Hanging Holiday Lights Without Damaging Gutters, Shingles or Heat Cables

Home guide

Why lights cause so many winter repairs

Every January, someone in Park City, Kamas or Heber finds a gutter pulled loose at the corner, a row of shingles with staple holes in it or a heat cable with a nick in it where a string of lights was fastened on top. None of it is dramatic when it happens. The damage comes later, when meltwater finds a staple hole, an ice dam builds along a gutter that was dented out of shape or a heat cable that was cut stops working during the first deep freeze. A few small choices when you hang the lights keep that from happening.

The mountain climate makes lights harder to hang here than in most of the country. Mornings are freezing for months, roofs hold snow and ice from December to March, and wind comes down Weber Canyon, along SR-32 and across the Heber Valley with very little warning. Plan on a lighting setup that has to survive all of it.

Timing: hang them before the ground and roof freeze

The best weekend for lights is in early to mid-November, not the day after Thanksgiving. By then the leaves are down, the ground is usually still soft enough to set a ladder, and roofs and gutters are dry. Once the first real storm leaves snow and ice at the eaves, working on a ladder gets dangerous fast, and a plastic clip that bent easily in 50-degree weather snaps like a twig at ten degrees. A quick schedule:

Clean the gutters first. You'll be up there anyway. A clean gutter gives the clips something solid to hold and gives meltwater somewhere to go. See our guide to ice dams on mountain homes for why this matters.
Test every string on the ground. Plug in each strand in the garage and replace bulbs, fuses or whole strings before you carry them up a ladder.
Hang in daylight and above freezing. Plastic is flexible and ladders are grippy when it's warm. Early afternoon is better than a cold morning with frost on the rungs.

Clips, not nails or staples

This is the most important rule. Lights belong on clips designed for the surface, not on anything driven into the house.

Never nail or staple into shingles, fascia or trim for lights. Each hole is a leak path, and a staple through a light cord can create an electrical hazard.
Gutter clips hook over the front lip of the gutter and hold the cord in place. Choose clips that match your gutter style and shape, and avoid forcing a clip over a lip that is already bent.
Shingle clips slide under the edge of a shingle tab without piercing it. They work best on asphalt shingles in mild weather. A cold, brittle shingle can crack when you lift the edge, so don't use them on a frozen day.
Roof-peak and fascia clips hold lights along ridgelines and trim. We don't recommend walking a roof to install them, which brings us to ladder safety.
Adhesive clips can work on smooth, clean siding and trim in mild weather, but they usually fail in the cold and can pull paint off when you remove them. Test one first.
Metal roofs: use clips designed for standing-seam metal, such as magnetic or clamp-on versions, and never drill or screw into a metal roof for lights. Snow sliding off a metal roof will take clips and cords with it, so keep lights off the slide zone and away from walkways and vents.

Protecting gutters

A gutter holds its shape well until it gets loaded. Lights are lightweight, but a ladder leaning on a gutter can dent it, and a string pulled tight across a corner can drag the trough away from the fascia. Set the ladder on the wall below with a standoff or stabilizer that spans the gutter instead of resting on it, and keep a hand on the ladder rather than pulling on a gutter to stay balanced. Run cords with a little slack so that wind and shrinking in the cold don't pull the clips loose. Before you hang anything, look for gutter spikes that have backed out, sections that droop and leaky seams. Gutters that are already loose are the ones that come down under a layer of ice and lights.

Heat cables and lights don't mix

If your roof or gutters have heat cable, treat it as a separate system that you have to work around:

Never clip, tape, wire-tie or staple light strings to a heat cable, and don't lay lights on top of it. Insulation damage, overheating and moisture trapped under clips are real risks.
Don't hang lights where they'll cover the cable's zigzag, since you'll hide damaged spots and block snow from melting.
Keep a few inches between the two, and put the light cord clips on the gutter lip rather than on the cable's clips.
Don't plug the lights and the heat cable into the same overloaded outlet or power strip. Heat cables draw a steady load, and shared outlets are a common reason breakers trip.
Look at the cable while you're up there. If you see a cut, a cracked jacket or a section that has slid out of its clips, unplug it and call an electrician for repairs. Our heat cable checklist explains the inspection.

Ladder safety on cold mornings

Frost, snow and ice are what make ladders dangerous here. A few firm rules:

Don't climb if the ground is icy, the rungs are frosty or the wind is gusting. Wait for the afternoon, or reschedule.
Set the ladder on firm, level ground, with a base pad or board under it where the ground is soft, at the right angle, and have someone hold it.
Keep three points of contact, wear shoes with good grip and don't carry a large box of lights up with you. Use a bucket on a hook or a rope.
Don't reach beyond the sides of the ladder. Climb down and move it instead.
Stay off the roof. We don't do roof work or roof snow removal, and we don't recommend that homeowners walk steep, snowy or metal roofs to hang lights. If a design needs roof access, hire a company that does exterior lighting professionally, or stick to what you can reach from a stable ladder at the eaves.
If a ladder doesn't reach safely, or the eaves are two stories up, stop. A lower display is better than a trip to the emergency room.

