What to do before the crew shows up, and what you can skip

Clear a path to the electrical panel

The single most useful thing you can do before install day is make sure your electrical panel is reachable, no stacked boxes in front of it, no locked breezeway blocking the way. Every minute the crew spends hunting for access is a minute not spent on your roofline.

If you know there is an exterior outlet near the eaves already, mention it during the consultation so it factors into the plan Tyson builds into your render.

Any recent electrical work, a subpanel added, a breaker relabeled, is also worth mentioning up front, since it can change how quickly the crew ties the controller into your existing wiring.

Give the ladders room to work

Trim back anything growing tight against the fascia where track will run, and move vehicles, trash cans or grills away from the sides of the house the crew will be working. A clear perimeter of even six or eight feet along the working walls speeds up ladder placement considerably.

You do not need to mow, edge, or otherwise landscape for the visit. This is about access, not appearance.

If you have a ladder-averse exterior feature, a delicate flower bed right under the eaves, an irrigation head near the fascia, point it out. The crew works around anything you flag, but they cannot avoid what they do not know is there.

• Trim branches or shrubs pressed against the fascia
• Move vehicles and trash cans away from work walls
• Clear driveway space for the crew truck and demo setup

Keep pets inside during the visit

Ladders, unfamiliar people and open gates are a bad combination for dogs, no matter how friendly. Keeping pets inside or in a separate part of the yard for the day is the single request Tyson makes most often and the easiest to overlook.

If your dog runs the yard on an invisible fence, let the crew know so nobody gets an unexpected greeting while carrying track up a ladder.

Cats tend to be less of a concern since they rarely bolt toward strangers, but an open garage door or gate left ajar during the visit is worth double checking either way.

What you do not need to worry about

You do not need to prep your fascia, gutters or roof, that is the crew's job to assess and work around, and it was already looked at during the consultation. You also do not need to be present for the entire install, just available at the start for access and at the end for the app walkthrough.

If exterior painting, roofing or siding work is planned within the next year, mention that to Tyson before install day rather than after, since it may change whether now is the right time for a permanent system at all.

You also do not need to worry about matching the track color yourself, since the aluminum track is color-matched to your trim during the design phase, not chosen on the fly the morning of install.

For seasonal Christmas installs specifically

Preparation for a seasonal display is similar but adds one thing: decide ahead of time which trees, if any, you want wrapped, since that changes the crew's route around the yard. The costumed Elves crew works with music going, weather permitting, so having the yard clear also just makes the day go smoother for everyone watching from the window.

Takedown prep works in reverse, nothing needed from you until January 4 when the removal and storage process begins on its own schedule.

If you want a wreath or garland package paired with the roofline display, mention it ahead of time as well, so it factors into the design rather than getting added as an afterthought once the crew is already partway through.

The night before

There is genuinely not much to do the night before beyond confirming your appointment window and making sure someone can be reached if the crew has a quick question about access. Most of the actual complexity of the day is on Thraxel's side, not yours.

Questions about your specific property before the crew arrives can go straight to Tyson at 724-859-4390.

If weather looks questionable, expect a call rather than a surprise. Thraxel would rather reschedule a day than send a crew up a ladder in unsafe conditions, and you will typically hear about a shift the evening before or early that morning.