How To Install LED Light Strip In 5 Minutes

It’s the most wonderful time of the year— to learn how to install LED light strips!

No, this guide isn’t for your Tik Tok videos (although it could be). Many homeowners see the appeal of these LED fixtures for different areas in their homes. They’re less harsh than overhead lights, simple to install, and they won’t give you away when you sneak into the kitchen for a midnight snack. 

So, just in time for the holidays, let us break down why, where, and how to install LED lights. 

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5 Clever LED Light Strip Ideas

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LED Light strips are relatively affordable; you can find a 100-foot roll on Amazon for about $20-$30. 

As a home inspector, I’ve come to learn that this little accessory (which is usually for decoration) is a pretty handy tool! Because you can adjust the brightness and even the length of the area that needs lighting, it’s pretty efficient for those hard-to-see areas.

We’ve seen a few creative LED light strip uses both in homes and used by professionals. Here are some ideas on how you can use them for yourself!

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#4: LED Light Strips for Cars

When I started researching LED lights, cars were the last thing from my mind. When I think of LED lights in cars, I think about people installing colored strips that coordinate with their stereo. 

Kinda cool, but not really necessary, right?

However, these easy-to-install lights have come in handy for on-the-go professionals like myself. We drive a pickup truck for work, and while we’re usually pretty tidy with our tools, sometimes things get buried.

Installing a short (I’m talkin’ maybe a foot) LED strip in the back of your truck bed or underneath your front seats can help you locate those loose items that go amiss while driving around. 

Bonus LED Light Strip Idea: Get them for your toolbox!

#3: Home Lighting

We’ve inspected our fair share of homes in Florida. Lately, it’s quite evident that LED lights are becoming quite popular!

Besides your teenagers wanting these strips for their ceiling lighting (it’s the Tik Tok way!), you can steal a couple of yards of lights for yourself.

Here are some clever areas we’ve seen homeowners install LED light strips: 

  • Under kitchen counters or inside cabinets
  • Along the staircase
  • Behind TVs
  • Around a vanity mirror
  • In dark corners of a garage/shed

#2: Outdoors

These lights are not only flexible and easy to install, but there are waterproof options, too! This makes them the perfect accessory for outdoor things like:

  • Camping 
  • Boats
  • Outdoor parties
  • Bikes

#1: Holiday Decoration

So this one is a pretty obvious LED light strip idea. But it’s almost Halloween when we’re writing this, so it seemed worth a mention. 

If you’ve ever used these versatile lights for decoration, now you know that they don’t have to go to waste the rest of the year! Instead of packing away your waterproof LED light strip in your Christmas box, repurpose it for the areas around your house that we mentioned earlier.

 

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How To Install LED Light Strip In 5 Minutes

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Now that you have some ideas on where you can use 100 feet of LED lights throughout your house, let’s get into the confusing part: how to install an LED light strip.

Don’t worry; it’s way more straightforward than it looks. It should only take you 5 minutes to install!

Step 1. Peel and Stick

We recommended doing this before figuring out where to cut the LED strip because it’ll be easier to determine how much you want to use. You can also pre-measure the surface area where the lights will go and make a note of how much you’ll need. 

Let’s say you purchased this 100-foot spool of LED lights from Amazon. How do you install them?

First, pick where you want them to be; let’s say you’re putting up lights underneath your kitchen counters. Make sure you clean the area with a dry cloth to get rid of dust. We also recommend placing your lights on a smooth surface for a more secure installation.

Next, unravel the strip so that it matches the length of your counter. These lights have an adhesive back, so you’ll just need to peel the backing off and stick it where you want it to live. 

Only do this one foot at a time. Press firmly along the light strip as you go to make sure it’s fastened securely to the surface.

Step 2. Where To Cut LED Strips

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This is the part that throws everyone for a loop. Most people realize that you can’t just cut a wire anywhere without risking damaging the entire circuit. 

Fortunately, these LED strips come with pre-soldered sections so you can choose your light length at varying intervals.

You’ll find copper-colored markings (see above) throughout your LED light strip. Simply choose your length and cut a vertical line through the designated copper area. 

Note: Make sure you cut a straight line! A crooked cut could prevent your LED light strip from working correctly.

Step 3. Lights, Camera, Action

Once your strip is cut and put into place, you need to connect it to the main power supply unit (the receiver).