Outdoor outlets, GFCI protection and cords

Holiday lights run on outdoor power that sees snow, sleet and meltwater, so the basics matter:

Use outdoor-rated lights and cords. Look for a listing mark for outdoor use on the packaging or tag, and don't use indoor strings outside.
GFCI-protected outlets. Exterior outlets are normally GFCI protected. Press the test and reset buttons on the outlet, or at the one in the garage that may protect it. If it won't reset, or the outlet is cracked, loose or has no weatherproof cover, don't use it and call an electrician.
Keep connections off the ground. Plug connections in snow and standing water are a classic way to trip a breaker. Use weatherproof covers or connection boxes and lift connections onto a stake or hook.
No staples through cords and no daisy-chaining past the limit. The label on each strand says how many can be connected end to end. Respect it.
New or relocated outlets are electrician work. If you want an outlet at the eaves, the porch or the front tree, an electrician needs to install it. We're glad to place the lights, clips and timers around where they put it, and we can coordinate with them.

LED vs. incandescent loads and timers

Older incandescent strings draw a lot more power than LED strings. A run of large incandescent bulbs can use several times the power of the same length in LEDs, which is why a house with a lot of the old kind will trip breakers and why heat can build up in wiring that's too small. LEDs let you light a large house on one circuit and run cooler near gutters and trim. Whichever you have, add up the wattage on the labels and keep the total on one circuit well under the breaker rating, leaving room for anything else on it. Use a timer or a smart plug rated for the load and for outdoor use, so the lights turn on at dusk and off by bedtime. A timer saves power and reduces the time a cord sits energized in a snowstorm.

Wind in the valleys

Strings that look secure on a calm day can end up in the yard after a night of gusts. In Oakley, Kamas, Heber and Charleston, plan for wind: use clips every foot or so, not every few feet. Secure the loose ends. Bundle excess cord and tuck it, rather than leaving a loop to whip around. Lights hung on shrubs and small trees should be wrapped, not just draped. Wind-blown cords can snag on a gutter and pull it along. After a big wind, take a walk around the house and check for hanging strands before you plug anything in.

Take them down before the ice dams

Don't leave lights up until April. Ice and snow build up along the eaves in January and February, and removing frozen clips and cords can damage the gutter, the shingles or a heat cable underneath. Aim to take lights down in early January, or on the first mild, dry day after the holidays. If a clip is frozen into the ice, leave it. Don't chip at it with a tool or a shovel. Wait for a thaw, and ask someone to look at the gutter and the cable once the ice is gone. Keep the strings after you take them down: wind them loosely on a spool or a piece of cardboard, label them and store them dry.

Cabins, rentals and second homes

A cabin that sits empty most of the winter is a poor candidate for lights that run all night, because nobody is there to notice a tripped GFCI, a loose string or a gutter full of ice. If you want lights for the holidays, have them hung, tested and removed on a schedule, and check them after storms. For nightly rentals, use a timer so lights are off when guests are away, and mention in the house manual not to unplug the exterior outlet. A rental that depends on a keypad lock or a doorbell camera can lose it if a lights circuit trips the same GFCI, so find out what else is on the outlet. See our guide to getting a nightly rental ready for ski season.

When to call someone

Electrician: a GFCI that won't reset, a damaged outlet or cover, a breaker that trips again and again, any new outdoor outlet or heat cable repair
Roofing or snow removal company: anything on the roof itself, including roof-edge lights that need roof access and heavy snow or ice at the eaves
Professional lighting installer: large displays, two-story peaks and anything that needs a lift
Us: cleaning gutters before the lights go up, re-fastening loose gutters and spikes, replacing damaged clips, patching small trim damage, setting timers and checking things after the holidays

Lights are one item on the holiday list. See our holiday guest-ready home checklist for entry steps, heat, the guest bath and bedrooms.

Where we help

Call or text (435) 321-2591 Message us on Instagram

Holiday lights FAQ

What's the best way to hang holiday lights without damaging my gutters?

Use gutter clips made for your gutter style instead of nails or staples, set the ladder with a standoff so it doesn't rest on the gutter and leave a little slack in each run so wind and cold don't pull it loose.

Can I attach lights to my roof heat cables?

No. Don't clip, tape or lay lights on a heat cable, since it can damage insulation and hide problems. Keep the two systems separate and have an electrician fix any damaged cable.

When should I put up and take down holiday lights in Summit or Wasatch County?

Put them up in early to mid-November, while it's dry and above freezing. Take them down in early January or on the first mild day after the holidays, before ice builds along the eaves.

Do you hang lights on roofs?

No. We don't do roof work or roof snow removal. We can clean the gutters and fix loose gutters and spikes before the lights go up, and we'll tell you when a job needs a professional installer.

My outdoor outlet keeps tripping when the lights are on. What should I do?

Unplug the lights, test and reset the GFCI and add up the wattage on the strings. If it keeps tripping, or the outlet is damaged, call an electrician. We can handle the lights and timers around it.

How do I book help with gutters or holiday lights?

Call or text (435) 321-2591, or message @kamasvalleyhandyman on Instagram, with your town, the type of roof and gutters and what you want done.

We focus on general handyman work and are not a licensed electrical, plumbing or general contracting company. For jobs that need a licensed trade, we'll tell you upfront and point you in the right direction.

Hanging holiday lights without damaging your gutters or heat cables