Everybody plans the install. Nobody plans the takedown
The whole discussion points at one day in November. Which makes sense, because that is the part you are excited about. Then it is January, and the lights are still on the house. The people who thought about that in October have a much better January than the people who did not.Which is a shame, because it is the half that separates one company from another. Anybody can put a display up. The question is whether anyone comes back. That question is worth asking before you book, not the one you have in January.
Doing it yourself, honestly
The takedown is the unpleasant half. Cold, no enthusiasm, and a mess at the end. Whatever goes into that box comes out worse eleven months later.
Takedown as part of the job
Takedown belongs in the original agreement. When the season ends, the same company returns and takes it all down. The lights get labeled, packed and kept in storage until next year, ready to reinstall the following season. You never store a single strand.
What storage actually buys you
Three things happen when the lights do not live at your house. Your attic gets its space back, which is worth something in most houses. The lights do not degrade in a hot attic, because they are stored properly rather than compressed under something heavy. Labeling means the display repeats accurately.
The permanent alternative removes the question
The other option makes January irrelevant. 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 a fair question to raise.
What happens if something goes dark on the twentieth
Over a full season, a section going dark is not unusual. The question is what happens then. Service during the season belongs on the quote, and you should know before December. Ask while you are still comparing companies, not on the twenty second of December.
The second year
Year one has all the decisions in it. Once a display is designed and stored, repeating it is administrative. Booking the second year is a short conversation. If you want it extended or
https://pastelink.net/27e31k0m trimmed back, that is a conversation, not a redesign.
Nail this down first
Ask if January is in the price. Ask where the lights are stored between seasons. Ask how removal gets scheduled so you are not chasing anybody in February. 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 residential and commercial properties across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, based in Greenville. The consultation is free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].