Everyone wants their homes to look neat and sparkling on Christmas day. One of the memories that come with Christmas is painting and coloring your neighborhood with lightbulbs and making your neighbors jealous of how beautiful your home looks.
When you think of activating the Christmas mood at home, what comes into mind is how to install Christmas lights on the roof, trees, and backyard. Here we give you some tips you need to do it right and safely.
Get ready to hang lightbulbs.
When getting ready to hang the Christmas lights on the roof or trees, the first thing you should do is to get the right tools for the work. What you need to hang the Christmas lights on the roof is a ladder. You will also need someone to help.
When climbing the roof within a ladder, you should extend the ladder three feet beyond the edge so that you reach the roof without stretching too much. Do not climb the ladder when wearing slippery shoes, and avoid the top two ladder rungs to avoid toppling.
Check the bulbs
Plug all the Christmas lights you want to hang and check if they are all working perfectly. You should replace all the burnout bulbs before doing the installation.
Additionally, you should also check the cords if they are frayed. If you have any frayed cords, you should dispose of them because they can be riskier; damaged cords can cause electrical short and start fires at home.
Measure the area to cover
Proceed to map out how you want the lights to look like in your compound. Do you have enough light bulbs to cover the area you want? You should measure the distance you want the lights to cover and determine the number of strands you will need.
Don’t forget to account for the windows, entryways, and doors when measuring the distance to cover.
Check the bulb rating.
Before you think of changing the bulbs on your roof, you should find out if they have the rating for outdoor. You should avoid discount lights if they are a fire risk to your home. You can go for ETL and Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) light bulbs with a safety rating.
You can spot the bulb rating on the electrical cords and the packaging. Do not hang the lights if you are not sure whether they have the safety rating or not.
Check the weather outside.
When you plan to hang your Christmas lights, you should check that the weather is perfect for the job. The right time to hang the lights is when the weather is not too cold and wet. During mild weather, it is much easier to install the light bulbs safely. In wet weather, chances of slipping off when climbing a ladder are high.
You should ensure you are using the lights as directed by the manufacturer. For instance, you should only use bulbs that are rated outdoors for hanging on the roof and those rated indoors for your interior decorations.
Choose your locations
When hanging lights, you should be more careful to avoid electrocution. Choose the right place to hang the strip lights; avoid hanging the lights near power lines.
When you hang indoor lights, you should avoid putting them close to fireplaces, heaters, and candles to avoid fire outbreaks. You should also ensure the string lights are not that close to flammable objects and loose paper.
If you feel like you are not the right person to install Christmas lights in your home, you can hire an expert in Christmas light décor such as American Holiday Lights to help. This way you can save time and money. Light installers have the skills to decorate your home exterior and interior with quality lights.
