The best way to install Christmas lights depends on the type of lights you have and where you plan to hang them. After 25 years on Portland rooftops, here are the tips we give every homeowner who wants to do it themselves, plus the safety rules our own crews never break.
Plan Your Layout
Decide where you want the lights and sketch the layout before buying anything. Consider the distance between the power source and the lights, the height of the space, and the overall look you're going for.
Measure your roofline, and buy about 10 percent more than the measurement says. Coming up two feet short with everything else already hung is the classic first-timer mistake.
Choose the Right Lights
There are many types of Christmas lights available, including LED, incandescent, and solar-powered. Choose the type that suits your needs and budget.
For Portland, we'll be direct: LED, every time. They sip power, run cool, and handle two months of rain far better than incandescents. Box-store strands are rated in seasons; commercial-grade C9 bulbs on socket wire are rated in years. You get what you pay for the first wet week of December.
Use Clips, Not Nails
Don't use nails, screws, or staples to hang your lights. They damage your roofline and gutters, and staples pierce wire insulation, which is how shorts happen in the rain. Use clips or hooks specifically designed for hanging lights instead.
Clips grip the gutter or shingle edge, hold the bulbs in a clean straight line, and come down in January without leaving a mark. They cost a few dollars a hundred and save you a gutter repair.
Test Before You Hang
Before you start hanging anything, plug every strand in on the ground and make sure it works. Replace any burnt-out bulbs first.
Finding a dead section from the driveway takes thirty seconds. Finding it from the top of a ladder in the rain takes an afternoon and your patience. Test twice, climb once.
Work With a Partner
Installing Christmas lights is a two-person job, especially on a ladder or anywhere high. Have someone hold the ladder steady and pass you strands as you need them.
The partner also serves as your eyes from the street, telling you whether the line is straight and the spacing is even before everything is clipped down. Solo installs are how lights end up crooked and how people end up in urgent care.
Respect the Weather
This is Portland, so plan for rain even if the forecast is clear. Use only outdoor-rated lights and extension cords, plug everything into GFCI-protected outlets, and keep connections off the ground where water pools.
Pick a dry day to install if you can get one, and never work on a wet roof. Wet composite shingles are slick as ice, and a steep pitch plus rain is exactly the job you leave to people with harnesses.
The Safety Rules Our Crews Never Break
- Use a sturdy ladder on flat, firm ground, and keep three points of contact while climbing.
- Wear appropriate clothing and footwear with real traction. No slick-soled shoes on ladders or roofs.
- Never overload electrical outlets or circuits. Check the rated capacity of your cords and strands, and spread the load.
- Never use damaged or frayed cords. If the insulation is compromised, the strand goes in the trash, not on the house.
- Put the display on a timer so it's not running unattended all night.
- Know your limit. If the roof is steep, the house is tall, or the weather won't cooperate, that's what professionals are for.
Or Skip the Ladder Entirely
These tips will get a DIY display up safely. But if your roofline is steep, your December weekends are spoken for, or you want commercial-grade lights with maintenance and takedown included, our crew handles all of it, start to finish.
Nick Hiatt
Owner, Saint Nick's Christmas Lights, Portland, Oregon
I spent 25 years on ladders around the Northwest before Saint Nick's was ever a company, and I've been designing and installing custom holiday lighting in the Portland area ever since. I write these guides myself. No fluff, just what I'd tell you standing in your driveway.