Everybody plans the install. Almost nobody plans January
The whole discussion is about getting them lit. Which makes sense, because that is the part you are excited about. But the season ends, and then there is a second job nobody scheduled. The people who asked the question up front are the ones not on a ladder in the cold.Which is a shame, because it is the half that separates one company from another. Anybody can put a display up. The real question is about February. That question belongs in the first conversation, not the one you have in January.
The self service version
Taking lights down is the harder of the two jobs, and almost nobody expects that. The weather is colder. The motivation is nonexistent. And at the end of it you are holding several tangled strands. Whatever goes into that box is in worse shape next season.
How it should work instead
Takedown belongs in the original agreement. When the season ends, the same company returns and takes it all down. Everything gets labeled and put away properly, rather than crushed into a bin in your garage. You never store a single strand.
The case for off site storage
Three things come out of somebody else storing it. Space is reclaimed. The lights stay in the condition they were in, since attic heat and crushing are what kills them. Labeling means the display repeats accurately.
The permanent alternative sidesteps all of it
The other option removes the takedown conversation entirely. Permanent lighting has no January. It costs more up front and it suits people who do this every single year. But if the takedown conversation is what is bothering you, it is a fair question to raise.
What happens if something quits in the middle of December
Over a full season, something will eventually need a look. The question is who you call. Service during the season belongs on the quote, and the quote should say which. Ask while you are still comparing companies, not on the twenty second of December.
What next season looks like
Year one has all the decisions in it. Once a display is designed and stored, the following year is scheduling. Next season is a call, a date and the same display back on the house. If you want it extended or trimmed back, that is a conversation, not a redesign.
What to ask before you book
Ask whether takedown is included or billed separately. Ask who keeps them until next year. Ask roughly when in January the crew comes. EverCrest Lighting handles takedown and off season storage on holiday lighting, and installs permanent LED systems for anyone finished with the yearly cycle, for homes and businesses throughout Upstate
https://jsbin.com/nizatihafa South Carolina and Western North Carolina, based in Greenville. The consultation is free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].