Your crew is coiling cords after a roofline install when the homeowner walks out and points down the driveway: “Is there anything you can do along here?” If your answer is stake lights or nothing, you are leaving one of the highest-margin add-ons in this business sitting in the truck. A row of lit arches turns a 60-foot driveway into a runway, and the whole thing is built from parts that cost less than a tank of gas.
I’ve been installing Christmas lights professionally since 2014, and PVC arches are one of the few upsells where the materials are almost free relative to what they add to the ticket. Here’s the exact build I teach.
What Do You Need to Build a PVC Christmas Light Arch?
Everything comes from a hardware store and your existing light stock. One trip buys enough for a whole season of arch upsells.
| Material (per arch) | Spec | Typical Cost |
|---|---|---|
| PVC conduit | 3/4-inch schedule 40, one 10-ft stick | $5–$8 |
| Rebar stakes | Two 18–24 in pieces of #4 rebar | $4–$6 |
| LED mini lights | Two 50-light 5mm wide-angle LED mini strings, 4-inch or 6-inch spacing | $14–$20 |
| Power feed | SPT-1 zip wire + vampire plugs (shared across the row) | $2–$3 per arch’s share |
That’s $25–$35 per arch. Skip incandescent minis entirely—LED is the only option worth putting your name on, and a whole row of LED arches barely registers on the meter. Gray electrical conduit bends more consistently than white plumbing PVC and hides better at night, but both work.
How Do You Build a 10-Foot PVC Arch?
No heat, no fittings, no glue. The pipe’s natural flex does all the work, and it springs back straight at takedown.
- Drive the first rebar stake 10–12 inches into the ground at the edge of the driveway, leaving 8–10 inches exposed.
- Drive the second stake 6 feet away, in line with the driveway edge. A 6-foot footprint on a 10-foot stick gives you an arch just under 4 feet tall—big enough to read from the street, small enough to survive wind.
- Wrap the pipe before you bend it. Spiral two 50-light mini strings around the stick from end to end—about a wrap every 4–5 inches. Pull each wrap snug and it holds itself; no tape, no ties.
- Slide one end of the pipe over the first stake, then flex the stick and slide the other end over the second stake. The tension locks it in place.
- Point the male plug at the power side of the run so every arch feeds the same direction. It saves you untangling cord logic in the dark.
First arch takes 20 minutes. By the fourth one your crew is under 12. Pre-wrap the pipes at the shop the same way you pre-bulb and pre-clip strands, and on-site work drops to stakes and pipe only.
How Do You Power a Row of Driveway Arches?
Ground level is the wettest place on the whole job, so the power plan matters more here than on the roof. Run a single length of SPT-1 zip wire along the base of the row and drop a vampire plug at each arch. One custom cord replaces a daisy chain of store-bought extensions, and SPT-1 handles it easily—10 amps under 50 feet, 7 amps on longer runs, and ten LED arches pull well under one amp combined.
Three rules keep the row lit through a wet December. Elevate every connection—clip it to the base of a stake so it sits off the grass, sockets facing down, with a drip loop. Never tape or seal a connection; tape traps water and turns a damp plug into a tripped circuit. And if the GFCI does trip, don’t start splitting runs—find the water. Keep a few portable GFCI adapters on the truck so one soggy connection never takes down the whole display. Mini strings chain a long way before amperage becomes a question—the same math from our strand limit guide applies: 40 LED mini strands stay under 2 amps. If the house side of the job needs a power plan too, start with how to run power for installations.
How Far Apart Should Driveway Light Arches Go?
One arch every 6–8 feet reads as a continuous runway from the street. Tighter than 6 feet looks cluttered; wider than 10 and the effect breaks into separate hoops. A 60-foot driveway takes 8–10 arches down one side—and one side is usually the right call. Lining a single edge frames the drive without crowding it, and it keeps the row on the lawn side where the stakes go in easy.
Two placement rules from the field. Arches never span the driveway itself—a 4-foot arch is a car-height problem, so the row runs alongside the pavement, or over a walkway where nobody drives. And match the color temperature to the house: if the roofline is warm white, warm white arches; a mismatched Kelvin on the ground reads as a mistake from the curb. Our color temperature guide covers how to keep the whole display on one Kelvin. For the wider design conversation—what goes where and why—see how to design a layout for any home. And stick with mini strings on the pipe: the same reason pros never use net lights on bushes applies to arches—wrapped minis follow the form; anything draped looks draped.