This little unit (white or black) should come with your lights. It will have 3 or 4 “pins” sticking out of it. Connect this to the cable at the beginning of your light strip. Then, connect the receiver box to your electrical outlet and watch your lights come to life!

It’s all plug-and-play.

Here’s a great tutorial on how to install LED light strips. However, we don’t recommend twisting the strip to get around corners, which could damage your lights. Read the next section for a better solution!

 

Step 4. How To Install LED Light Strip Connectors

If you want to run lights across a large area, it may require you to use LED light strip connectors. Think of them like elbows you’d use for PVC piping. They help the lights span across uneven surfaces, corners, and other obstacles you may find when installing your lights.

To go around corners, you can purchase additional LED connectors. There are flexible L-shaped, gapless, and T-shape connectors. All you’ll need to install these LED strips together is a connector clip (usually comes packaged together). Simply snap each strip into the connector and click them into place!

Naturally, if you want to place LEDs in a completely different area, then chances are, they won’t be able to connect to the main power supply unit or receiver that came with your lights.

In that case, you can purchase a separate power supply bank to attach the lights to. Here’s a tutorial on how to install an LED light strip to a power supply bank. 

RELATED: HOW TO FIND A STUD IN A PLASTER WALL

We hope this short tutorial on installing LED light strips comes in handy for all you homeowners out there! If you want more handy DIY tips from your favorite home inspection company, make sure to catch up on our Homeowners section of our website!

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I Have Plaster Walls in My House — Now what? A Guide on How To Handle Plaster Walls

While inspecting homes across the Central Florida area, we run into various versions of this question all of the time: What’s the difference between plaster walls/ceilings and drywall? 

If you have an older home, or are considering purchasing one, you might need to learn how to handle plaster walls.

Drywall, on the other hand, is easier to deal with and probably more familiar to you. Most new homes these days are made with drywall, and you can easily find supplies at your local hardware supply store. Plus, there are plenty of drywall contractors you can call to help you out. 

You won’t be so lucky if you have plaster walls. 

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Plaster vs Drywall

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Learning how to spot plaster versus drywall is pretty straightforward. The short answer is that plaster is literally harder than drywall. You may also notice that plaster walls are more susceptible to cracking from building settlement or thermal expansion/contraction.

Plaster is also harder and more time-consuming to install and repair. It’s literally a rock, making for quieter and “cooler” feeling spaces. It’s a material that is generally durable and resilient to moisture, which is why it used to be popular in Florida homes. 

Plaster 101

Plaster is applied “wet” by hand troweling, often in multiple layers over a wood or metal lath, or gypsum lath boards. Thus, the thickness of plaster can be somewhat inconsistent since it is applied by hand.

It’s held on by suction, mechanical bonds such as “keys,” or a chemical bonding agent. For the uninitiated, plaster walls present challenges to securely hanging pictures or TVs on the wall (although it’s definitely possible if you learn how).

Check out our related article on HOW TO FIND A STUD IN PLASTER WALLS.

Drywall 101

On the other hand, drywall is much easier, faster, and cheaper to install and repair. Unlike the “wet” application of plaster, it is put on in dried sheets, hence the name DRYwall. It attaches to the wall studs and ceiling trusses by the use of screws or nails.

Then, the seams and fasteners are finished smooth with tape and a joint compound “mud.” It provides a “warmer” feel to a room. Like plaster, drywall offers a level of fire resistance.

Many repairs can be DIY if you have drywall vs plaster walls. And if that’s not possible, good drywall tradespersons are much easier to find than those with plastering skills.

However, drywall isn’t as sound-deadening as plaster, and it’s actually much less resilient to moisture. Just ask those in New Orleans affected by flooding from Hurricane Katrina.

 

There’s nothing “wrong” with either product. But while they serve the same intent, they are very different.

Each material has advantages and disadvantages that are important for homeowners to understand. Here’s a great video by Leah from the YouTube channel “See Jane Drill” that will help with this. She’s got the true heart of a teacher and is one of our favorites!

The History of Plaster vs Drywall

Plaster has millennia of history behind it. Literally 1000’s of years. The Babylonians, Greeks, Romans (including the Italians), and Egyptians all used plaster. So did the ancient peoples of China and India.

Suffice to say, it’s an ancient building product. Plaster has multiple varieties, textures and chemistries using diverse materials such as clay, lime, or gypsum. 

