HOA Holiday Lighting for Dallas-Fort Worth Communities

Entrances carry most of an HOA display. The main entrance is where the budget does the most work: the monument sign and entry walls are outlined or washed with light, columns and gatehouses are trimmed, and the trees flanking the drive are trunk-wrapped or canopy-lit. Secondary entrances get a scaled-down version of the same look so the community reads as one place from every approach.

Clubhouses and amenity centers are the second priority. Rooflines, entry gables and porches are outlined, and wreaths, garlands and bows add daytime presence when the lights are off. Pool buildings, mail centers and pavilions can be included where residents gather. Larger communities often add a lit community tree or oversized ornaments at the clubhouse for holiday events.

Medians and boulevards extend the display into the community. Median trees along the main boulevard are wrapped in sequence so the lighting carries from the entrance to the amenity center. This is where a site plan matters, because power is rarely where you want it. During the site walk we locate every outlet, timer and irrigation controller and plan runs that stay clear of mowing crews and sprinkler heads.

The proposal is written for a board vote. After the site walk the manager receives a written scope organized by location, with a design map showing what is lit at each entrance and building. Boards can approve the full scope or phase it, starting with the main entrance and clubhouse and adding secondary entrances and medians in a later season. Because the lighting is leased, adding a location later does not strand anything the association already paid for.

Paperwork is handled before installation. Carruthers carries liability insurance and workers' compensation, and we send a certificate of insurance to the management company on request so it is on file before a crew arrives. Installation is scheduled with the manager and timed around landscape maintenance, gate schedules and community events.

Service during the season comes to us. If a section goes dark, a timer drifts or a storm pulls something loose, the manager or a board member calls 972-620-9560 and the repair is usually completed within 24 to 48 hours. Maintenance is included, so there is no separate charge and no need to find a second vendor in December.

Removal and storage close out the contract. Takedown begins in early January. Each location's lighting is labeled to the community's layout and stored in our climate-controlled facility, which is what lets next year's display match this year's without starting over, even if the board or the manager has changed.

Timing is the part boards most often get wrong. Many associations set the next year's budget in the fall, and boards that meet monthly need at least one meeting between proposal and approval. A proposal requested in late summer can be voted on in September and installed in October or early November, ahead of community events and before installation dates fill. Requests in November are sometimes possible, but choices narrow.

Residents in four cities can use the same company for their own homes. We install residential Christmas lighting in Plano, Frisco, Allen and Richardson, and we check each home's design against the community's guidelines. In every other city we serve, our work is limited to the association's common areas and commercial properties.