Unless absolutely unavoidable, the Sukkah should not be dismantled or made unusable until after Shabbos Breishis.
It is not Chabad custom for the Sukkah to be decorated. However, if decorations are hung from the Schach, they should hang no lower than 4 Tefachim (32cm) from the Schach. Similarly, decorative chains should droop no lower than 4 Tefachim.
Sukkah decorations are Muktzeh on Shabbos and Yom Tov, and no personal benefit may be derived from them until after Shabbos Breishis, even if they fall off. However, these prohibitions may be avoided by verbalizing the following stipulation before the onset of Sukkos: “I do not separate myself from using the decorations any time I desire.”
Similarly, the Sukkah walls and Schach are Muktzeh on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Until after Shabbos Breishis, one may not derive personal benefit from them in a manner which disrupts their primary use, such as snapping off a sliver of wood to use as a toothpick. [One may rest items on, or in, the walls of the Sukkah, since this does not disturb their function.] These restrictions apply even if the Sukkah is dismantled during Sukkos (e.g. a Sukkah mobile).
A verbal stipulation is ineffective in permitting the Schach. A verbal stipulation also does not help with regards to the walls of a Sukkah built prior to Yom Tov. However, if a Sukkah is built during Chol Hamoied and will be dismantled before the last days of Yom Tov (e.g. a Sukkah mobile), its walls remain permissible if one verbalized the following stipulation before first sitting in the Sukkah: “I do not separate myself from using the walls any time I desire.”
All the prohibitions in this section only apply after at least one male over Bar Mitzvah (who is obligated in the Mitzvah of Sukkah) sat in the Sukkah at least once for the sake of the Mitzvah.
