As fall draws on and the nights start getting longer that can only mean that one thing is well and truly on its way: Christmas!
There are few things that can get you into the holiday spirit as quickly and effectively as when you start seeing decorations appearing on people’s homes.
Conversely, there are few things that can turn you from one of Santa’s helpers into Scrooge faster than realizing the wonderful decorations you spent ages putting up have caused costly damage to your roof.
But don’t pack those decorations back away just yet! We at Garvin Metal Roofs have got all the advice you need to deck the halls without bringing down the roof:
Safety first
Before you worry about causing damage to your roof you need to make sure you aren’t going to cause any damage to yourself.
If you are climbing a ladder to access your roof, make sure it is planted firmly on level ground, secured to your roof and leaning at a sufficient angle to prevent shifting. Make sure you take things slowly and that all of your decorations are designed for outdoor use.
To save yourself a lot of potential time and frustration, make sure all your lights are functional and untangled before you begin climbing.
If you can, you should always make sure that you have a friend or partner to help you whenever you attempt to decorate your roof.
Avoid a nasty shock
Make sure all your lights and decorations – including inflatable ones – are positioned well away from any power lines that are near your roof and that you use external outdoor circuits. Don’t overload any outlets with your decorations and make sure that you don’t block your chimney’s flue to avoid the risk of fire hazards.
Don’t hang decorative lights from shingles
Many times, when people decorate their roof, they hang decorative lights directly from their shingles, but this is something you should never do. If you hang lights by stapling or nailing them to your shingles, you create scores of little holes in your roof that compromise its integrity and can let moisture and cold air inside, and warm air outside.
Instead, use clips to hang your lights from gutters or eaves.
Go easy on your gutters
When hanging decorations from your gutters, make sure that your clips are evenly distributed and that you don’t add too much weight to them as this can put too much stress on your gutters, leading to costly damage.
Always make sure you follow the guidelines for the clips to make sure you aren’t putting too much weight on them, and consider hanging lights from your eaves instead.
Take your time removing decorations
Once the holiday period is over, you need to make sure you’re prepared for taking your decorations down. Go slow and steady to avoid damage and don’t just start ripping decorations down. It’s better to spend a long time taking decorations down perfectly than spend a lot of money on costly repairs caused by impatience.