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Table of Contents
Summary: Budget the install phase: lift rental, tools, connectors, and consumables.
🛑 This guide is a major work-in-progress. There are missing details, missing pictures, missing articles, and it isn't properly organized in a lot of places. I'm continuing to update it daily, but I've decided to publish what I have so the community can start giving input.
This page was last updated: December 19, 2025 @ 4:08 PM
Install costs
I did all the work myself so there weren’t any labor costs, but this section covers all items that were needed related to installing the tracks and lights. This excludes the actual lights, tracks, etc as they were already covered in the Light Kit section.
Bill of Materials
Heads up: I earn a commission on the Amazon items if you click on a link and buy it.
Listed costs are what I paid for the item when I got it. It may have gone up or down since then.
| Item | Qty | Total Cost | Link | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 inch bi-metal hole saw | 1 | $13.97 | HD | |
| 12 AWG 2-wire (300 ft) | 1 | $199.19 | Amazon | |
| 14 AWG 3-wire (100 ft) | 1 | $84.13 | Amazon | |
| 14 AWG 3-wire (30 ft) | 1 | $32.39 | Amazon | |
| 3/16 drill bits (10 pieces) | 1 | $14.99 | Amazon | |
| 4x8 3/4 (23/32) BC plywood | 3 | $144.84 | HD | |
| Butt connectors red (200 pieces) | 1 | $17.98 | Amazon | |
| DAP plastic wood filler (white) | 1 | $9.98 | Amazon | |
| Diablo 1" auger bit | 1 | $26.97 | Amazon | |
| Frost king foam | 1 | $19.87 | Amazon | |
| Glow fish tape | 1 | $34.97 | Amazon | |
| Heatshrink tubing | 1 | $9.99 | Amazon | |
| Lift delivery and pickup | 1 | $460.00 | ||
| Lift rental w/ insurance | 1 | $780.73 | Sunbelt | |
| OSI Quad Max | 1 | $11.48 | Amazon | |
| Polymaker ASA filament | 1 | $26.99 | Amazon | |
| Premium outdoor paint | 1 | $23.98 | HD | |
| Southwire 3-wire | 10 | $10.00 | HD | |
| Stainless Steel #8 × 1-1/2" Self Tapping Screws (110 pieces) | 3 | $29.58 | Amazon | |
| Step drill bit | 1 | $6.99 | Amazon | |
| Super 88 Electrical Tape | 1 | $7.88 | Amazon | |
| Wagos | 1 | $20.95 | Amazon | |
| Wire staples | 1 | $3.99 | Amazon | |
| Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer | 1 | $8.48 | Amazon |
Additional notes
While I cover some details below, check the actual install sections if you're curious what something is used for or why it's on here.
Lift
The lift rental was a large percent of the total cost of this project. Unfortunately it was unavoidable because of the design of my roof peaks. If you don’t need it for yours then you’ll save a lot. More on the lift and everything related to that is in another section.
Plywood
I tell this whole story elsewhere, but the lift I rented sunk in to my yard and got stuck. I bought this plywood to use under the wheels to prevent that from happening and it worked perfectly. While this was probably more expensive plywood than I needed for the lift, I needed plywood for another project anyways so none of it went to waste. It was really impressive how much weight it was able to hold.
I didn't know it at the time, but Sunbelt rents mats that are purpose-built for situations like this and they aren't that expensive. I don't have experience with them so I don't know how hard they are to move around or anything, but that may be something to look in to.
Various drill bits
This is covered in the actual install section, but the different drill bits on here all serve a purpose.
- 1 inch bi-metal hole saw – For drilling holes in the metal track that are large enough to fit xConnect ends or Wagos.
- 3/16 drill bits – For drilling screw mounting holes in the metal track. I knew I’d be drilling a lot of holes and I didn’t want to wear down my good drill bits.
- Diablo 1" auger bit – For drilling in to the soffit/house. This bit is designed for nail-embedded wood and it will chew through anything (emphasis on chew. It does its job, but can leave the hole a bit torn up).
- Step drill bit – I found these to be the best option for drilling holes in the tracks when I had to pass wires through the side. They leave a nice clean hole and are easy to adjust how big you need the hole to be.
Wiring
You’ll notice that 14 AWG 3-wire is on there twice: once for 100ft and once for 30ft. I ran out of the 100 and needed a bit more.
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