The forgotten half
Holiday lighting conversations happen in October and November and stop at the install date. Which makes sense, because that is the part you are excited about. Then it is January, and something has to happen. The people who thought about that in October are the ones not on a ladder in the cold.And that is unfortunate, since the takedown is where a service is really tested. Anybody can put a display up. The question is what the arrangement looks like when the season is over. That question is worth asking before you book, not the one you have in January.
Doing it yourself, honestly
Taking lights down is the harder of the two jobs, and almost nobody expects that. The weather is colder. The motivation is gone. And at the end of it you own a pile of cable. Then the strands get boxed and shoved somewhere, where they tangle, get crushed, and lose a section by next November.
How it should work when it is part of the service
On a properly structured holiday lighting service, takedown is not an add on. When the season ends, the same company returns and takes it all down. Everything gets catalogued and stored off site, instead of living in your attic. You never handle any of it.
The case for off site storage
Three things come out of somebody else storing it. Your attic gets its space back, which matters if you have ever tried to find anything up there. Condition is preserved, which is most of why strands fail. Labeling means the display repeats accurately.
The permanent alternative sidesteps all of it
There is a version of this where January stops being a thing at all. A permanent LED system goes up once and stays, so there is nothing to take down and nothing to store, ever. It costs more up front and it suits people who do this every single year. But if the takedown conversation is the part you dread, it is worth asking about once.
What happens if something goes dark on the twentieth
A display is up for weeks, and things mounted outside in December occasionally stop working. The question is what happens then. Some companies treat mid season repairs as part of the job. Others handle it as separate work. Ask while you are still comparing companies, rather than the week you need it.
The second year
The first season involves a design conversation, decisions and a plan. Once a display is designed and stored, repeating it is administrative. Booking the second year is a short conversation. If you want it expanded or trimmed back, that is a
https://knoxxgzw837.rivetgarden.com/posts/landscape-lighting-installation-how-to-plan-it-before-you-buy-it-planning-a-landscape-lighting-installation-and-what-it-should-cost-you-in-effort conversation, not a redesign.
Questions for the quote
Get it in writing: does this quote cover removal. Ask who owns the materials, because that decides where they end up. Ask how removal gets scheduled so it is not a surprise. EverCrest Lighting includes takedown and off season storage with its holiday lighting work, and installs permanent lighting for people who would rather stop repeating it, for homes and businesses across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from Greenville. The consultation is free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].