Why Vancouver lights go out in winter
Vancouver is mild and wet. Most of the rain falls from October to April, and frost only shows up on a handful of nights. So the usual enemy is water, not cold.
On the west side, in places like Kitsilano, Dunbar, Point Grey and Kerrisdale, mature street trees shade and drip on roofs. Rooflines stay wet and mossy all winter. Plugs end up lying in puddles, and joins between strands take on moisture.
That is why a plug trips every time it rains. Water is getting into a connection somewhere on the run, and the plug is cutting the power to do its job. We trace it section by section until we find the wet spot.
What we repair and how we decide
We deal with the problems Vancouver homeowners call about most.
- Half a strand out with no obvious bad spot
- An outdoor plug that trips in the rain
- A timer that stopped switching the lights on
- One section of the roofline gone dark
- Lights pulled down by wind or a falling branch
- Corroded plugs where strands join
On older strands, a bulb or fuse is often the cause. On sealed LED strands, the bad section may not be repairable, and a new 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 the strand has several faults, replacing it costs less over time.
When we re-hang anything that came loose, we use clips only. No nails or staples.
Character houses, lanes and strata buildings
Vancouver's housing makes repair work different from house to house. Character houses on the east and west sides have steep gables, dormers and porches. A fault can hide anywhere along a long, broken-up run. Vancouver Specials have long, flat front rooflines and balconies, which are simpler to trace.
On 33-foot lots, side yards are narrow and there is little room to stand a ladder. Many houses also have no outdoor plug at the front, so lights run from odd spots, and those long runs are where wet joins show up.
We also look after strata townhouses, low-rise condos and storefronts. Strata rules on exteriors vary, so tell us what your building allows.
If the roof is slick or the wind is up, we move that part of the job to a safer day.
Booking one repair, nothing more
You are hiring us for one job. There is no program or yearly plan to join. Install, repair and removal can each be booked alone.
If you have bins of lights in the garage and are done with the ladder, we can hang your own outdoor-rated lights if they work, or supply new ones. If you want them taken down, removal happens in January.
To get started, tell us who put the lights up if you know, and send a photo of the part that is out. Many repairs take under an hour. Finding a fault across a whole house can take longer. We explain what the price depends on before you decide, so there are no surprises. We take calls and bookings Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.
