Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation designs and installs landscape lighting for homes in Orwigsburg. This borough holds some of the oldest buildings in the county and looks after them, which sets the standard for anything we put on a property here. Free estimates arrive within a week, and repairs get scheduled in 1 to 2 weeks.
The Town That Kept Its Buildings
Peter Orwig laid this place out in the 1790s, and it became the first incorporated borough in Schuylkill County along with its first county seat. The first courthouse, the first academy, the first Masonic lodge, all of it started here. Then the railroad reached Pottsville, the seat moved in 1851, and the boom went with it.
That turned out to be a kind of preservation. Without the money to knock things down and start again, the borough kept its early architecture, and it is still standing and still cared for. The cupola off the old 1815 courthouse was even saved and worked into the Community Memorial Hall. Electric light did not arrive until 1910, so most of these buildings spent a century being seen by lamplight and daylight only.
Planning for the Festival of Lights
A town that puts on its own Festival of Lights tends to have residents who decorate, and that is worth thinking about while a system is being designed rather than every December afterward.
The usual scene is an extension lead run out a window and a timer plugged into it. It works, barely, and it means the same wrestling match every year. Building for it at the outset is straightforward. We can position weather-rated outlets where you actually decorate, at the porch, along the front bed, near the tree you always do. A switched zone lets seasonal lighting run on its own schedule without touching the permanent scheme.
Some homeowners go further and have discreet fixtures mounted permanently along the roofline, which sit unnoticed for eleven months and save the ladder work entirely. Whether or not you go that far, having power in the right places makes December a great deal easier.
What the Fixtures Are Actually Made Of
This is the part nobody asks about and everybody should. Two fixtures can look identical in a catalogue and have completely different lifespans once they are in the ground.
Solid brass and copper are the materials worth paying for outdoors. Neither rusts, both develop a patina over the years rather than degrading, and a good brass fixture will still be working when the second owner of the house takes over. Copper in particular goes from bright penny to soft brown to green, and most people come to prefer the older look.
Cast aluminum sits in the middle. Powder-coated it performs perfectly well, though a chip in the coating lets corrosion start underneath and spread beneath the paint. Thin stamped metal and plastic housings are the ones that disappoint, going brittle in the cold and cloudy at the lens within a few seasons.
Because this is a borough where people keep things properly, we lean toward brass and copper where the budget allows. The cost difference shows up once. The performance difference shows up for twenty years.
Close-Set Lots and Old Housing Stock
Homes here sit near one another, and much of the stock is older brick and frame with detail worth picking out. Precision matters more than power. Narrow beams and shielded fixtures keep the light on your property rather than in the window opposite.
Warm color temperature is essential on buildings of this age. Cool white light drains the warmth from old brick and leaves it looking grey and flat. We keep output modest and tones warm, and we check the result from the pavement before calling it finished.
Made for Weather Up Here
Summers turn humid with hard storms and winters bring ice and repeated freezing. Everything is fitted weather-rated with sealed connections so both seasons pass without incident. Low-voltage LEDs hold warm, steady output on very little power, which counts most through the long dark stretch.
Placement accounts for how a yard fills in. A fixture swallowed by planting come July has stopped earning its keep, and one set near a lawn edge will meet a mower soon enough. We work out where each one needs to sit a couple of seasons ahead.
Every Job Comes With
This is a borough that notices care taken and care skipped. Working with Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation means:
- A firm that has worked at this trade without a break since 2001
- Proper depth in irrigation as well as outdoor lighting
- Fresh installation work covered by a two year warranty
- Fixtures carrying their own manufacturer warranty behind that
- Reduced pricing for veterans and serving military personnel
- Upkeep visits set quarterly, monthly or by the season
- Family ownership, run from here rather than head office
The same holds on work in Schuylkill Haven and Pottsville, whatever the scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the fixture material really make a difference?
More than almost anything else in the specification. Solid brass and copper do not rust, and instead of degrading they take on a patina, so a good brass fixture can outlast the people who bought it. Copper shifts from bright to brown to green, and most owners end up preferring it aged.
Powder-coated cast aluminum is a reasonable middle option, though any chip in the coating lets corrosion creep along underneath the paint. The ones to avoid are thin stamped metal and plastic bodies, which go brittle in cold weather and cloud at the lens within a few seasons. You pay the difference once and live with the consequences for two decades.
Can holiday lighting be built into the plan?
Yes, and it saves a great deal of annoyance later. We position weather-rated outlets where people actually decorate, at the porch, in the front bed, near whichever tree gets used every year. A switched zone then lets seasonal lighting run on its own timing without disturbing the permanent scheme.
If you would rather stop climbing ladders altogether, discreet permanently mounted fixtures along the roofline are an option. They sit unnoticed the rest of the year. Even without going that far, having power in the right spots changes December completely.
Will lighting damage an older building?
It should not, and low-voltage systems suit old properties well. They run at twelve volts, the cable is shallow-buried instead of chased into masonry, and fixtures usually sit in beds or lawn rather than being fixed to the fabric of the house. Anything we do fit is chosen to be reversible.
What color of light suits old brick?
Warm white, in the 2700K to 3000K range. Cooler light above 4000K reads blue and clinical, and it pulls the warmth straight out of aged brick so the wall looks grey. Keep the tone consistent across an elevation too, since mixing warm and cool on one facade always looks unintentional.
How soon can you get to us?
Estimates are free and arrive within a week. Most installs run one to three days depending on the design. You get the schedule before we begin, and the site is left clean.
Contact Us
Ready to see the house properly once the light goes? Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation is ready to help. Estimates cost nothing and come quickly. With seasonal upkeep on offer, the system holds up year after year.
Contact us today to arrange your consultation.