How to Get a Christmas Light Installation Quote (And What Happens Next)

A Christmas light installation quote should take you about a minute to request and land in your texts the same day. Here's what to have ready, what comes back, and how the deposit and scheduling work — so the quote turns into an install date instead of a tab you forget about.

What to have ready

• Your address. The installer measures the roofline from the actual eave, so the address matters more than a description.
• How many stories. Height is the biggest price factor after footage.
• What you want lit. Roofline only? Roofline plus ridgeline? Trees, shrubs, walkways? If you're not sure, say "roofline plus whatever makes sense" — a good installer will suggest the rest.
• Timing. A target week, or at least "before Thanksgiving." Install dates lock in the order deposits arrive.
• A rough budget. Not to negotiate — to size the design. Most homes land in the $1,000 – $2,000 range; the pricing page has the full breakdown.

Castle's quote form asks exactly these questions, one at a time, and shows you the price range for your home type before you finish.

What comes back

Two things. First, a price — with Castle, texted the same day, all-in: lights, design, installation, free in-season fixes, January takedown and off-season storage. Second, a design mockup of your actual home showing where every run of lights goes: roofline, ridgeline, trees, pathways. It's the drawing the crew installs from, so what you approve is what goes up.

How the deposit and schedule work

When you accept the quote, a 50% deposit holds your install date. It's non-refundable — except if the installer can't install safely, in which case Castle refunds it in full. The balance is due the day of installation, by card on file, check or cash. The quote is the contract from the moment you accept it, and you have three days to change your mind in writing.

Why September and October quotes get better dates

The whole neighborhood wants lights on for the same three weeks: Thanksgiving through mid-December. Those install dates go to whoever put a deposit down first. A quote requested in September or October usually turns into a date you'd pick yourself, plus the 15% early-booking discount for 2026. A quote requested the week after Thanksgiving turns into "we'll fit you in where we can." Our post on when to book Christmas light installation in Florida lays out the month-by-month calendar.

Questions worth asking any installer

• Are the lights included, or am I buying them? (Why it matters.)
• Who fixes a dead strand in December, and what does it cost?
• Are you insured — liability and workers' comp?
• How do you attach to my tile, stucco or metal roof?
• When exactly do the lights come down, and who stores them?

A sample quote, start to finish

Here's how it usually goes. A homeowner in Port Orange fills out the form on a Tuesday evening: two-story home, roofline plus two wrapped palms, "before Thanksgiving," budget in the $2,000 – $3,500 range. The form shows the two-story range on screen before they finish. Wednesday morning our team texts back a price inside that range and a mockup of the house with the roofline, ridgeline and both palms marked. The homeowner asks to drop the ridgeline; the mockup and price are revised the same day. They pay the 50% deposit Thursday and pick a date the week before Thanksgiving. The crew installs in a morning, the display runs on its timer, and the lights come down the second week of January. Next September, they get a text asking if they want the same layout again.

What if the quote comes back higher than you expected?

Say so. A good installer can usually get closer to a budget by trimming layers rather than quality — drop the ridgeline this year, wrap one palm instead of two, light the front walkway and skip the driveway. Because Castle stores your layout, the layers you skip this year are easy to add next year without a redesign. What we won't do is thin out the spacing or swap in cheaper strands to hit a number; the whole point of a professional display is that it looks like one.

Red flags in a quote

• No mockup or drawing. You're approving a description, not a design.
• A price with no scope. "Christmas lights, $900" doesn't say whether the ridgeline, trees or takedown are included.
• Lights sold separately. Fine if you want to own them; just add it to the total.
• No mention of insurance. Anyone on your roof should carry liability coverage and workers' comp.
• No takedown date. A display that's still up in February is a quote that skipped this line.

Getting a quote is the same everywhere we work — from Daytona Beach to Sanford. Browse all service areas or learn about residential installation.

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