods. If the season is unusually dry, which is rate in South Carolina in late December, there might be a temporary ban on lighting up any trees.
- 2). Measure the height of the highest point of the tree where you would be stringing lights, as well as the length of affected branches. This is important if you are buying new lights or if you need to figure how much of the light wire you will need to reach the most extended point of the extension cord.
- 3). Untangle and straighten out the lighting cords. Do this as soon as you open the box and take the lights out, and do it at ground level. Don't wait until you are standing on top of a ladder.
- 4). Plug the straightened lighting cord into an outlet to make sure it and all of its bulbs work. Replace any bulbs as needed.
- 5). Run the cord around the outdoor tree, along the edge of your window or roof or anywhere else inside or outside that you choose. Use electrical tape or staples to fasten the lighting cord in place. If you have any excess cord, use twist ties to keep it out of the way and prevent it from getting tangled.