You’re probably familiar with exterior plastering, which is usually referred to as stucco. In England and some areas of the US, they call plastering “rendering” or “parge coating.”

Venetian plaster has marble dust added, while rammed earth or waddle-and-daub are more primitive plastering techniques usually created from locally sourced materials.

But at the end of the day, it’s all a form of plastering.

We won’t go into all of the details now. Although, Wikipedia has a rather comprehensive article that you can read here if you want to explore deeper.

Our focus today is on plaster in interior ceilings and walls that you may find in your home, known as “lath and plaster.”

Before we can talk about plaster finishes on walls and ceilings in homes, we want to contrast it with what you may be more familiar with in today’s modern homes- drywall.

Sheetrock® vs Drywall

what is the difference between sheetrock and drywall

Drywall is known by many names, such as gypsum board (or gyp board), plasterboard, wallboard, or the brand name Sheetrock®. So if you’re wondering what the difference between Sheetrock® and drywall is, the answer is— nothing.

It’s essentially the same thing.

In the scheme of the built environment (including houses), drywall is a relatively newer invention. The earliest form of drywall was available in the USA around the late 1800s. It was patented as “Sackett Board,” named after its inventor, Augustine Sackett.

USG Corporation purchased Sackett Board soon afterward. They made various improvements to it over the years. In 1917, they released their upgraded version under the brand name Sheetrock®.

Many people still call it Sheetrock® today, but this is specifically USG’s brand name for drywall.

(Psst…As a side note, many brand names become common household names for products. We thought this was a fun read if you want to really geek out).

 

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Why Drywall is Used More in Modern Homes

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Drywall was not very popular at first, as it was considered a substandard, cheap, and gimmicky product. Many builders would not adopt its use. Instead, they preferred the familiar, time-tested use of lath and plaster. In the meantime, USG tried to market Sheetrock® as a fire-resistant product that required less time and labor to install but with limited success.

But then WW2 happened.

Massive labor shortages, followed by the baby boom and resulting housing boom, changed the game. The advantages of drywall became more evident, and it eventually became the dominant product by the late 1960s.

New interior plaster installs are rare today, except for the occasional installation on some custom-built, high-end residences and commercial buildings. So you’ll mainly see drywall installed inside in most modern homes.

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So my house has plaster walls— what does that mean?

plaster-walls

Although it’s rare to find newer homes with plaster walls and ceilings, many older homes in Central Florida have lath and plaster instead of drywall.

Our personal home was built in 1967 and has plaster and metal lath walls and ceilings. It’s actually what’s known as a hybrid veneer-plaster system that uses a gypsum-based “rock lath” base layer, instead of the even older method using a scratch/base plaster coat over wood lath strips (as illustrated in the graphic above). Then, the rock lath is covered with an expanded (i.e. “diamond”) metal lath, and finally two coats of plaster.

The first plaster coat is a thick and rather rough “brown coat,” and the second one is a thinner white “finish/veneer coat” with a sanded texture (such as USG Diamond – Sanded). This final white coat is what you actually see on the walls and ceilings when standing in the room.

We love it for many reasons. Plaster is beautiful and full of character, with superior sound-deadening properties and moisture resistance versus drywall. The feel of authentic craftsmanship permeates the home.

The downside is that it’s tough to find tradespersons with the knowledge to repair it. While there may be more, we only know of one serious plaster repair company in the Tampa Bay region.

And they are always booked solid for months.

A word of caution: Plaster requires skill and patience. Many drywall contractors also claim to be able to fix plaster. But more often than not, they’ll use materials more familiar to them (i.e., drywall and joint compounds) in their work. This can lead to mixed (and sometimes pitiful) results. Don’t believe us? See what the folks over at Walls & Ceilings say about it.

Just be sure to do your research before hiring someone to repair your plaster. Make sure it is up to your standards.

If you want to attempt a DIY repair on plaster, it is possible. Here’s our favorite teacher Leah again, with some tips on how to repair plaster walls. There are also great tutorials and tips we’ve found on Old House Online, as well as from the Master of Plaster folks, and at Old Town Home.

Conclusion

We hope this helps some of you homeowners and home buyers out there understand the differences between plaster and drywall. Please don’t be afraid of plaster or deterred by it.

In our opinion, real plaster is excellent, charming, and worth preserving!

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