With the holiday season upon us, you might be feeling the itch to break out those strings of twinkling lights. While you may want to match Clark Griswold’s outdoor design, make sure to keep roof safety tips in mind. If you plan on getting on your roof to install Christmas lights, follow these safety tips to keep yourself and your home safe!
Roof Safety Tips Before You Begin
An excellent question to consider while implementing your holiday decoration plan is this: Would Clark Griswold do this?
If the answer is yes, do not proceed, especially when it comes to stapling lights to your roof. Here are a few extra roof safety tips to keep in mind:
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- Untangle strands of lights to save time and effort while on the roof.
- Check your lights for bad bulbs, frayed wires, or lights that flicker before hanging them. These could be signs of electrical damage, which poses a potential fire hazard.
- Use extension cords rated for outdoor use.
- Ensure that your ladders are in good condition and that you set them on flat, solid ground.
- When hanging lights directly from a ladder, try not to extend beyond the natural reach of your arm.
If you see any warning signs of roof damage while you are hanging lights, get a roof inspection immediately!
How to Not Damage Your Roof
The best way to hang holiday lights is by stringing them through plastic clips attached to your shingles, gutters, and eaves. Plastic clips designed for use with holiday lights are easy to install and remove, affordable, and readily available at most home improvement or large retail stores.
Using plastic clips instead of traditional nails or staples will prevent you from puncturing your shingles or gutters. Even the tiniest hole in a shingle can allow moisture to seep in and potentially damage the roof. Using nails or staples can also puncture the wires of your lights, or wear down their insulating coating, possibly causing electrical problems.
- Don’t overload your roof. Before you land Santa’s sleigh up there, look into options that don’t weigh as much. Consider a high-quality plastic facade instead. They can be as detailed as you like and weigh significantly less.
- Consider your lawn. Think about decorating your yard instead of your roof. You can create a winter wonderland right at your front door without worrying about potential damage to your roof.
- Hire a professional to install decorations. If you’re still set on decorating your roof for Christmas, look into hiring a professional. Like you should with any pro, ask for references and ask them if their roof was damaged from the decorations the year prior.
Can Hanging Christmas Lights Void Your Roof’s Warranty?
In the movie, Clark Griswold decorated his house by stapling lights to his roof and home. This is a bad idea! Not only could it lead to roof leaks, but it can also void your roofing warranty.
Warranties usually fall under two categories: manufacturer warranties and contractor warranties. Manufacturer warranties cover roofing materials, while contractor warranties cover workmanship. Anything that intentionally causes damage to the roofing material (like using a staple gun) will likely void the manufacturer’s warranty, leaving you to pay out of pocket should there be issues in the future.
More Roof Safety Tips
- Visually scan the outside of your home and roof for signs of damage like missing shingles or dents and dings in your gutters from past storm damage. You can also request a free roof inspection from our team and avoid the hassle of doing it yourself!
- Fix any loose tiles or shingles before his arrival. The last thing you want is the reindeer slipping as they come in for their landing.
- Use Christmas lights as a runway to help guide St. Nick – just make sure only to do the perimeter and not directly nail or staple lights onto your shingles, as this could cause a roof leak later.
- Make sure to clean your gutters before Christmas Eve. You don’t want reindeer munching on dead leaves and debris while they wait for Santa.
- Make sure your chimney is clean. Show Santa you’re grateful for his visit (and the presents!) with a soot-free fireplace!
- Avoid hanging excessive decorations on your roof. You want plenty of room for the reindeer and sleigh to land and take off without damaging your decorations.
- Don’t attempt to remove sleet, snow, or ice from your roof. This can damage your roof it’s Santa’s natural environment – he’s used to it!
- Make sure to follow all roof safety tips when inspecting your roof or hanging holiday decorations.
Get Help From A Local Roofing Company
Christmas is a season of festivity and celebration! Follow these roof safety tips to have fun with your decorations, but make sure that it’s not at the expense of your roof, or you might end up on Santa’s naughty list. Have questions about roof safety tips or think you might have a roof problem? Give our team of expert roofing contractors a call at 405-895-9972 for a free roof inspection!
