4 Ways To Avoid Christmas-Time Roof Breakage

Hanging Christmas lights and decorations is an annual rite of passage. The time honored tradition of dusting off the inflatable Santa and commissioning your family to help with the days-long task of brightening up your homestead until January.

Beyond the pageantry of Christmas decorations: Watching the lights twinkle in the cold Wisconsin nights, warming up with a cup of hot chocolate after a long day of setting up lights, and giving your kids a high five for a job well done; there is also the undeniable fact that you as the homeowner must watch carefully as to not cause damage to your roof and the surrounding gutter system while decorating.

By all means, go all out and get crazy with your bad self when setting up your Christmas lights. Just make sure to follow these 4 fail-safe tips, provided by Renew Roofing, to avoid causing costly damage to your roof.

• Find Strong Attachments

Your roof, though strong and durable as a whole, has many “soft” and vulnerable areas which can be inadvertently punctured and damaged by something as simple as a nail. When prepping to string your Christmas lights, it would be wise to take time to survey your roof for positive areas to connect your lights. This will also serve the dual purpose of being able scan your roof for any previously unseen damage. Avoid nails, attaching anything to your gutters, and make sure nothing with any significant weight is attached to your roof unless you are certain your roof can safely accommodate your holiday setup.

• Avoid Walking Around On Your Roof

While it is true that walking around on your roof is never really a good idea, Wisconsin winters present a whole ‘nother set of challenges. Ice and snow are the main culprits this time of year, and venturing onto your roof just to make sure your Rudolph display can be seen from across the street may not be the wisest idea.

• Be Smart With The Ladder

Although this may be an elementary-level point, make sure you enlist help from another adult or your teenage children to help when using the ladder to decorate your home. Not only can a “spotter” help you with your balance, the spotter can also help to be your eyes and ears for any damage that may be inflicted upon your roof from the ladder. A situation which may not be visible to you from your vatange point on the ladder can be caught by a spotter on the ground.

• Be Patient When Taking Down Your Christmas Decorations

The early part of January is never a fun time. The buzz and fun of the holiday season is over, the credit cards have been filled up, it is bitterly cold outside, the amount of sunlight available each day is basically at its lowest amount… You get the idea. And on top of all this, you now need to take down all those decorations and lights. The knee-jerk reaction here is to take down all those lights as quickly as possible, but this can cause significant damage to your roof and gutters. Take your time.