DIY is cheaper the first year and more expensive by the third. That is the honest version. If you have a single story ranch, a decent ladder, and a free Saturday, hanging your own lights in Mokena makes real sense. If you have a two story home, a steep pitch, or a schedule that already feels full, hiring it out is the better trade and it is not close.
Quick gut check. Single story, short roofline, you already own a ladder you trust, and you enjoy the project? Do it yourself.
Two story, over about 120 feet of roofline, or you have said the words I should really get that done three Novembers in a row? Hire it out.
Side By Side
| DIY | Professional | |
|---|---|---|
| First year cash out | $400 to $800 for lights, clips, cords and a ladder | $800 to $1,500 for a typical Mokena home |
| Three year total | $900 to $1,600 with replacement strands | Same per season, nothing to replace |
| Your time, install | 6 to 10 hours plus store trips | Zero |
| Your time, takedown | 2 to 4 hours in January cold | Zero |
| Storage | Four bins in your garage or attic | Ours, off site |
| When a section fails | You go up the ladder again | Call us, fixed at no charge |
| Risk | You on a ladder in November | Insured crew, two people |
| Look | Store strand lengths, visible gaps | Custom cut to your roofline |
The Money, Honestly
Year one DIY genuinely is cheaper. Call it $250 to $450 for enough decent quality strands to cover a front elevation, $60 to $100 for clips and outdoor extension cords, a timer, and $150 to $300 if you need a ladder tall enough to do the job safely. That is $400 to $800 out the door and a lot of it is reusable.
The math changes in year two and three. Consumer grade strands are typically rated for a few seasons and they rarely make it that far when they get stored in a hot attic. Most people replace a meaningful chunk of their set every two to three years. Add that in and DIY over three seasons lands somewhere around $900 to $1,600, with all the labor still on you.
Professional pricing does not compound the same way, because you are renting a service rather than accumulating equipment. See the full breakdown in our Mokena cost guide or run your own numbers on the cost estimator.
The Time
This is the number people underestimate the most. A first time DIY install on an average Mokena front elevation runs six to ten hours, and that is if nothing goes wrong. Add the trip to the store when you run short by fifteen feet, the second trip for the clips that do not fit your gutter, and the evening spent figuring out why one section is dark.
Then January. Two to four hours on a ladder in Illinois winter, taking down the thing you were excited about in November. Almost nobody enjoys that part.
The Safety Part
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates roughly 14,900 people were treated in emergency departments for holiday decorating injuries during the 2023 season, which works out to about 160 a day. Falls are consistently the largest category, and ladders are the single biggest contributor.
Illinois adds its own complications. Frost on shingles in the morning. Wind coming across the open ground west of Wolf Road. Gutters that flex when you lean a ladder on them. None of that is a reason nobody should ever climb a ladder, but it is worth being honest about what you are doing when you go up alone in November with nobody spotting you.
Our crews work in pairs, carry insurance, and do this several hundred times a season. That is the actual product you are buying.
Why Professional Displays Look Different
Two reasons, and neither is about the crew being artistic.
- Custom cut runs. Store bought strands come in fixed lengths. Your roofline does not. That mismatch is why DIY displays end with a dark eighteen inches at the corner of the garage, or with a doubled up section where two strands overlap.
- Commercial grade bulbs. C9 bulbs on a professional set sit at consistent spacing, point the same direction, and hold their color. Consumer strands drift toward a mix of blue white and yellow white as sections age at different rates.
Who Should Actually Do It Themselves
We would rather tell you the truth than sell you something you do not need. DIY makes sense if most of these are true.
- Single story home, and you can reach the whole roofline from a ladder on level ground.
- Under about 100 linear feet of roofline.
- You already own a ladder rated for your weight plus what you are carrying.
- Somebody can foot the ladder for you.
- You actually like the project. Some people do, and that is a real thing worth protecting.
Who Should Hire It Out
- Two story homes, and especially anything with peaks or dormers. More on that in our two story Mokena guide.
- Steep pitch, or a roofline you cannot reach without walking the roof.
- Over about 120 linear feet.
- Anybody over 60, or anyone with balance, knee or shoulder issues. This is the most common reason Mokena customers call us for the first time.
- Anybody whose November is already full.
A Middle Option Worth Knowing About
If the yearly cycle is the part you hate, permanent track lighting installs once and stays up year round, invisible in daylight and programmable for the holidays and everything else. It costs more up front and less over ten years. Details on our permanent lighting page.
Get A No Obligation Estimate
No pressure and no site visit needed. Send your address through the contact form or call (815) 650-0397 and we will measure your roofline on satellite and send a written number the same day. If the number tells you DIY is the right call for your house, that is a fine outcome.
Green Pro Services is locally owned out of Kankakee with more than 100 five star Google reviews across Kankakee, Will and Cook County. We serve Mokena, New Lenox and Frankfort on the same route. We also handle roof cleaning if those black streaks are going to show up in your holiday photos.
More On Christmas Lights In Mokena
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your house. For a single story ranch under about 100 feet of roofline where you already own a good ladder, DIY is a reasonable call. For two story homes, steep pitches, rooflines over about 120 feet, or anyone who would rather not be on a ladder in November, professional installation is the better trade because it covers the labor, the equipment, in season repairs, takedown and storage.
Year one typically runs $400 to $800 in Mokena for strands, clips, outdoor extension cords, a timer, and a ladder tall enough to work safely. Over three seasons the total usually lands between $900 and $1,600 because consumer grade strands generally need partial replacement every two to three years, especially when stored in an unconditioned attic.
It carries real risk. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates about 14,900 emergency department visits for holiday decorating injuries during the 2023 season, roughly 160 a day, with falls the largest category and ladders the biggest single contributor. Frost on shingles, wind, and flexing gutters make second story work in Illinois harder than it looks. If you do it yourself, never work alone.
Two reasons. Professional runs are custom cut to your exact roofline, so there are no dark gaps at the end of a run and no doubled up overlaps. And commercial grade C9 bulbs hold consistent spacing, orientation and color temperature across the whole display, where consumer strands drift toward a mix of shades as sections age.
No. We install our own commercial grade LED lights only, which is what allows us to guarantee the display for the full season and repair anything that fails at no charge. We cannot warranty hardware we did not supply.
Most single story Mokena homes are done in two to four hours. Two story homes with peaks and multiple wrapped trees typically take four to seven hours with a two person crew. You do not need to be home for any of it.
Get A No Obligation Estimate
No pressure and no site visit. Send your address and we will send a written number the same day. If DIY is the right call for your house, that is a fine outcome.
Locally owned exterior cleaning and Christmas light installation serving Kankakee County, Will County and Cook County, Illinois.
(815) 650-0397
407 S. Yates Ave, Kankakee, IL 60901
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