Takedown & Storage · Newmarket

Christmas Light Takedown and Storage in Newmarket

With January highs averaging below freezing and about 22 days a month that never thaw at the nearest station, Newmarket takedowns are timed around the weather, not the calendar.

The Electrical Safety Authority is direct about it: holiday lights and decorations are not built for year-round use and should come down after the season. In Newmarket that means picking the right January day. The King Smoke Tree normals give January an average high of -3.6 °C, and on about 22 days the temperature stays at or below zero all day, when clips are brittle and eavestroughs may be packed with ice. The crew books takedowns for the milder spells and works around them.

The takedown visit

• Careful removal. Clips are released, not pulled, so shingle tabs and gutter lips are not bent or cracked in the cold.
• Testing. Every strand is plugged in and checked. ESA's guidance is to replace damaged cords, plugs and sockets rather than reuse them, and anything that fails is set aside and noted.
• Labelling. Each strand is tagged with where it hung: front eave, upper gable, porch, spruce, walkway. Next November it goes straight back.
• Storage. Boxed and returned to your garage or basement, or held by the installer until next season, as agreed.

Ice in the eavestrough

Clips that sit on the gutter lip are often frozen into a ridge of ice by mid-January, especially on north-facing eaves and under mature trees west of Yonge where the gutters held leaves going into winter. Forcing them out cracks the clip and can bend the lip. The crew releases what comes free, leaves the frozen sections for a return visit after the next thaw, and tells you which runs those are. If ice on the eaves is a pattern at your house, that is worth raising with a roofer or an insulation contractor, because ice that forms at the cold edge of a roof is usually a sign of heat escaping from the attic, and no lighting choice fixes that.

Own or rent

Some owners buy their lights and pay for installation and takedown each year. Others prefer the lights supplied as part of a seasonal service, with the installer owning, maintaining and replacing them. Which arrangements are available, and their terms, are set out in the written quote rather than promised here.

Worn-out strands

Lights that fail testing are yours to keep or dispose of. York Region's East Gwillimbury depot at 225 Garfield Wright Boulevard accepts electronics from residents at no cost, up to 50 kg per household per day with proof of residency. The Region's page does not list holiday light strings by name, so check its item lookup before a trip.

Or skip January altogether

Owners who dread the January ladder as much as the November one are the people permanent lighting suits. It stays up, it is built for year-round exposure, and the end of the season is a tap in an app.

Frequently asked questions

Serving Newmarket and surrounding areas. Contact us for a no-obligation quote specific to your property.