July 22, 2022

Hear the experience of one of our founders, Tony:

Our new product is a pre-drilled vinyl channel for installing permanent ColorBit Lights on your house. Each section is 6.25 ft (75 inches) with 20 pre-drill 12 mm holes at a spacing of 95 mm (about 3 3/4”). The ColorBit lights fit securely in the straight line holes for a uniform appearance. The channel comes in three colors - Deep Espresso, Glacier White and Vintage Wicker. If these colors do not work with your house trim, you can spray paint the channel to color-match your home to remain hidden from street view. Mounting screws recommended at 3 per section are included in the bundles.

A really nice way to mount ColorBit Lights is using a vinyl channel. The LEDs are about 100 mm apart so I drilled the holes every 95 mm to allow for expansion/contraction of the wires due to weather temperature fluctuation. I created a jig to assist with the laborious task of drilling holes - lots of holes- in the channel. Once the holes are drilled, you can spray paint the channel to color-match your home to remain hidden from street view. Then insert the lights and attach to the underside of the eaves behind the fascia board. When attaching it is very important the screw does not puncture the lights or wire.

I chose vinyl over metal channel as I was concerned that sheet metal channel may rust in a couple of years. Vinyl is much easier to cut and shape. I initially tried using metal but the cuts I made were jagged, rough and sharp. The corners did not look nice and neat. After a few cuts in the vinyl channel, it became easy to create a professional looking product.

You can find vinyl siding j channels from a supplier and make your own. Our installation video on YouTube shows how I set up and drilled the holes in the vinyl channel for my home. It is a time consuming process. Several customers told me that getting the vinyl channel and drilling the holes were the hardest parts of the installation process. It’s a lot of holes when they are spaced approximately 3-3/4” apart on a 150 linear foot roofline (about 480 of them!!!)

I also received inquiries about the best approach to obtaining a straight line professional look in drilling the channel. Some were uncomfortable with making a jig to use in the drilling process to obtain the straight, consistent holes. Others were eager to begin installation immediately upon receipt of their ColorBit Lighting Kits and unwilling to take the time to drill the holes.

So now we can save you time and effort with a pre-drilled vinyl channel that is ready to install upon receipt of the ColorBit products. It keeps getting easier with ColorBit Lights.

You could probably find a company to set up and install a system that would do all that for thousands of dollars. We simplified and improved the process for the DIYers that want permanent lights using our pre-drilled vinyl channel.

If you are ready to tackle your permanent holiday lights project soon, you can order your ColorBit Light Kit with the corresponding Vinyl Channel Bundle on our website. Get these professional grade products at DIY prices.

This is so convenient, you can take a weekend and get it done!

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