Platypus Power Washing provides full-service Christmas light installation in Richmond, VA for homeowners who want a beautifully lit home without a single trip up the ladder. We supply commercial-grade LED lights, custom-fit them to your roofline, keep them glowing all season, take them down after the holidays and store them until next year. From the Fan to Short Pump to Midlothian, we bring the same care to your holiday display that we bring to every house we wash. Oddly good at what we do, and that includes making your home the brightest on the block.
Richmond takes its holiday lights seriously. The Tacky Light Tour, which local radio personality Barry “Mad Dog” Gottlieb started in 1987, has been a Richmond tradition ever since, and neighborhoods from Windsor Farms to Wyndham light up every December. Whether you want a clean, classic warm white roofline or a full display with wrapped trees and lit walkways, our team designs it around your home and handles every detail.
Our Christmas light installations start at $750 and include commercial-grade lights, installation, maintenance, takedown, and storage.
You'll know the exact cost before we install. Your quote covers design, lights, installation, maintenance, takedown and storage — no hidden fees, no surprises on the invoice.
We confirm your install window, let you know when our crew is on the way, and follow up once your display is live.
If you're not happy with how your display looks, we will come back and make it right — including in-season fixes — at no extra charge.
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“I had my (large) driveway cleaned, and it came out better than any previous driveway washing I've had done. I'm very happy with the results!”
Most homeowners do not want to own Christmas lights. They want the result: a perfectly lit house on the first cold night of the season, with nothing to untangle, fix or store. That is exactly what our holiday lighting service is built to deliver.
Every Platypus holiday lighting install includes:
Based on your home's architecture, your style and your budget.
Plus all clips, cords, timers and hardware, provided by us.
By our trained, insured team.
So a dark bulb or loose strand gets fixed fast.
Scheduled around your plans.
At our Richmond facility, so your custom-cut display is ready to go next year.
You never buy a box of lights, climb a ladder or wrestle a storage bin into the attic. When the season ends, your front yard looks exactly like it did before we arrived.
Tell us the look you are after, whether that is a clean warm white roofline, a bold multicolor display or something you saw down the street. We design around it instead of fitting you into a template.
Installs start at $750. Give us a number you are comfortable with above that and we will show you the best display we can build for it. No upselling and no pressure to add features you did not ask for.
A Fan row house, a Short Pump two-story and a Goochland estate all call for different plans. We measure your rooflines and features in person and quote what your property actually needs.
Start with the roofline this season and add wrapped trees or pathway lighting next year. Because your display is stored labeled to your home, changes are simple.
Tell us what you have in mind and we will design it. Call (804) 764-0046 for a free, no-pressure design consultation.
Tell us about your home by phone or through our quote form. We review your property, measure the rooflines and features you want lit, and send a custom design and quote. No pressure and no obligation.
Once you approve the design, we put you on the calendar. Install dates fill quickly in November, so earlier bookings get first pick.
Our team arrives with commercial-grade lights custom-cut to your home. We attach everything with clips designed for gutters and shingles, route cords neatly and connect to your outdoor outlet with a timer.
We test every strand, adjust spacing and alignment, and confirm your timer settings with you. Your display should look crisp and even from the curb.
If a section goes dark, a strand comes loose in the wind or a squirrel gets curious, call us. We will come back and fix it, typically within 48 hours.
After the holidays, we return on your schedule and remove every light, clip and cord. No nail holes, no adhesive residue, no mess.
Your lights are tested, labeled to your home and stored at our Richmond facility. Next season, your custom display goes right back up, faster and easier than the first year.
The foundation of any great display. We outline your gutter line, peaks, gables and ridgelines with C9 LEDs for a crisp architectural look you can see from down the street.
Wrapped trees add depth and warmth that a roofline alone cannot. We wrap trunks and canopies on mature trees and use net lights or mini lights on shrubs and hedges for an even glow.
Walkway stakes, lit spheres and landscape accents guide guests to your door and tie the whole display together.
The lights you see at a big-box store and the lights we install look similar on the shelf. On your roofline, the difference is obvious.
Commercial-grade C9 LED bulbs are brighter and more consistent. Many use multiple diodes per bulb instead of one, and professional strands are typically full-wave rectified, which reduces the faint flicker you sometimes notice with cheaper sets. The result is a clean, even glow from one end of your house to the other.
They are also built to last. Commercial bulbs use shatterproof acrylic or polycarbonate lenses instead of fragile glass, sit in sealed sockets and run on heavier wire with weather-resistant connectors. We cut each line to the exact length of your roofline, so there are no awkward bundles of extra cord hanging off the corner of your gutter. And because individual bulbs can be swapped, a single burned-out bulb never means replacing a whole strand.
LEDs are efficient, too. According to wattage figures from lighting supplier Christmas Designers, an LED C9 bulb draws about 0.96 watts, compared with 7 watts for an old incandescent C9, so even a large display adds very little to your electric bill.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's November 2024 holiday safety release reports about 160 holiday decorating-related injuries each day during the season, and nearly half involve falls. Our team uses proper ladders, stabilizers and safety practices so you never have to climb.
A typical DIY display eats an entire weekend to put up and another to take down. We handle both in a fraction of the time.