What Should You Charge for Christmas Light Arches?
Arches are an add-on, and they price like one: per arch, installed, takedown included—the same red-carpet service as the rest of the job.
| Item | Numbers |
|---|---|
| Materials per arch | $25–$35 |
| Install time per arch | 10–20 minutes with pre-wrapped pipes |
| Price per arch, installed | $150–$250 (my typical range) |
| Six-arch runway add-on | $1,197 |
Here’s a real-shaped worked example. A 60-foot ranch quotes at $1,847 for the roofline. On the walkthrough you point down the drive: “We’d run six lit arches along this edge—from the street it looks like a runway leading everyone home.” The six-arch add-on quotes at $1,197, and the ticket goes from $1,847 to $3,044 for about $180 in materials and an hour of crew time. That’s the same math that makes premium add-ons the fastest way to raise your average ticket without adding houses. Price the base job first with the Christmas light calculator, then layer the arches on top—the full bidding framework is in our contractor’s pricing breakdown.
Sell the Runway, Not the Pipe
Nobody buys PVC conduit. They buy the moment on Christmas Eve when the grandkids are in the back seat, the headlights swing off the road, and the whole driveway lights the way to the front door. The car goes quiet for a second—that’s what the arches are for. On the walkthrough, don’t describe the build; describe that drive home: “Every night in December, pulling in feels magical—like the house is welcoming everybody home.”
Arches also photograph better than almost anything else on the job, which makes them contest bait and referral bait at the same time—we put them in our display ideas that win contests for a reason. Pair the row with stake lighting along the walkway and the ground level of the display finally matches the roofline. If the driveway entrance has columns or an entry tree, wrap those too and the runway gets a gate.
What Happens at Takedown?
This is where arches beat almost every other add-on: takedown is minutes, not hours. Slide each pipe off its stakes, let it spring straight, pull the rebar, and store the pipes with the lights still wrapped on them—racked horizontally in the trailer or shop. Next season the whole runway goes back up in the time it takes to drive stakes. Label each house’s bundle and keep it with that customer’s tote, same as the rest of your between-season storage system. Bench-test the wrapped pipes at the shop before the season starts, replace any dark strings, and the arches become a renewable line item that sells itself year after year.
Related Guides
- Stake Lighting for Walkways and Landscapes
- How to Upsell Premium Add-Ons
- How to Run Power for Installations
- How to Design a Layout for Any Home
- 12 Display Ideas That Win Contests
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to build a PVC Christmas light arch?
About $25–$35 in materials: a 10-foot stick of 3/4-inch PVC conduit, two rebar stakes, and two 50-light LED mini strings. Installed, pros typically charge $150–$250 per arch with takedown included.
What size PVC do you use for Christmas light arches?
3/4-inch schedule 40 conduit is the sweet spot. Half-inch pipe flops in wind, and 1-inch fights you on the bend. A 10-foot stick bent to a 6-foot footprint stands just under 4 feet tall.
Can cars drive under Christmas light arches?
No. A residential PVC arch is about 4 feet tall, so the row runs alongside the driveway or over a walkway—never spanning pavement that cars use. The runway effect comes from the row, not from driving through it.
How many lights do you need per arch?
Two 50-light 5mm wide-angle LED mini strings—100 lights per arch at 4-inch or 6-inch spacing—wrapped in a snug spiral. LED only: a ten-arch row pulls well under one amp.
How do you store PVC light arches after the season?
Slide the pipes off the stakes, let them spring straight, and store them horizontally with the lights still wrapped on. Label each bundle by customer, bench-test before next season, and reinstalls take minutes per arch.
Jason Geiman has installed Christmas lights professionally since 2014 and is the founder of ChristmasLightsHQ, the #1 resource for professional Christmas light installers. He leads a 43,000+ member installer community and teaches contractors how to build profitable holiday lighting businesses. Gear up for arch season with 5mm wide-angle LED mini lights and pro-grade C9 LED Christmas lights, and see the full field-tested equipment list at christmaslights.io/tools.