Every display we install comes down in January on a scheduled date and spends the off-season in our Missoula shop, labeled by location, rather than in a tote in your garage.
Takedown is the part of holiday lighting most people dread, and it is the part that separates a full-service company from a crew that only hangs lights. With Montana Lights it is built into your seasonal price. Starting the first week of January we work through our route in the order displays went up, so the homes that were lit first come down first. A crew removes every C9 strand, every wrapped mini light, every wreath and every clip, then walks the roofline and yard to make sure nothing was left behind. Because the crew works for Constructive Brothers, a licensed and insured construction company, January roof work on frozen shingles is handled with the same care as the October install.
Storage is where the value of custom-cut strands shows up. Each roofline run was cut to a specific edge of your house, so it goes into a labeled bin with your name and the location it came from, such as front gable or garage eave. Wreaths are bagged so the needles are not crushed, and mini light strands from wrapped trees are coiled on reels rather than balled up. Over the summer we test every strand and replace any failed C9 bulb or dead LED section, so what comes out of storage next fall is ready to hang. That prep work is why a returning season costs less than the first one: the measuring and cutting are done, and install day is faster.
Takedown and storage are included in every seasonal quote at no separate charge, which is why a first-season display of $700 to $2,500 already covers the January visit and off-season shelf space.
Send your address and what you have in mind. We reply with a price, usually the same day. Most homes: $700 to $2,500 for the full season.
No spam, no pressure. Prefer to talk? Call or text (406) 207-2524.
Takedown and storage are not add-ons. The number on your quote covers the January visit and a spot in our shop until next fall, so there is no second invoice after New Year's and no negotiating over who owns the lights. We own them, and we keep them for you.
You get a takedown window when the display goes up, and a text the day before the crew arrives. Nobody needs to be home. Most removals take under two hours, and our timers and extension cords leave with the strands.
A roofline full of empty clips in March is the tell of a rushed takedown. Our crew removes each shingle tab and gutter clip along with the strand, then walks the drip edge to confirm nothing was left behind. Zip ties on railings and tree wraps get the same attention.
Strands are tested on the bench before they go on the shelf, and again before they go back on your house. Failed C9 bulbs are swapped and any mini light section with a dead run is replaced, so the display you get next November is in better shape than it was when it came down.
When the display goes up, we give you a January window for removal. If you would like the lights down earlier or kept up for a late-January event, tell us and we adjust the route.
The crew unclips rooflines from ladders or the roof and unwraps trees from the top down, and wreaths and garland come off last. Cords and timers leave with us along with every clip, and snow on the roof is cleared from the work path first.
Back at the shop each strand is tagged with your name and its location on the house, then shelved in a bin that stays together until fall. Wreaths and garland are bagged so their shape survives the summer.
Over the summer every strand is powered up and any failed bulb or section is replaced. In late summer we reach out to schedule your returning-season install, at the lower price that comes with strands already cut to your house.
Based in Missoula. Bitterroot, Frenchtown, Blackfoot and Seeley Lake homes are grouped into route days so installs happen on schedule.
We supply the lights, design the display, hang it with roof-safe clips, keep it running all season and take it down in January. Most Missoula homes run $700 to $2,500 for a first season.
Learn more →From the night your display goes live until it comes down in January, any dark strand or tripped circuit on a display we installed is repaired within 48 hours at no charge.
Learn more →C9 LED bulbs on socket wire cut to your exact peaks and gutter runs, held with shingle tab and gutter clips so your roof looks the same in April as it did in October.
Learn more →Free design visit. Posted pricing. Lit by Thanksgiving Guarantee when you book by October 31.
Install slots fill by early November. Send your address and we will text you a price for your roofline, usually the same day.
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