There are few things as enjoyable for our family as driving around looking at Christmas lights each year. We appreciate those who take the time to deck out their home. However, we often see homes that have done things that will lead to roof damage. So, once again this year, we’re sharing our tips to help you not create roof damage during your holiday light installation and removal.
Don’t Clip Anything to Your Shingles
The best way to hang lights on your home is by attaching them to your gutter using light clips. Even if those light clips say, “safe for shingles” please don’t believe them. Yes, they will hold your lights. And, they’ll even look good. However, the act of installing and removing the light clips and the wind that inevitably occurs during the holidays, will lead to friction and granule loss. The granules are part of the protective layer on your shingles and when they are gone, the shingle breaks down more quickly. If you don’t have gutters, we install gutters and cutter covers.
No Nailing
Just because your shingles were installed with nails doesn’t mean it’s ok to nail things to your roof. When a roofer installs your shingles correctly, they use roofing nails. Roofing nails are treated so they can be exposed to the elements without rusting. We also leave the nails in. Many spring roof leaks are the direct result of nails in the roof. When we install your shingles, we leave the nails in them. When you take down your decorations and remove the nails, you leave a hole. Even if you fill it with caulk (which many people do) it’s not a good fix and you will end up with a roof leak as the caulk breaks down or expands and contracts with temperature changes.
Walking on Your Shingles Leads to Roof Damage
Just because your roofer walks on your roof doesn’t mean you should. Unless you are wearing the right shoes and know how to walk with as little disruption to the granules on the roof, we recommend you don’t walk on it. Installing decorations, especially blow-ups, on your roof does also leads to granule loss. As the decorations blow around on your roof, they remove granules. That weakens the shingles and you’ll end up needing a roof replacement sooner or a large roof repair in that area. Of course, we also want to remind you that every year half a million homeowners fall off their roofs – many during holiday decoration installation and removal.
In Summary – Keep Decorations and Yourself off Your Roof
We love Christmas lights but we don’t want to hear from you in January or February that you think you have a roof leak. Don’t mistakenly damage your roof, hang things from the gutters and enjoy the season. Of course, if you do end up with roof damage from decorating, a storm or just an aging roof, Cooley Roofing is here to help. Call us at (336) 766-6488 or fill out our contact form today. Remember, we also install gutters.