Even spacing, straight lines and hidden cords are hard to achieve from a ladder with retail lights. Custom-cut commercial lines make it look effortless.
No ladders, no tangled bins, no replacing dead strands every year.
If something goes out mid-season, it is our problem, not yours.
We are an established Richmond exterior services company, based on Dabney Road and serving homeowners across Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, Goochland and Powhatan. Thousands of hours on ladders and rooflines washing Richmond homes taught us how to work carefully around gutters, shingles, siding and landscaping. Holiday lighting puts that experience to work in the most festive way possible.
Why the platypus? Because it is the most unexpectedly capable animal on the planet, and we like to think we are the same. Oddly good at what we do. Our approach is “Low pressure. High standards.” That means no hard sell, clear upfront quotes and a finished display that looks like it was designed for your home, because it was.
When you choose Platypus, you get:
We use clips designed to grip gutters and shingles, never fasteners that puncture your roof, trim or siding.
Platypus Power Washing is fully licensed and insured, and our installers are trained on ladder safety and proper attachment methods.
Many homes in the Fan, the Museum District and Church Hill have slate or older roofs. We plan installs to avoid walking on surfaces that can crack, the same care we use for our slate-safe roof cleaning.
We plug into outdoor GFCI-protected outlets, use outdoor-rated cords and timers, and never overload a circuit.
When we take everything down in January, we remove every clip and cord and leave your property exactly as we found it.
Central Virginia winters are unpredictable. One week brings 60-degree sunshine, the next brings freezing rain, gusty wind or a surprise coating of wet snow. Lights that look fine on day one can sag, short out or blow loose by mid-December if they are not installed for those swings.
We use sealed, weather-resistant connections, secure every clip and plan cord routing so water drains away from plugs. If a storm does knock something loose, our all-season maintenance covers it. Your display is designed to look as sharp on New Year's Eve as it did the night we turned it on.
Here is something most lighting companies will not tell you: lights look their best on a clean house. Pollen, mildew and algae streaks show up surprisingly well under a warm white roofline, and clips sit better on gutters that are clear of fall leaves.
Because Platypus is also Richmond's power washing team, we can prep your home before your lights go up. Add a house washing and gutter cleaning to your lighting design and we will schedule them ahead of installation, so your home looks its best for holiday photos, parties and every car that slows down to admire it.
The Fan, Museum District, Church Hill, Windsor Farms, Monument Avenue, Westover Hills, Forest Hill, Bellevue, Ginter Park and Northside.
Short Pump, Glen Allen, Wyndham, Twin Hickory, Tuckahoe, Three Chopt, Innsbrook, Lakeside and Varina.
Midlothian, Bon Air, Brandermill, Woodlake, Hallsley, Founders Bridge, RounTrey, Chester and Moseley.
Mechanicsville, Ashland, Atlee and Rockville.
Manakin-Sabot, Centerville, Kinloch and Goochland Courthouse.
Powhatan Courthouse, the Huguenot Trail corridor and surrounding communities.
Do not see your neighborhood? If you are in the Richmond metro, we almost certainly serve you. Call (804) 764-0046 to confirm.
Our Christmas light installations start at $750 and include commercial-grade lights, installation, maintenance, takedown, and storage.
Every display is quoted individually, because no two Richmond homes are the same. Your price depends on:
And other features you want lit.
Including two- and three-story homes.
Slate and steep roofs require extra care.
Wrapped trees and shrubs, pathway lighting and other accents added to the design.
How much of the home you light, and how detailed the design is.
Your quote includes the lights, installation, all-season maintenance, takedown and storage. There is nothing extra to buy. Returning customers enjoy a simpler, faster install in year two because their display is already custom-cut and labeled. For our standard exterior cleaning rates, see our pricing page.
Installation dates are first come, first served. We begin installing in early November and schedule through mid-December, and the most popular dates before Thanksgiving fill first. Takedowns begin after New Year's Day and run through January. The earlier you reserve, the more control you have over your dates.
Ready to get on the calendar? Call (804) 764-0046 or request your free quote online.
The heart of what we do.
Richmond power washing service area →
The Fan · Museum District · Carytown · Scott's Addition · Church Hill · Oregon Hill · Manchester · Shockoe Bottom · Westover Hills · Northside · Lakeside
Richmond's largest neighbor.
Henrico power washing service area →
Short Pump · Glen Allen · Lakeside · Sandston · Tuckahoe · Innsbrook · West End
South of the river and everywhere in between.
Chesterfield power washing service area →
Midlothian · Chester · Colonial Heights · Bon Air · Swift Creek · Brandermill · Woodlake
North of the city, never out of reach.
Hanover power washing service area →
Mechanicsville · Ashland · Atlee · Montpelier · Hanover Courthouse
A little further out — still worth every mile.
Goochland power washing service area →
Powhatan power washing service area →
Goochland · Maidens · Powhatan · Moseley · Fine Creek
Don't see your area?
Call us at (804) 764-0046 to confirm we serve your location.
This year, skip the ladder, the tangled strands and the January cleanup. Install dates fill fast once November arrives. Call (804) 764-0046 today and we will get your home on the calendar.
Step 1 of 2
Tell us about your project and we'll get back to you fast!
