Hire the right installer once and you keep them for years, so the first hire matters. These are the questions we would ask before letting anyone on the roof of a house in Sayville, Massapequa or anywhere else on Long Island. We answer each one for ourselves, so you can hold us to it too.
Are you licensed and insured?
Ask this first. Someone is going to be on a ladder against your gutter in November. If something goes wrong up there, their insurance should cover it, not yours. We are licensed and insured. Ask to see it, from us or from anyone else you call.
Who owns the lights, and who takes them down?
This one catches people out. The answer could be that you buy the lights, that you rent them, or that the installer uses whatever is in your garage. Each answer changes what you pay, what you store, and what happens next year.
Our answer: we supply the lights. You buy nothing. We measure your roofline, cut the strands to fit it so the bulb spacing stays even, and clip them to the shingle or gutter. Clipped, never stapled. Never nailed.
Then ask who removes them, in what month, and whether that is included. Then ask where the lights go after that. Boxed in your garage is a different answer from labeled and stored.
We remove everything in January. We label it by section and we store it. Year two is a same-day install because the strands are already cut for your roof. You do not touch a ladder at either end of the season. No ladder for you.
What happens when a bulb goes out?
It will happen. A bulb dies. A strand comes down in a storm. Long Island gets nor'easters and wind, and a stapled or draped line does not hold like a clipped one that was cut to fit. Even good work takes a hit some years.
So ask: who fixes it, how fast, and does it cost extra? Get that in writing. Our answer is that we service faults during the season at no charge. A bulb out, a strand down, we come back and fix it. That is part of the job, not an add-on.
Is the price flat and in writing?
A number over the phone from a photo is a guess. Rooflines are not all the same. The price should depend on real things:
- Linear feet of roofline
- Number of stories and peaks
- Trees and shrubs to wrap
- Wreaths and garland
- How easy the roof is to get to
A fair installer comes out, measures, and gives you a flat price in writing. That is what we do. We do not publish prices because every roofline is different, and we do not ask for a deposit just to give you a number. If someone wants money before they will tell you what it costs, ask why.
Who is actually on the roof?
The person who quotes the job is not always the person who does the job. If the install is sold by one person and handed to a subcontractor you have never met, then when something goes wrong you are calling a salesperson who has to call someone else.
Ask: is this your crew, or someone you hired for the day? We run one crew. One point of contact. No subcontractors. The person who measures your roof in Smithtown or Merrick is the same person answering the phone in December when a strand needs looking at.
A few more worth asking
- Do the lights run on a timer? Ours come on at dusk.
- What goes on the roofline? We use C9 LED bulbs on rooflines and mini lights for trees, shrubs, railings and columns.
- What if the weather turns? Ice and wind can move an install date. We would rather push a day than put someone on an icy roof.
- When does your calendar fill? For us, most years it is full before December. Quotes go out in September and October and installs run through November.
Whoever you hire in Bohemia, Bay Shore or Garden City, get these answers before the truck shows up. If you want ours, call 516-434-1726 or use the quote form on the site. We will come out, measure, and put a flat price in writing.
