Florida Property Prep

[Michael B]

I thought I would start a discussion about getting our houses and yards ready for display set-up. After a long hot, wet summer Floridians usually need a little extra work for display time. ( I live in Eustis, FL, in Central Florida.)

Here is what I do and when: I need to clean and organize the garage and then pull down the display items from the attic.The garage part will happen as soon as the temps get a little cooler. Hopefully sometime in the next two weeks. Then the attic. I like to work in the attic in the early morning. This gives the attic the whole night to cool off.

When temps are cooler I will start to clear under the trees. This will take a week. I cut low small branches and clean up the tree trunks. I clear the ground around each tree and remove any new tall weed, vine, or new tree growth.

I start setting-up the first Saturday in November. Right before, I find a warmer day to pressure wash the house and drive way. If I don't, the lights will highlight the mold, spiderwebs, and dirt. Yuk!

The last thing I do is the final mow. This happens either very late November or Early December. I install lights on house and roof, bushes, and over 60 tree trunks. When installing lights I only use one extension cord. I want to leave the grass free for the final mow. The day before or the day of installing all the ground decorations, I mow the grass on the lowest setting I can safely mow. Then, I install ground decorations.

What do you do for property prep?

(I posted this on PC, but wanted to post it here, too. Several of my Christmas friends don't visit PC anymore.)

[Orville]

Since I do both Halloween and Christmas, I have to work in the heat going to storage to pull out items, and there are still some I need to get for Halloween this year as well as get to the Christmas decor. Don't own the property, just the home it sits on {wish they would sell the property}, but I'm in a manufactured home park and they take care of the lawn. Which is going to be very interesting on how things are going to work out when I start putting up the Halloween decor around the 20th Sept. 2012, seeing I'm going to have to try and keep the outside community hired lawn idiots here away from the power/extension cords lying along the ground going to each item.

Had thought about buying some oversized PVC I could just lie on top of the ground, but the yahoos that cut the lawns in the park here WILL run over anything in their path. So I'm not sure how that would work, or if it would work and not sure how well that would look lying near display items either.

So this years display is going to be a challenge, even though I've asked the office staff to tell the lawn crews NOT to do my lawn starting October 1, 2012 September 20, 2012{When I start putting things out and running wires} through January 5, 2013, and that I would take care of it. But, again, they can tell them NOT to do something, but these idiots never listen and do what they want.

Other than that, not much prepping the yard for me anymore. Just figuring out where I can put things, especially power/extension cords to keep the lawn crew away from electrocuting themselves running over those power/extension cords that may still be carrying LIVE current.

Edited September 15, 2012 by Orville

[scubado]

Anything I do outside has the show in mind. I'd love to trim my large Maple tree up, but all the branches gives me anchor points for all the drip lights going up in the trees this year. Early next year I will then trim the tree. Next year I hope to replace a bedroom window (now office) with a larger window that will work for projector use and give the show side of the house a better look.

[Mark Porter]

I live in So Central PA and by early November (usually) my grass has gone dormant and the trees are loosing their leaves. I mow the yard (about 1/3 acre) one last time and begin the layout of the year's display in late October. (Except for last year when we got 6 inches of snow for Halloween). My display is all on the yard less the four color channels of flood lights I 'wash' the facade of the house. Also, I live on a corner and the house is angled to the corner so I basically build two displays the mirror each other. That way the person watching the show sees everything no matter where they are standing. The best seat in the house (literally) is looking out through the front door.

[Michael B]

Anything I do outside has the show in mind. I'd love to trim my large Maple tree up, but all the branches gives me anchor points for all the drip lights going up in the trees this year. Early next year I will then trim the tree. Next year I hope to replace a bedroom window (now office) with a larger window that will work for projector use and give the show side of the house a better look.

Jim, I stand at the road and see which limbs are "messin'" with my view and trim them if I can.

[chipwdw]

if it stops raining long enough... trim bushes & trees, check all outlets and speakers, then begining in nov set up & check controllers and start setting up lights on the house. in mid nov i'll put up mega tree (with help from friends should be able to have it up a running in one day!!!). if all goes as planned everything will be up and running 7-10 days before thanksgiving. then i can adjust / fix any sequences. i am adding 4 8ch arched this year, but i think that will be easy.... i hope

[Orville]

if it stops raining long enough... trim bushes & trees, check all outlets and speakers, then begining in nov set up & check controllers and start setting up lights on the house. in mid nov i'll put up mega tree (with help from friends should be able to have it up a running in one day!!!). if all goes as planned everything will be up and running 7-10 days before thanksgiving. then i can adjust / fix any sequences. i am adding 4 8ch arched this year, but i think that will be easy.... i hope

Yea, tell me about the rain, good grief.

Been working on building up the Halloween Display since this past Monday 9/17 to start on 10/1 and the rains have kept me from completing some things that I'd have already had set up and in place by now.

And now the mosquitoes are coming out in droves, making it very difficult to do anything in the early or even late evening hours. Early morn, the skeeters haven't been any less either. Think I'm gonna need a transfusion if they keep this up.

I don't think all the frogs and lizards in my garden are doing their job to eliminate the skeeter population around here.

[jldavis1969]

I don't think all the frogs and lizards in my garden are doing their job to eliminate the skeeter population around here.

I think you need more dragonflys too!

