Pro-installer Michel Watier of Quebec, Canada shares how he achieves the perfect sparkle on this glowing Christmas tree with Big Star Lights.
At Big Star Lights, we get to see some really impressive projects from our customers. Even after being in the business for over a decade, we still sometimes find ourselves asking, “How did they do that?!” Fortunately, great Christmas light installers are alway willing to share their knowledge with others and we are proud to be a part of an industry that promotes this.
Last season, Michel Watier from Quebec, Canada sent us this stunning photo of a tree that was absolutely LIT! So we had to ask the question “How did you do this?!”
Here’s an excerpt from a short Q&A session with Michel.
Q: What is the story behind this tree? Why was it commissioned?
A: My client has his tree decorated every year but this year he wanted a lot more lights than ever, so I showed him a few photos of the Rockefeller tree and he loved it. So I only had a few weeks to turn around and find the lights...Big Star Lights was my choice since I’ve already purchased from Big Star in the past.
Q: How big is the tree and what kind is it?
A: The tree is a 65-75ft natural live blue spruce.
Q: How many strings did you end up using? Type of product? How many "runs" of lines do you have in the tree?
A: Material used 64 x 33ft strands of 100 C6 soft white per strand connecting 22 per plug (will order C7 bulbs next year for this effect instead). 192 x mini-light warm-white with pure-white twinkle connecting 44 per plug (would have needed extra 40 strings to make it full all around (back of tree).
Q: How were the lights powered?
A: The tree has 5 x separate electrical boxes along the tree with a 60 amp box at the bottom giving us plenty of power.
Q: How many man-hours did it take?
A: 100 man-hours to put this together with a 4x4 genie 65 cherry picker.
Q: Why did you choose our lights?
A: We choose Big Star Lights because of the quality and the great and friendly service :-)
Q: What was your technique?
A: Step 1 was to string the C6 lights first so we could zig zag the mini-lights afterwards. The C6 strings were spaced approx 3ft from top to bottom. Then we tied in the mini-lights in a v-pattern going from bottom to top with 18 inch spacing at the widest points giving us a somewhat of a honeycomb effect. Everything was tied with approx. 4000 8 inch black cable ties.
Q: Do you have any other tips on decorating a tree like this?
A: If you're going to attempt this, make sure to take all safety measures and check the weather and wind :-)