With the calendar turning to December and the holiday season approaching, it’s time for many families to deck the halls! But if you plan on decking the exterior of your home too, it’s a good idea to plan ahead carefully and exercise caution. Injuries sustained while decorating for the holidays are surprisingly common, and improperly fastened decorations can damage your roof, gutters, and siding. At CJ Roofing, we want to make sure our customers stay safe this holiday season. So today, here are a few important Christmas light safety tips from your favorite Denver roofer!
Good ladder safety is probably the most important part of avoiding injuries while decorating. To begin with, always make sure your ladder is tall enough to comfortably reach your roof with a few rungs to spare. You never want to stand at the very top of a ladder while reaching up to hang your decorations! You should also take care with where you place your ladder. Make sure to find a level, firm spot where the ladder won’t shift as you climb it. Last, but not least, have a spotter help you out if possible. A spotter can keep the ladder steady and be there to help you in case the worst happens.
Aside from personal safety, the other big risk when it comes to hanging Christmas lights is damaging your home’s exterior. One common cause of this is using fasteners like staples and nails. Both staples and nails create holes, which can allow water to penetrate your roof or siding. Plastic clips are typically much more suited to hanging lights from your home. They’re unlikely to cause damage and easy to remove when it comes time to take the decorations down.
Along with shingles, your gutters are probably the part of your home’s exterior that is most likely to be damaged if you aren’t careful. Gutters can be damaged if too many decorations are fastened to them, though ordinary strands of Christmas lights should be fine. Avoid leaning your ladder against gutters wherever possible, however, as this can bend them. Don’t grab onto gutters for stability, either—not only can this cause damage, but it also indicates that you need to reposition your ladder.
Whether you’re cleaning your roof, checking it for damage, or putting up holiday decorations, it’s almost never a good idea to walk on your roof if you aren’t a professional. It can be easy to slip and fall, causing serious injury. In addition, it’s easy to dislodge shingles, roofing tiles, and other roofing materials inadvertently if you don’t know where to step. You don’t need to be a professional Denver roofer to decorate your home, but it’s best to stay off of your roof and stick to areas of your home that are easier to reach from the ground or a ladder.
As the preferred roofer of many Denver residents, we’re always aiming to provide quality roofing services to our customers here at CJ Roofing. But we also want to do our part in keeping folks safe when it comes to DIY roofing and projects like decorating for the holidays. With more than 40 years in the roofing industry, we’ve learned a whole lot about every aspect of roofing. And we love to share our experience with our readers and customers! For more roofing tips from your favorite Denver roofer, follow us on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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