A quick glossary
The roof edge comes with vocabulary, and knowing them helps you read a quote. The fascia is the flat board facing you at the edge of the roof. The soffit is the underside, the panel you see when you stand under the overhang and look up. The eave is the part of the roof that hangs out past the house.Knowing the words will not be on a test, but it makes the quote readable. So when the plan says soffit mounted, you can picture it.
Why the track mounts at that line
Permanent lighting gets installed along rooflines and eaves because that line solves several problems at once. It is continuous, and a run that keeps breaking looks unfinished. It is high enough to throw light down the wall, and it is protected by the overhang above it.
The direction the light points
Where exactly the channel sits is not arbitrary. Mounted under the soffit, it throws down the face of the house, which lights the building itself. Mounted on the fascia, the run itself is what you see from the street. Which one is right depends on the house and on what you want it to do.Where the channel sits decides the reach down the wall, and that turns out to matter more than the brand of the hardware.
When the eave complicates things
Overhang depth is not standard, and it affects what is possible. Deeper
https://troyhqwx724.tearosediner.net/landscape-lighting-install-what-a-good-plan-looks-like-planning-a-landscape-lighting-installation is better for concealment, and can work against the wash you wanted. With little overhang, the choices narrow. This is why designs get drawn at the house rather than from a satellite image.
What the eave line does the rest of the year
A lit eave line does real work on a normal evening. It puts light on the walk, the drive and the front door, which makes the property easier to use and easier to find. It also keeps the house from disappearing after sunset.
A practical scheduling note
A lot of things live at the roof edge: the gutter, the drip edge, and the track. If a roof or a gutter replacement is anywhere on your horizon, mention it early. Doing it backwards costs a second visit. It is a five second question that saves a real headache.
Two story houses have two eave lines
A single story house presents one eave. Add a floor and there is a question to answer. The upper roofline is the line that reads from furthest away, since it sits against open air. A lower eave over a porch or a garage puts light nearer where people actually are, which is more useful and less dramatic. Running both is often the answer, though it does not have to happen in the same year.
Having your eave line looked at
Somebody needs to look at the actual roof edge to draw a plan worth anything. EverCrest Lighting installs permanent lighting along rooflines and eaves for homes and businesses across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, working out of Greenville. The consultation is free, and the design is drawn for your house. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].