Decorating Your Roof Smartly
‘Tis the season for climbing on your roof and converting it into a winter wonderland. For most, this includes decorating your home with lights inside and out, fake snow, and all the jolliness you can throw on there. However, when it comes to adorning your roof with a massive amount of decorations, you’ll always want to keep your safety as a priority. After all, it’s winter, which means tons of slippery moments and unpleasant temperatures. The last thing you’ll want for the holidays is a trip to the hospital, so take notes on these holiday decorating safety tips to keep you safe and sound while also keeping your home as festive as ever.
1. CHOOSE WISE WEATHER CONDITIONS
This time of year brings in good things like the holidays, family time, time off from work, vacation, and so on. However, with all good things there also comes the not-so-bright side….the cold. For us Californians, anything below 60 degrees is about as freezing as it could get. The weather is unpredictable, we get the cold, the winter winds, the rain, and for some, the snow. Therefore, use your common sense, don’t climb onto your roof when the weather makes this task dangerous. No matter how much safety equipment you own or the number of people that are on the ground spotting you, it is never a good idea to walk around on the roof in poor weather conditions.
2. LADDER SAFETY
Once you have chosen a day with a calm and average temperature, you will begin setting up your roof decorations. Remember, that safety does not end at just the weather conditions. You must follow all of the standard ladder safety rules like making sure the ladder is firmly planted on even ground, maintaining three points of contact at all times, and making sure that the ladder is stable and of good quality before you begin to climb on up.
3. WHO’S YOUR SPOTTER?
In the same way you should always have someone spotting you from the ground when you are cleaning out the gutters or inspecting shingles, you should also always have a spotter when putting up holiday roof decorations. Whether it be a friend, family member, or neighbor, it is vital to have someone spotting you. Should anything happen to you while having been decorating your roof, your spotter can help you out by making sure you’re safe.
4. AVOID POWER LINES
These power lines may seem like innocent cords you can simply navigate your way around, but doing so can lead to consequences that may be deadly. Power lines near your trees or roof are never a good sign and means you should keep away. When decorating your roof, keep yourself, your ladder, and your decorations plenty far away from those power lines.
5. USE CLIPS TO SECURE DECORATIONS
Installing those stubborn decorations using a hammer may seem like a quick and easy fix, but this method will cause much more harm than good. Hammering nails into your roof will certainly damage the shingles. The shingles are the first layer of defense for a roofing system, and once the hammer hits the nails, the penetration can invite your roof’s biggest nightmare into the layers underneath….water. Water exposure is never a good idea for your roofing system. Take care of your roof and use clips designed for securing lights to its surface instead. This will save you costly repairs or an even costlier replacement down the road.
6. USE HEAVY-DUTY EXTENSION CORDS
It is never a good idea to use old, damaged, or overloaded extension cords while decorating your roof for the holidays. In this list of bad ideas, you should also include to avoid using any extension cords that are not designed for outdoor use. Let’s not have your holidays include a house fire, which is something that is possible if you aren’t using appropriate outdoor, heavy-duty extension cords for your roof decorations.
7. USE UL APPROVED LIGHTS
The majority of holiday roof decorations consist of lights. It is tempting to want to purchase cheap lights, especially if you’re in need of a lot of strands for a festive light display. However, those cheap lights may cost you twice as much in the long wrong. Most cheap lights do not carry the UL approval which can lead to shortages and safety concerns like a fire hazard. UL stands for Underwriters Laboratory, which regulates and inspects all kinds of products and sets high safety standards for consumer use.
8. USE GFCI OUTLETS
Speaking of avoiding fires this season, be sure to plug all of your outdoor lights (or inflatables) into circuits that are GFCI. GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters. These outlets prevent electric shock by helping to break differing currents of hot and neutral wires. Not only is this safer for yourself but it also keeps your family and home safe and protected.
9. DON’T OVERLOAD YOUR OUTLETS OR EXTENSION CORDS
Avoid pulling a Clark Griswold’s by overstuffing your outlet like in Christmas Vacation and keep your family and home safe this holiday. Try to only use three sets of standard lights per extension cord and remember, that extension cord should be designed for outdoor use!
10. DOUBLE CHECK THE LIGHTS
A tedious task that everyone avoids but is necessary to complete, is check your lights and all of the little bulbs across the many strands. Keep in mind that by doing so, you can ensure nothing will spark and worse case, start a house fire or cause an electrical shock. Investigate your light strands by searching for frayed wires, cracks in the bulbs, or missing bulbs with exposed sockets. If a strand qualifies for all three problems then it is best to replace the strand in its entirety. Doing this each year will make it a less annoying task for the following.
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