Many homeowners look forward to displaying their homes in all their holiday glory, decked out in twinkling lights. They do not look forward to the guesswork and labor that can go into hanging them, however. At Gutterworks, we’ve got you covered with some simple tips to help you breeze through the hanging process so you’ll be enjoying your festive home in no time!
Plan Ahead
For any home project, planning is essential. For this project, you need to decide what type of lights you want to go with first. LED bulbs are a popular choice of late because they are durable and help homeowners save on energy costs. Lights come in a variety of colors – even including different shades of white (who knew?), so you’ll need to be consistent when you gather your lights.
The second consideration for planning involves some measuring. This post provides some great tips for taking thoughtful measurements and planning for how many lights to gather. If you can easily measure your roofline, simply divide the measurement of the entire roofline by the length of light strands you’ll be using and round up. The result is the number of strands you should have on hand for your project.
Finally, you’ll want to be mindful of where to find the power source for your lights. Further, you need to decide on extension cords or an automatic timer to control your lights.
Clean and Prep Your Gutters
Your winter prepping process should have included a check-up on your gutter system. You should have removed any clogs and ensured that your gutter system was properly routing water away from your home effectively. Let our professionals at Gutterworks handle your gutter cleaning and maintenance needs if you need help this winter!
Follow Safety Protocols
A CDC study conducted during the holiday season over three years found that close to 18,000 people were treated in the US for injuries related to holiday decorating falls. 43% of these falls involved using a ladder. Consider the height of the project you’re pursuing when you hang your lights: is your ladder safe for that height? Does the pitch of your roof require special equipment? Be sure to follow reasonable ladder safety measures during your project to prevent any unnecessary falls.
Electric safety is also a must. Ensure that your lights and extension cords are labeled “outdoor,” and if you use an automatic timer, ensure that it is an outdoor timer. Also, don’t rely on one circuit to support too much wattage. In other words, be careful about having a Clark Griswold moment by connecting strand upon strand of lights into one outlet.
Check Your Lights... Twice!
There are few worse experiences than completing a holiday lighting project and finding that you have a bulb or entire strand of lights out. Even if they are new out of the box, but especially if you’re reusing lights from previous years, plug your lights in to make sure they are operable before you go to the trouble of hanging them just to have to take them down and rehang new lights. Test them when you’re gathering your supplies, then test them again before you hang them. You will save yourself grief on the back end.
Hang Your Lights
Gutter clips are the best way to hang Christmas lights on your eaves this season. A homeowner may be tempted to nail holiday lights along their roof, or even get creative with a tool like a staple gun to make quick work of the job. These options are ultimately terrible ideas. Any penetration whatsoever into your roofing, whether you pierce shingles or your gutters, could allow water penetration and costly damage in the long run. Gutter clips are a cheap, low-profile, temporary solution that won’t be an eyesore. They temporarily hang from your gutters, securing lights to the edges of your roof throughout the season, and then you can remove them when you take the lights back down.
Turn on Lights and Enjoy the View
Finally, plug your lights in and admire your beautiful home and your handiwork. You did it!
Your gutter system is a primary aesthetic feature of your home when you hang Christmas lights! Consider letting Gutterworks help you maintain the health and appearance of your gutters throughout the year. Give us a call at (304) 848-9870 for all of your roofing and gutter needs.