Why Coquitlam lights go out
Coquitlam lights face different conditions depending on where the house sits. Westwood Plateau and Burke Mountain are well above sea level. They get more rain, cooler nights and occasional snow, and the snow tends to arrive there before the rest of the city. Wet plugs and wet joins are the usual result.
Many lots back onto forest or ravines. Cedars and firs close to the roofline drop needles and branches in storms, and a falling branch can pull a strand off its clips or crack the wire. Wind on higher streets does the same.
Older homes in Maillardville and Austin Heights have lower rooflines, but the strands and plugs are often tired. The newer houses on Burke Mountain are tall and sit on sloped lots, so even a small fix means planning where the ladder goes. That is a good reason to hand the job over rather than climb up yourself.
What we repair and how long it takes
We start by finding why the lights went out. Common causes include:
- half a strand out with no obvious bad spot
- an outdoor plug that trips every time it rains
- a timer that stopped switching the lights on
- one section of the roofline gone dark
- lights pulled down by wind or a branch
- corroded plugs where strands join
Many repairs take under an hour. Tracing a fault across a whole house can take longer, especially when a plug trips and we have to work through the run section by section.
On older strands, a bulb or fuse is often the cause. Sealed LED strands may have a bad section that cannot be repaired, and replacing the strand is the better buy. If a few spots are out on a strand in good shape, we repair it. If the wire is cracked or there are several faults, replacing it costs less over time. Anything we re-hang goes up on clips only, with no nails or staples.
Book one repair with nothing to sign up for
A repair is its own job. There is no program or yearly plan to join. If you have bins of lights in the garage and you are done with the ladder, we can hang your outdoor-rated lights if they work, or supply lights if they do not.
Tell us who put the lights up if you know, and send a photo of the part that is out. That helps us plan the visit. Install, repair and removal can each be booked alone, so you can have the lights fixed now and taken down in January.
We explain what the price depends on. That includes how much of the house is affected, how high the roof is and whether any strands need replacing. If the roof is slick or windy, we move the roof work to a safer day.
We also repair lights at stratas, low-rise condos and storefronts. Townhouse complexes around Burquitlam and Town Centre often set exterior rules, so check yours first.
