Hanging Christmas Lights: How to Do It Without Damaging Your Roof
The U.S. Consumer & Product Safety Commission estimates 15,000-holiday decorating injuries occur between November and December – and this doesn’t count any damage done to homes from these decorating accidents! So how do you stay safe, hang Christmas lights, and not damage your roof?
First, remember, you aren’t Clark Griswold. Watching him staple his shirt to his home is good comedy, but not so great in real life. So put down that staple gun and follow these tips instead.
3 steps to hang Christmas lights without damaging your home or roof.
1. Plan ahead.
As you’re untangling the ball of Christmas lights, start planning where you want to hang your decorations. You’ll want to examine the areas, check for accessibility, and figure out how many light strands you need so you don’t run out in the middle of hanging lights.
Also, consider where you’ll get power for the lights. Newer homes usually have an outside power source. But if you’re in an older home, you may need to run power from somewhere inside. So plan on having a few extension cords to attach the lights to the power source.
2. Make safety a priority.
So you don’t become one of the 15,000 who end up in the ER this holiday season, make sure everything is done safely.
Check that your ladder is in good condition. If it’s getting old and rickety, it’s time to replace it before climbing up the side of your home.
Check all of your lights, cords, and other decorations for signs of damage. If the cords are fraying or showing exposed wires, don’t use them. If bulbs are broken or heating up, don’t use them.
Don’t lean your ladder on gutters. This isn’t safe since your gutters can break and cause you to fall off the ladder.
We DO NOT recommend walking on your roof. First, you can seriously hurt yourself if you fall. Plus, you could cause damage to the roofing materials. The perfect placement of your Santa Claus isn’t worth a broken leg (or worse) and costly damage to your home.
When in doubt about the safety of your holiday decorating plan, just don’t do it. Or hire a professional decorating company to take care of it for you.
3. Use plastic clips.
Plastic holiday light clips are the best way to help prevent damage to your roof or home from holiday lights.
Using a staple gun, screws, nails, or anything that will put a hole in your roof is a bad idea. Because when it comes time to remove the hardware, it’ll leave a hole in the shingles that will become a source of water intrusion causing damage to your home and health.
There are a variety of clips for various styles (like for attaching to gutters or brick) that can hold different lights. Check out this article for recommendations on clips to use for different rooflines. We do recommend not attaching the light clips to the actual shingle whenever possible. It’s better to attach them to the gutters or eaves if you can.
Have a tile roof? No worries, there’s a clip for that! Check out this article that breaks down the different styles of plastic holiday clips you can use on any roof type.
At M3 Roofing, we’re wishing you a safe and happy holiday season!
If you have any roofing needs or questions, we’re here to help. Send M3 Roofing a message or call the office – (305) 265-5000. We service homes throughout Miami-Dade and Broward County.