How to Protect Your Roof and Safely Hang Holiday Lights

With the holidays right around the corner, many homeowners are starting to plan their exterior holiday decorations. Whether you like to hang white or colored bulbs, or you like to augment strands of lights with a plastic Santa and team of reindeer on the roof, it’s important to be safe while doing so.

You can actually damage your roof and other exteriors by improperly hanging holiday lights and other décor, so be sure to heed these safety tips. For more tips and a roof inspection before you hang the first strand, call a trusted Maryland roofer for help. We want you to have a fun and festive holiday season, but we also want you – and your roof – to be safe.

Think Safety First

Like anything else having to do with exterior home maintenance, safety should be the main priority. This will not only keep you safe, but others safe below you while you’re stringing those lights. You also want to protect your surrounding landscaping and vegetation. Be sure to check all equipment to ensure stability. If your current ladder is shaky and unsteady, buy a new one. And always enlist the help of a buddy to assist you throughout the job.

Prepare Before Climbing

While we wouldn’t recommend any homeowners climbing up multiple stories onto the roof, we know many choose to do this anyway. That’s why, again, safety comes first. Before you take one step on the ladder with the lights in your hand, make sure you have checked each bulb first while on the ground. Untangle them, lay them all out, plug them in, and make sure they work. Replace any bulbs or strands that don’t appear to be working.

When climbing the ladder, don’t bring more with you than you can safely hold while clutching the rails. Have your friend hold the bottom of the ladder steady as you climb.

Don’t Use Staples

Don’t be like Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation. Stapling the lights to your roof not only harms the roof itself, but also the lights. It can also pose an electric shock risk. The staples may rub against the coating of the lights, exposing the wire and resulting in a fire and electrocution hazard.

But back to the roof: Staples put holes in your shingles, which then allow moisture to get in, create leaks, and cause rot, mold, and mildew. Plus, at the end of the season, taking out the staples one by one is difficult and time consuming. You risk doing even more damage when removing them.

Use Plastic Clips, Magnet Lights, or Zip Ties

Instead, use plastic clips that hold the wire strand and bulbs in place without damaging your shingles or gutters. They’re affordable and simple to use, plus they are easy to remove. You can even leave these little clear clips on all year long after taking down the lights, and no one will notice. Zip ties work in a similar way.

If you plan to buy brand new outdoor holiday décor this year, you may want to invest in magnet lights. While they look like traditional lights, they attach to your iron-based metal exteriors magnetically. Just keep in mind, they don’t work with aluminum or copper. If you’re unsure, use a regular magnet to test your gutters and eaves first to determine if it sticks.

Place Heavy Items on the Lawn

You may be tempted to add Santa’s sleigh and reindeer up on the roof, but these heavy and bulky items are best left on the lawn. Their weight could be too heavy for the roof to handle, Plus, during installation, dragging them into place may damage your roof.

Be Careful With Gutters

They may not look like it, but gutters are actually quite delicate, and must be properly balanced, leveled, and secured to work well. In order not to disturb this delicate balance, don’t hang your lights from the gutters. Instead, attach them to the eaves. When balancing your ladder up against the home, take care not to lean it directly against the gutters to avoid pushing them out of place or denting them. Gutter damage can lead to a whole host of problems later on this winter, including ice dams and leaks.

Don’t Walk on the Roof

You may decide to walk all over the roof as you hang your holiday lights, but try to resist the urge. Not only could you slip and fall, you could damage the roof. Professional roofers wear special boots and use proper equipment to ensure they don’t damage the integrity of the roof. You may not even realize you’re causing trouble until you notice a leak come spring.

Get a Free Roof Inspection From NVB Contracting Now

Before you string up those holiday lights, get a free roof inspection from our team. We can check for any damage that should be addressed, as well as give you some pointers on safe holiday light hanging and other ways to protect your roof. To book your inspection, contact us today.