With the bitter cold weather approaching, there is a bright side—the holiday season! One of the best ways to show your cheer is by hanging and displaying bright, colorful lights on your home for everyone to see. Hanging those lights is no easy task, though. Before you climb up on that ladder, you need to know how to hang Christmas lights on a roof safely and so that they look great. We’ll give you tips on how you can achieve this below.
How to Hang Christmas Lights on a Roof
Make your home look the best it can this season.
- Choose your lights (if you don’t have some already). Pick the size and color of your choice, keeping in mind that lights spaced more closely together will have a brighter effect when hung. Regular plain-colored bulbs won’t cut it this year? Check out these pop culture holiday lights to make your home look truly unique.
- Pick a focal point on your roof and work from there. Look at your roof from a distance and see where a person’s eyes might be drawn to most—if you have a sloped roof, is there a particular peak that stands out most? Having this starting point will help you as you go.
- Before you start hanging, take careful measurements of how much area you’re covering, as well as the distance from your roof to your power source.
- This is also a good time to test your lights and make sure they’re in working order before you’ve created your display.
- Determine how you’re holding these lights up. Older methods include paperclips or badge clips, but many hardware stores carry clips specifically for this purpose—ones to suit any roof type.
- To get the straightest, most neat-looking line of lights possible, clip your lights to the edge of your gutter or your roof’s shingles.
More important than how they look, though, is that you stay safe while you hang them up. Keep these safety tips in mind:
- If you have a flat roof, it may not be able to withstand a person’s weight for very long. Consult your roofer in this case.
- Ensure your ladder is placed correctly. It should be at a 4:1 angle with stable feet, and the top should reach past the height of the roof.
- Wear the proper attire: sturdy, nonslip shoes and a hard hat are musts when working on a roof.
- Look into how many strands of lights you can string together. LED lights can often be strung together with up to 25 strands, but incandescent lights can usually withstand only three to six.
- When in doubt, call in a roofing professional.
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Climbing up and down from a roof can be tiresome—especially in this colder weather. Sometimes, you just want someone else to do it for you. If you live in southern Missouri, contact the professionals at Taylor-Made Roofing. With over 20 years of experience in residential and commercial roofing, Taylor-Made Roofing is a company that you can trust with all of your roofing and guttering needs. Our family-owned business offers quality services, a reassuring warranty, and free estimates. For more information, please give us a call at 417-326-8778 or contact us online.