Holiday Decorations: Can Your Roof Take the Weight of Your Festive Spirit

Although the Arizona weather can be deceiving, the season is here to show off your holiday spirit! Lights, figures, statues, the possibilities are endless. There are many ways to show off your decorating skills, and a variety of places to place your decorations. You can decorate along your sidewalk, in the yard, and even on top of your roof. The latter can prove a bit tricky, and there are precautions you should take for the safety of yourself, others, and the integrity of your roof, and prevent the need to make costly roof repairs. Here are some tips to keeping your Glendale home decorating safe and fun this holiday season.

Safety is the Priority

If you are mounting any decorations to the roof, whether it’s lights or standing decorations, safety begins before the ladder hits the roof. Cords and tie downs have their own level of caution on the ground, but when you’re decorating the roof, you want to make sure the roof is where those decorations remain. The best way to make sure they stay on the roof is to secure them to your roof. Here’s how:

1. You need to look at the base of your decorations and be sure that you can secure a wire to it. If the item doesn’t have holes, you can always wrap the wires around it and cut it to the appropriate length. You will need a board cut to fit the length of your display. Using a 2×4 is recommended for bigger displays, but for smaller displays you can use a 2×2.
2. Next, you’ll want to drill 2-3 inch screws through the decoration and into the wood. If it has nothing to attach wires to, do the same with another board at the top of the display. Mount it onto the back of the display.
3. You need to screw eye bolts into each corner of each end of the boards. You should have four eye bolts total once you’ve completed this.
4. You’ll need to feed the wires through the eye bolts several times and secure them with wire clamps. You will need two wires on each eye bolt, the length of which depends on the size of the roof. It is recommended to use one roll of wire for each connection, because you will be securing the wires at the corners of your house and won’t know the length that the wires need to be.
5. Next, you need to drill two, small, pilot holes just under the overhang in the front of the house. The holes should be far apart from one another, on either side of the where the display will be. It is best that the wires are stretched at an angle from the display, so drill these anchor placements accordingly. Screw eye bolts in the holes, then repeat this process on the back side of the house as well.
6. With someone holding your ladder, climb up to the roof with the display. If you cannot carry it up, you can hoist it up with a rope.
7. Put the display where you want it, making sure that the base is in the correct position. It is a good idea to have someone helping you with this part.
8. Take the wires from the base to the coordinating eye bolts on the front and back of the house. With help, attach the wires to the eye bolts, one side of the display at a time. Once you have one side complete, repeat on the other side, pulling the wires tight. This will bring the wires on both sides taut, and secure the display the the house.
9. Finish up your display using top wires. Stand your decorations onto the display, running wires from on eye bolt in the front to one in the back, and side to side until the decorations are secure.
10. Get down the later safely, flip the switch, and enjoy your holiday spirit!

Handle with Care

You always want to make sure that you’re not drilling into your roofing material. Even small nail holes can create an opportunity for water damage. Such damage can cause a need for partial or complete re-roofing, so it is not worth risking it.

Make sure to check your roof carefully for any obvious damage before mounting anything to your roof to make sure that your roof is ready for the décor. If you spot any roof damage, make sure to contact a Glendale roofer to check the integrity of your roof and make any necessary roof repairs before you add weight to it.

Roof Maintenance

Prevention is always better than repair. Make sure you repair any broken tiles or missing shingles immediately to protect the integrity of your roof. If you find needed repairs, or have questions about the health of your roof, it would be wise to have Glendale roofing company send a roofer out to do an inspection to make sure your roof is in good working condition.

If it is found that you are in need of roof repair, or of re-roofing, having those repairs done sooner rather than later is always best. If you would like to schedule an inspection or an estimate, please give AZ Native Roofing a call at 602-348-6559. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and a happy new year!

Written By:
Jason Swim – Owner

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