Everybody plans the install. Almost nobody plans January
Holiday lighting conversations happen in October and November and stop at the install date. Which makes sense, because that is the visible part. Then it is January, and the lights are still on the house. The people who thought about that in October are the ones not on a ladder in the cold.Which is a shame, because it is the half that separates one
https://knoxxgzw837.rivetgarden.com/posts/custom-outdoor-lighting-design-the-difference-you-pay-for-what-makes-a-lighting-design-custom-four-questions-that-settle-it-custom-lighting-design-explained-more-than-the-hardware-does company from another. Anybody can hang lights in November. The real question is about February. That question belongs in the first conversation, not the one you have in January.
What a January ladder day actually looks like
Taking lights down is the harder of the two jobs, which surprises people. Cold, no enthusiasm, and a mess at the end. Then the strands get boxed and shoved somewhere, and something in there stops working before you see it again.
How it should work instead
On a properly structured holiday lighting service, January is already covered. At the end of the season somebody returns and it comes off the house. The lights get labeled and stored in their facility, ready to reinstall the following season. You never store a single strand.
Why storage matters more than it sounds
Three things happen when the lights do not live at your house. Your attic stays empty, which matters if you have ever tried to find anything up there. The lights stay in the condition they were in, because they are stored properly rather than compressed under something heavy. And because they are labeled by where they go on your house, next season looks like this season.
The permanent alternative sidesteps all of it
There is a version of this where January stops being a thing at all. Permanent lighting does not have a takedown. 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 quits in the middle of December
A display is up for weeks, and things mounted outside in December occasionally stop working. What matters is whether anybody comes out. Some companies include service through the season. Others treat every visit as a new call. Ask while you are still comparing companies, not on the twenty second of December.
The second year
The first season involves a design conversation, decisions and a plan. Once a display is designed and stored, the following year is scheduling. Booking the second year is confirming a date and saying whether anything changed. Changes build on the existing plan, instead of a blank page.
Questions for the quote
Get it in writing: is the takedown part of this number. Ask who keeps them until next year. Ask how the takedown gets scheduled. 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 across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from Greenville. Consultations are free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].