The reason homeowners call
The job seems small in the driveway, then it takes a Saturday. Add the second story, gutters you would rather not lean on, and the fact that December in the Upstate can be wet, and the math changes.
What a real installation service includes
The job breaks into a few pieces, and the last one is the one people forget. First a design, based on your roofline and your yard. Then installation, which is the part you are really paying to skip. Then upkeep while the lights are up. And then takedown, then off season storage, so nothing comes back into your garage.
What happens in January
Everybody plans for putting them up. Almost nobody plans for taking them down. EverCrest Lighting takes it down at the end of the season and stores it off season, so next year starts with a phone call instead of a tangled box.
Residential and commercial holiday lighting
At a house, the work is the roofline, the porch and the landscaping. Commercial holiday lighting has a different point:
https://elliotttcrq778.zenbloomer.com/posts/holiday-light-removal-and-storage-the-half-of-the-job-nobody-asks-about-who-takes-down-your-christmas-lights-here-is-how-it-should-work-january-and-the-part-of-holiday-lighting-nobody-plans-for-what-to-expect a business wants to look open and be noticed in December. The install schedule is usually the negotiation, because the work has to fit around open hours.
Worth putting in writing
Agree on what gets lit specifically: the roof edge, the porch, the trees, the walk. Agree on who owns the lights, since that decides where they live after the season. And agree on what January looks like before December.
What a proper estimate should tell you
A quote that is just a number is not a quote. It should say what gets lit specifically enough that nobody is guessing: rooflines, entries, trees, walkways. It should say who owns the materials, because that decides what happens in January. Takedown and off season storage need to be on the quote, not left to a handshake. And it should say who to call during the season if a section goes dark.The realistic version is undramatic. A crew shows up on a scheduled day, the lights go up, and you did not touch a ladder. After the season they come back and take it down, and the boxes do not come back to your garage.
If you would rather stop repeating this
For anyone who does this annually, the permanent option is worth a look. Permanent lighting is one install that covers December and every ordinary evening after it. EverCrest Lighting installs both. Consultations are free. They serve Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina from Greenville. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or
[email protected].