Permanent Roofline Lights

Now that we're in a new house, redesigning basically the entire display is going to be necessary. It's a bit of a bummer that this has to be done so soon after designing the last display, but an evolving display was always in the cards, so that evolution is just going to be a bit more... aggressive this year!

However, first things first. We really enjoyed having the "permanent" lights up on the roofline for the previous several years, so we want to have that again. Perhaps something a bit more... polished? Something that looks a bit more like it's meant to be permanent? I guess there's nothing wrong with just draping 2" PVC pipe over the gutter, but we have EXPERIENCE now; we can do better than that!

I've been reading a bunch about various different methods of installing permanent lights on the roofline, so lots of different thoughts and approaches. However, three are really worth considering, in my opinion.

First, one clarification. I say "roofline", but I want something that looks a bit more polished and is generally kinda hidden and out of the way. At the last place, the white PVC blended well enough with the white gutters and trim, but you could still see all the pixels and, while it wasn't bad, we can do better.

Thus, the goal is to install the lights on the inside of the fascia with the lights facing downward, just peeking out past the fascia. Note that we don't have soffits, so the rear of the fascia is totally open. By installing this way, when the lights aren't on, they're almost invisible. This mounting also has a couple side benefits, the biggest one being that the lights are out of the elements; they won't be rained on, will be somewhat protected from the wind, and won't get direct sunlight.

So, let's talk about installation methods. As mentioned, there are four opions, and we'll go through them each.

First, there's LED strips with aluminum channels and diffusers. These generally look really good and polished since they are intended to be more visible. Also, due to the higher pixel density (sometimes much higher) animations and transitions look smoother, an effect which is enhanced by the diffuser. However, there are some things I don't like about them. First, power injection is a bit harder. It's not hard, but it requires soldering and stripping back some weatherproofing, then adding hot glue and heat shrink to make it weatherproof again. Second they're harder to repair; replacing a single pixel in a string is easy; in a strip, it's hard. Third, I haven't had much luck with the adhesive in them, so they could end up flopping around in the channel. Finally, not much room to run power injection wire in the channel to begin with.

Since strips themselves don't seem to be great, let's look at LED bullets. Using bullets (pixels, whatever) is familiar to me, and I know how to handle them, so that's a plus. Also... I have a bunch, so I don't have to buy more, which is a huge plus. Therefore, the next three options will use pixels.

Option 2 is using LED bullets with Permatrack. Permatrack is a purpose-built product for mounting these bullets to a house permanently. It seems to be simple to mount, has a channel for running wires, and - importantly - has predrilled holes for the pixels at a good spacing. They also look fantastic. This would provide less time from purchase to installation because I wouldn't have to build a jig and drill several hundred holes, and could be easier to install. However, this is the most expensive bullet mounting option, coming in around $4 per foot before tax or delivery, so let's keep looking.

For the third option, we can use PVC pipe and clips for the same. PVC is cheap and I have a bunch of it from the display last year, along with some clips. I'd have to order more (or print some), but they're not break-the-bank expensive. The main complaint I have with this method is the wiring is all out and not protected since the hole and bullet goes all the way through the PVC pipe (we're talking like 3/4" pipe). Since these will be behind the fascia, it's not horrible, but it just feels a bit unfinished. Also, drilling a straight line in a PVC pipe without it  curving is... tough.

The option I'm looking to go with is using J-channel. This is usually used at the end of vinyl siding up against windows and doors. Generally, it's fairly decorative, so it will look a bit better. Also, the J-channel will give a kind of cable raceway to add a bit of protection and tidiness to the cable runs. Since the J-channel has slots for the screws to go in, it's easy to make mini adjustments to the fit and finish, even after a screw has been installed. And finally, the flat bottom of the channel is a bunch easier to get a consistent line out of. J-channel is about $2 per foot, delivered.

So, now that we have that settled, I just need to buy the J-track, spend an ungodly amount of time drilling (checks notes) over 600 pixels, do some wiring to allow for power injection and all that, install the lights into the J-channels, and then install the J-channels. EZPZ. That is a problem for future me!