Now that it’s December, Christmas is almost here. This is the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with your family and enjoy all the festive decorations around you. Unfortunately, this requires some preparation so that your home is well decorated. If you’re feeling competitive, this will take multiple steps – all of which require caution so you don’t damage your shingle roof or injure yourself.
Think Safety First
The first thing you should think about when you’re hanging your Christmas lights is your safety. While Christmas is beautiful, your shingle roof could be wet, or it could be windy outside. Either condition isn’t ideal when you’re climbing around on top of your house. As such, you must take certain safety precautions. Start by making sure that your ladder is safely secured with rope or bungee cords and its legs are on level ground before you climb on it. Even better, get someone to help you!
Prepare Everything Before Doing Anything
Like any task you want to accomplish, you must be prepared before you dive into things. Before you leave the ground, make sure you have a solid plan as to where each and every strand of your Christmas lights will go. You should also make sure you test the lights before you start hanging them so you aren’t disappointed after you’ve done all the hard work of hanging them.
Protect Your Roofing
You should walk on your shingle roof as little as possible. Not only is being on your roof dangerous, but it can also cause damage to your roofing. All it takes is one loose shingle and you could take a bad fall. You also don’t want to step on the roof’s troughs as you may break them too. Besides walking on your roof, you should also know that Christmas decorations themselves can also wreak havoc on your home’s roof.
Avoid Using Hammers and Nails
Although you may think that the easiest way to hang your Christmas lights is with a few nails and your hammer, your roofing probably can’t handle this treatment. These nail holes will simply create ways for moisture and dampness to enter your home which is why you should use plastic clips instead. These are inexpensive, reusable, and stick well to any surface. An even better option is to avoid decorating your roof at all. Instead, use lawn ornaments. You’ll find they’re less of a hassle too.
Avoid Your Chimney
Typically, your gutter and chimney are located at quite a distance from each other. As such, you’ll have to take a short walk across your shingle roof to reach your chimney. For safety’s sake you should avoid doing this. However, if your heart is set on decorating your chimney, make sure you use great caution in doing so.
Conclusion
Christmas should be fun and relaxing. If you follow these tips you and your roofing will be safe throughout this season. However, if you go overboard or something does go wrong, make sure to reach out to Done Rite Roofing, Inc so they can make the necessary repairs before they steal your holiday joy.
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