DiyLightAnimation
Hardware => Lynx Smart String => Topic started by: rnult13 on December 03, 2012,
-
How are people attaching their smart string nodes to their house?
I am looking to attach mine to the roof line, (128 node ct strings) but I am looking for a good solution.
Pictures would be nice.
Thanks,
Rick
-
I just used one roof clip per node. I'm at the firehouse until tomorrow. The ones I like come from walmart under the holiday time. They have been hanging since halloween with no sagging or issues.
Brian (http://www.christmas-decorations-gifts-store.com/store/images/roof_light_clips_9003S101l.jpg)
-
I used the smaller version of that for minis. Works wonderfully! I think I picked mine up at Lowes a couple years ago. Best item I've found.
-
I plan on attaching to the house tomorrow and plan on using some all in one light clips I found at Walgreens. However I wanted things more rigid and as even a spacing as I could so I bought some kind of plastic J channel at Lowes and cut notches for each light and hotglued the wires in the channel. My theory is I won't need a clip at each light to keep things nice, straight, and even and I won't have to stress the wires themselves (wires seem to be the weak point of these nodes) since I'll just clip the channel on to the house. I cut little flaps at each node and bent them up as I put the nodes in to act as a little hat for possibly some water protection at the base of the nodes.
The channel stuff I purchased I can't find on the Lowe's site (they only seem to have the roofing channel on the site which is bigger than the stuff I used), this at Home Depot's site looks about the same http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=202083288&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&cpncode=31%2d57432340%2d2&srccode=cii%5f10043468&cm_mmc=shopping%2d%5f%2dshopzilla%2d%5f%2dD30%2d%5f%2d202083288. The channel itself was just the perfect thickness to slide the wires in. It's not exterior grade but at the price it seemed worth the chance.
-
I used jchannel for mine
http://diylightanimation.com/index.php?topic=9673.msg133631#msg133631
-
For years I have had cup hooks installed in the fascia board that my gutters mount on and have hung up to 4 strings of colored lights using them. Now I just string the SS nodes along the hooks just making sure that the wire is untwisted and all the nodes hang straight down. The hooks are about 15" apart, just eyeballed, not measured. By having them back underneath and behind the gutters I feel like I am getting a little more protection from rain as well. They are very bright and show up extremely well even pointing down to the ground.
-
I took 1" PVC and drilled a hole through it and then cut the whole thing in half. works out pretty cheap that way, but i recommend a drill press because it is a lot of holes that way.
-
I took 1" PVC and drilled a hole through it and then cut the whole thing in half. works out pretty cheap that way, but i recommend a drill press because it is a lot of holes that way.
Interesting how do you hang the PVC then?
-
I am using the regular light clips http://blog.rokkettdawg.org/?p=415 (http://blog.rokkettdawg.org/?p=415)....
-
This year we picked up some 8' PVC strips in the trim section of Lowes, drilled out holes with a press and guide right about the same size as the nodes, added a Ray Wu connector on the beginning and end of the strip, and drilled holes at the top to hand from the eves. Made a nice neat perfectly spaced section that we can pull down and replace if some nodes get bad. So far so good! I'll send some pics in the next day or so.
-
This year we picked up some 8' PVC strips in the trim section of Lowes, drilled out holes with a press and guide right about the same size as the nodes, added a Ray Wu connector on the beginning and end of the strip, and drilled holes at the top to hand from the eves. Made a nice neat perfectly spaced section that we can pull down and replace if some nodes get bad. So far so good! I'll send some pics in the next day or so.
like J channel?
-
Actually it was more of a rectangular thick extrusion rather than the more flimsy J-channel - I'm guessing 1/4" by 1" extruded PVC that almost seemed like firm foam with a hard plastic exterior. I'll try digging on lowes.com
-
Mine metal squares are on my roof, stuck to strips of black coroplast, and the coroplast is stapled to the shingles with 12mm staples. Between each segment of coroplast, I inserted galvanized nails half way into each end and that keeps them very well aligned.
This makes a rectangular shape, 66 pixels across the top and bottom, 59 pixels down the sides.
-
Not that this is the best way, but it is what I did...mainly because the materials were free. <wd.. I used the same 1" PVC that we use for the SSC enclosures and used a router with a 1/2" bit to cut a slot in the PVC. The nodes fit nice and tight and it holds them well. I put zip ties around each end node to keep the string in place. It seems to work great and keeps the nodes straight and pointing out. I made some hangers that either slide under my shingles or hang on my gutters and cradle the PVC. I can take some pictures of those if someone really wanted to see them.
Thanks,
-Keith
-
Keith,
I would love to see your attachments for under shingles and gutters.
Also did you set up some kind if jig to hold your PVC straight when routing? I tried this and the PVC kept turning.
I ended up just using white electrical tape and wrapping everything. Lots of tape but it looks nice. Also quite time consuming. It would probably be faster to use your way
Ryan
-
i attached mine to 1/2 pvc and used red electrical tape to create the candy cane effect. looks nice during the day and when the nodes are all white you can see them at night as bright as the nodes are.
duane
-
Red Flag alert.
Be really careful when stapling or nailing things on the roof. If you penetrate the shingles, you will need to patch every hole when you take things down... If you don't you will have leaks the next time it rains.
RM
-
Lonewolf, that looks like a great way to form a lot of geometric shapes. Stars, particularly.
I am also wondering about the router and jig you used. I can't cut a straight line with hand tools.
-
Here is how I attach to my window frames. I was thinking of doing the same for my house line next year.
1/2" PVC, white electrical tape. About a roll for 30'. 4 stainless anchor bolts per window with wing nuts.
-
My window frames are almost identical, but I just put two cup hooks at the top and hang the frame on them. They don't seem to be bothered by wind or I would put something at the bottom to hold them down, but until then just two cup hooks at the top.
-
OK, here are some additional pictures showing the brackets. I also made a jig out of 1" steel pipe to bend the brackets to make the "cradle" for the PVC. I used some strapping from Lowes and bent it. I think it is about 1-1/2" wide or so. They were galvanized and I painted them black.
For the slots, I did it by hand. I have a table for my router with a fence (see picture). I just keep it pushed up against the fence and table bottom real well and go slowly. That allows me to keep it straight as it does want to roll, plus if I went to fast, it would chatter and start to wander. The other thing is my pieces were already cut and only about 54" long so I was not doing a 10 foot long piece or anything.
Let me know if there is more questions.
Thanks,
-Keith