Tips to Safely Decorate Your Roof for the Holidays

Decorations are a lively and joyous tradition for the holidays. The twinkle of lights and faux icicles can coax a smile on to anyone’s face. These holiday delights can be a very nice touch on your home, but it can be dangerous to you and your home to put decorations on your roof. Before you start a grand holiday display, here are some tips for safely decorating your roof for the holidays.

Check Your Decorations

Before you head up to your roof, inspect all of your decorations. You want to be safe when traveling up to your roof and the fewer trips will certainly maintain your safety. Look for frayed wires or broken glass and plug in all of your lights while you are on the ground.

Avoid Staples

Staples can be very damaging to your roof and to your siding by creating small holes for moisture to seep into. Staples also don’t work well on fiber cement and are difficult to remove. Light clips can be found at most hardware stores. Clips will attach to your gutters and are easily removed at the end of the season. Be cautious to not put too much weight on your gutters with large objects.

Buddy System

Save some time and stay safe by having someone help you when setting up decorations. Make sure your ladder is sturdy and your helper can spot you by holding the ladder. You can have help passing items up to the roof and someone will be there in case of emergency.

Protect Your Shingles

Keep any large objects off of your roof and move them to your lawn. Nailing in large decorations can cause cracks and holes to form in your shingles and ultimately allow water to leak into your interiors. 

Lights and Inflatables

Lights and inflatables are light enough to put on your roof. They can be tied down with clips, twine, or objects around the roof. Weighing down inflatables will help them from blowing away or ripping off of the roof. Make sure that any decorations on top of your roof are far from other objects, such as chimneys, electrical lines, or tree branches. These can be dangerous fire hazards or risky for the health of your roof. 

Inspect Your Roof

While up on your roof, look for any existing damage on your roof. If you see any issues, call Joye Roofing for a roof inspection.