[chipwdw]

those blood suckers were so bad a work the other night, it felt like a sting from hornets/bees. the ground is so wet i think they are just in grass, let alone the ponds!!! we need a good clod front to kill them all. used a whole can of bug spray the other night trying to build arches.

[k6ccc]

... I'm going to have to try and keep the outside community hired lawn idiots here away from the power/extension cords lying along the ground going to each item.

Had thought about buying some oversized PVC I could just lie on top of the ground, but the yahoos that cut the lawns in the park here WILL run over anything in their path. So I'm not sure how that would work, or if it would work and not sure how well that would look lying near display items either.

Don't put it in PVC - use galvanized pipe.

I had a problem with my neighbors lawn idiots (I like that term) that kept mowing over a PVC sprinkler pipe that had become exposed at the top of a slope between the two yards. After about the 3rd time that I had to repair it, instead of glueing in yet another section of PVC, I installed about 10 feet of galvanized pipe. Sure enough, the next time the lawn idiots mowed next door, I hear this really loud clanking noise as the mower hit the galvanized pipe. He had to stop and replace the blade on his mower. Amazingly enough, avoiding that pipe all of a sudden became a priority for the guy. Never hit it again. He learned - maybe he was not that much of an idiot after all...

In your case, you might want to paint it green so it at least comes close to matching the lawn. Shouldn't show too badly that way.

[EARLE W. TALLEY]

I call them lawn jockeys, their butts are glued to the seat of the mowers, "full speed ahead and anything in the way run over it" that's their motto.

[Orville]

I think you need more dragonflys too!

Lots of them around here, especially during the daylight hours, but seems they all disappear after it gets dark!

However, did see a couple of bats dive bombing for them last night.

But good grief are the mosquitoes really bad, think this is the worst I've seen in a very long time.

[Orville]

Don't put it in PVC - use galvanized pipe.

I had a problem with my neighbors lawn idiots (I like that term) that kept mowing over a PVC sprinkler pipe that had become exposed at the top of a slope between the two yards. After about the 3rd time that I had to repair it, instead of glueing in yet another section of PVC, I installed about 10 feet of galvanized pipe. Sure enough, the next time the lawn idiots mowed next door, I hear this really loud clanking noise as the mower hit the galvanized pipe. He had to stop and replace the blade on his mower. Amazingly enough, avoiding that pipe all of a sudden became a priority for the guy. Never hit it again. He learned - maybe he was not that much of an idiot after all...

In your case, you might want to paint it green so it at least comes close to matching the lawn. Shouldn't show too badly that way.

Well it may not look the best, but I ended up stringing the extension/power cords about 6"-8" above ground level on the wooden stakes holding the plastic chains and orange and purple LED strings zip tied to the chains along the top. Will probably see about buying some type of Halloween themed garland, and then just zip tie it to the cords, so I can try and disguise them in some way going back to the controller.

So hopefully this will prevent any mishaps, but with these folks, it's definitely questionable whether it works out or not. Will know on Monday when they come to do the mowing and see what happens. If it doesn't, may have to use thatr galvanized pipe and hopefully once they damage a blade, they'll learn from it. But with these, I do have some doubts.

And I sure wish a really COLD cold front would come in here and drop the temps to about 65-68 degrees here in Florida! It's been so dang hot outside doing my display stuff I keep having to come in almost every 20-30 minutes to take a break and get out of the heat. Don't mind working outside if there's a breeze and a very light misty rain, as long as no lightning. Unfortunately when it rains it seems to come down hard and usually with lightening. Then I have to wait another day and for things to dry out again before I can continue setting up. What a P.I.T.A. this is.

Of course it'd be nice if there would have been some shade trees around my house, but don't have any of those either.

[chipwdw]

ah, the weather is finally starting to cool off around here. i know we in the sunshine state shouldnt complain, but 90+ degrees in october is just plain silly. had the first temps in the 60's the other night/morning. so nice, of course there was t-storms on several of my past few days off but thats life here.

[magish01]

Yeah here in So. Calif. we are into our 4th summer of the year. After 70's last week we are back to over 100 today!

[Michael B]

Yeah here in So. Calif. we are into our 4th summer of the year. After 70's last week we are back to over 100 today!

Here in Florida summer and Fall are battling it out! One day it feels like summer with the heat and the humidity and the next day it feels so nice and cool. Crazy...

[shfr26]

If the weather keeps up like this, I'll have to mow at least two more times before setup.

[David Rise]

Hardly any rain at all in Southern Brevard county.

I need to clear out the garage, so that I can bring stuff over from the storage unit, get things down from the attic, and have a place to keep everything until the season is over.

I wait until around Halloween to cut the grass one last time before set up begins.

I still have cords for my strobes to make. Oh and I keep forgetting to drill holes in the lens....crud!

[Michael B]

Hardly any rain at all in Southern Brevard county.

I need to clear out the garage, so that I can bring stuff over from the storage unit, get things down from the attic, and have a place to keep everything until the season is over.

I wait until around Halloween to cut the grass one last time before set up begins.

I still have cords for my strobes to make. Oh and I keep forgetting to drill holes in the lens....crud!

I had great luck with melting a hole with a soldering iron.

[John (oldandslow)]

Make sure if you have a chemical service that you stop it or they will spray everthing with weed and bug killer. That is like putting acid on your display.

John