The short answer to this question is yes, hanging Christmas lights and decorations can damage your roof if done improperly. Do not hang lights from asphalt shingles if you can avoid it. Using clips to string lights along gutters or securing lights to fascia board is less likely to damage your roofing.

If you’re an Atlanta homeowner with roof damage, reach out to our experts at Total Roof Solutions to learn more about our roof repair services and financing options.

What to Avoid When Hanging Christmas Lights and Other Decorations

Holes: Using staples or a nail gun to attach Christmas decorations to your roof can leave holes behind where water can enter and leak into your home or damage your shingles. Putting nail or stapple holes in gutters will also permanently damage them and can lead to serious leaks. Nailing or stappling into fascia (wood around the perimeter of your roof) may be alright in some circumstances, but there are risks of splitting the wood or causing damage that can lead to less than perfect aesthetic results depending on where you place the holes. These small holes can lead to greater and more expensive damage in the future, so they are best avoided.

Walking on Your Roof: If you would like to hang lights along your roof or use inflatables, you should strive to minimize the amount of walking you do on your shingles. Walking on your roof can damage your shingles if you are not careful. Professionals usually have training and safety equipment to avoid injury. They know how to move across your roof without damaging the shingles. If being on the roof is necessary, consider using a professional service.

Inflatables: Inflatables are a common Christmas decoration and are fine to use if you have them properly set up. If you rush to remove them or do not have them weighted down properly, they can fall and cause damage to your roof. Do not drill or nail into your shingles or any roof features (like a chimney) to secure inflatables.

Overloading Circuits: Christmas displays often require a lot of electric power to run. If you are not careful you can overload circuits. It is important to know the max wattage of your circuits to avoid triggering the overload protection on the breaker. If you overload and trip a breaker, it will cause all the other appliances or lights on that circuit to shut off and runs the risk of blowing fuses.

Hanging Christmas Decorations Safely

One of the best ways to avoid damaging your roof with your Christmas display is to plan in advance how you want your display set up. Create a sketch of where you want your decorations and how you want your lights to fit the angles of your roof. From there you can plan out how you will hang them and connect the lights and other display items to power without damaging your home.

Be mindful of the max wattage of the circuits you’re using when connecting your Christmas lights and decorations to avoid short circuiting your house.

Instead of carrying your Christmas decorations up the ladder with you, it may be safer to climb up and position yourself on the roof before pulling the decorations up using a rope.

Opt for clips instead of staples or a nail gun to attach your lights to your roof or gutter. There are several styles of clips that can attach Christmas lights and other decorations to your roof or gutters without damaging your shingles.

Also be patient when taking down lights at the end of the holiday season. Take things down clip by clip instead of yanking down whole lines.

There are several ways you can safely attach inflatables to your roof. You can weigh your inflatables down with a 50lb bag of sand. Hang the bag of sand on the opposite slope of the roof and set the inflatables up with wires and safe-eye bolts to ensure that they are sturdy. For larger inflatables, try setting them on a platform and weighing them down with a 50lb bag of sand. If you are experiencing windy weather, deflate your inflatables to prevent them from damaging your roof.

While short circuiting your house is not considered a roofing issue, it is something best avoided. Most household circuits are 15 to 20 amps. While setting up your display, maintain an awareness for how much strain you are placing on each individual circuit.

More hands make less work. Having a helper on the ground may prevent accidents and make the process of setting up your Christmas decorations go smoother.

If for whatever reason you accidentally damage your roof, contact a professional roofer for repairs.

Total Roof Solutions Can Help You with Post-Christmas Repairs

In the unfortunate event that you do damage your roof while setting up your Christmas decorations, reach out to our team at Total Roof Solutions in Atlanta, Georgia. We can help restore your roof quickly to prevent leaks or worsening damage. Call us at 678-752-8668 to schedule a visit.

We hope you enjoy safe and happy holidays!