Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation designs and installs landscape lighting for homes in Reinholds. This corner of West Cocalico Township has old village homes, newer properties, and plenty of people who like being outside of an evening. We plan every design around your property. Free estimates arrive within a week, and repairs get scheduled in 1 to 2 weeks.
A Station Village Built by the Railroad
For years this place was known as Reinholds Station, and the name tells you exactly how it grew. The Reading and Columbia line reached here in 1864 after Civil War labour shortages delayed construction. Once trains ran, a general store, a hardware store, and a creamery followed within a few years.
That same line ran up through Stevens and on toward Sinking Spring, so we work this whole corridor regularly. Village homes from that era were built close to the road on modest lots, which shapes how they should be lit. Precision matters more than power on a lot like that.
Beyond String Lights
Plenty of people around here start with string lights over a patio, and there is nothing wrong with that. They throw a warm, sociable glow and they cost almost nothing to put up. If you have sat out under them on a summer evening, you already know the appeal.
What they do not do is the practical work. String lights sit above eye level and cast very little usable light downward, so steps, garden edges, and the walk in from the driveway stay dark. They also do nothing for how your house looks from the street. A proper system handles the footing and the facade, then the string lights keep doing what they are good at overhead. The two work together rather than competing.
Lighting Older Village Homes
Settlement here goes back to around 1727, and the older housing shows it. Solid brick and stone, deep porches, simple well-proportioned fronts, and the occasional building of real note like the old Trinity Chapel. Those materials reward a low, careful hand rather than a bright one.
Grazing light along brick or stone at a shallow angle lifts texture that flat daylight completely hides. Warm colour temperatures matter too, since cool white light drains the warmth out of older masonry and leaves it looking grey. On close-set village lots we use narrow beams and shielded fixtures so nothing spills next door. Often a single lit doorway does more than half a dozen fixtures scattered across a frontage.
Practical Light for Everyday Use
Before any of the decorative work, the routes you walk each night need to be safe. The path in from the driveway, the back steps, the side door by the kitchen, these are where a misstep actually happens. We light those first and light them consistently.
Path lights get spaced so their pools of light overlap instead of leaving dark gaps between them, since those gaps are what cause a stumble. Motion fixtures cover the spots you only pass occasionally, like a shed or a back gate. Timers handle the rest so nothing runs longer than it needs to.
Where Three Counties Meet
This township borders both Berks and Lebanon counties, which puts the village on the edge of three service areas at once. We cover all three regularly, so getting here is straightforward. Estimates come quickly and service visits are easy to schedule.
It also means we are used to slightly different requirements from one municipality to the next. We check what applies to your property before planning any work rather than assuming. Low-voltage lighting is straightforward in most places, but knowing where you stand is part of doing it properly.
Built for Lancaster County Weather
Summers here bring humidity and hard storms, and winters bring ice and repeated freezing. We install weather-rated fixtures with sealed connections that handle both without complaint. Low-voltage LEDs give warm, steady light while drawing very little power, so running costs stay minimal and failures stay rare.
Placement accounts for how a yard fills in through the growing season, because a fixture swallowed by shrubs come July is money wasted. If anything shifts or needs adjusting later, our crew comes back and sorts it.
Why Homeowners Here Call Evergreen
People in this village keep their properties in good order and expect a contractor to do the same. Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation works across this corner of the county, including nearby Rothsville. Here is what comes with your project:
- In business since 2001
- A team skilled in both irrigation and outdoor lighting
- A two year warranty on new installations
- Manufacturer warranties for added assurance
- Discounts for our military service members
- Maintenance on a quarterly, monthly, or seasonal schedule
- A locally owned, family-run approach to every job
A couple of fixtures or a whole property, the care does not change. We do the work right and stand behind it.
Frequently Asked Questions
I already have string lights over my patio. Do I still need landscape lighting?
They serve different jobs, so most people end up wanting both. String lights hang above eye level and throw a soft glow sideways, which is lovely for atmosphere but puts almost nothing usable on the ground. That means your steps, the edge of the patio, and the walk in from the driveway stay dark. A proper low-voltage system handles the footing and lights the house itself, then the string lights carry on doing what they do best overhead. We can plan the ground-level design around what you already have so the two look intentional together rather than fighting each other.
How do you light an older brick or stone home without it looking harsh?
The answer is angle and warmth rather than brightness. We set fixtures close to the base of the wall and aim them up at a shallow angle, which is called grazing. That throws every irregularity in the brick or stone into small sideways shadows, and suddenly the surface has real depth instead of reading flat. Colour temperature matters just as much, because cool white light strips the warmth out of older masonry and makes it look grey and lifeless. We use warm tones and keep the output modest, so the house looks well cared for rather than staged or floodlit.
My lot is narrow and my neighbour is close. Will the light bother them?
Not the way we install it. On close-set village lots we use narrow beam spreads and shielded fixtures, which means the light is directed at your property and the bulb itself stays out of anyone’s line of sight. Before we finish a job, we walk out and check the design from several vantage points, including from across the street and from the neighbouring property line, because something that looks fine from your own porch can be glaring from thirty feet away. Adjusting fixture height and aim at that stage takes minutes and prevents the sort of problem that is awkward to raise later.
What actually needs lighting first if I am working to a budget?
Start with the routes you use every single night, which almost always means the walk in from the driveway, any steps or level changes, and your main entry. Those are where people trip, and they are what you notice the absence of in January when it is dark by half four. Once that is handled, the next most valuable addition is usually a soft wash on the front of the house, since it lifts the whole property from the street for relatively little. Feature work like uplighting a tree or picking out a garden wall comes after. We size the transformer and wiring at the start so adding later is simple rather than a rebuild.
How long does the work take, and how disruptive is it?
Most residential projects run one to three days depending on the size of the property and how much wire has to be run. The trenching for low-voltage cable is shallow, usually just a few inches, so it is far less invasive than people expect and the turf recovers quickly. We plan wire routes around beds and existing plantings wherever possible to keep disturbance down. You get a clear schedule before we start, and the crew tidies the site fully at the end of each day rather than leaving it open.
Contact Us
Ready to get more out of your evenings outdoors? Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation is ready to help. We provide free estimates within a week, so you can move ahead quickly. With seasonal service and maintenance, your lighting keeps performing all year.
Contact us today to book your consultation and take the first step toward a beautifully lit property.