Volodymyr Lukaniuk 
The safest way to hang Christmas lights on gutters and shingles is to hook plastic clips over the front lip of the gutter and put nothing through the roof at all: no staples, no nails, no screws. If you also want a line on the shingles, use clips that slide onto the bottom row without bending it up, put them on during a mild afternoon, and stay off the roof itself. In January, take the strand down one clip at a time instead of pulling it. That covers most of the damage we see after the holidays, which comes from holes, from shingle tabs bent up in the cold, and from gutters yanked off their hangers when the lights come down.
We replace roofs and gutters in the north and northwest Chicago suburbs, and this is the time of year the questions about lights start. Below is what the shingle makers actually say, every kind of fastener ranked by what it does to the roof edge, and the take-down routine that keeps your gutters on the house.
Where GAF and IKO disagree about shingle clips
Both companies make shingles we install, and both publish advice on holiday lights. On holes they agree completely. On clips that go onto the shingles, they do not.
GAF
These clips attach to the shingles and gutters, allowing you to hook the lights up without punctures.
From GAF's holiday light tips, which also warn against "stapling or nailing lights to your shingles and gutters" and say to space clips 6 to 8 inches apart.
IKO
avoid the clips that tuck under shingles
From IKO's guide to lights on a shingle roof, which says to avoid lifting shingles "in a way that breaks the sealant bond to the shingle below it" and points you to clips that hug the gutters.
Read side by side, the difference is about lifting. A clip that sits on the edge of a shingle without raising it is one thing. A tab that has to be pushed up under the shingle above is another, because each shingle is glued to the one below by a strip of asphalt sealant, and that strip is what keeps the wind from peeling the roof back. On our roofs we tell people to treat the gutter as the main line and the shingles as the exception. You may also see a quote online that has GAF saying never to hang lights from shingles; the GAF page we linked is the one GAF publishes today, and it allows clips that do not puncture anything.
Every fastener at the roof edge, and what it does
Hardware stores sell a dozen kinds of light hangers. This is how each one treats the parts of the house we get called back to fix.
| Fastener | Where it holds | What it can do to the roof or gutter | Our call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staples | Shot through the shingle or the fascia | Leaves a hole in the shingle above the nail line, where water runs every time it rains or snow melts | Never |
| Nails or screws through the gutter | Through the front lip or the back of the trough | Every hole sits in moving water. IKO notes that small holes in gutters let water leak where it should not | Never |
| Clip over the gutter lip | Hooks the rolled front edge of the gutter | Nothing, if it fits the lip and you do not hang heavy strands on it | First choice |
| Shingle tab clip pushed under a shingle | Slid up under the shingle above, behind the sealant strip | Can break the seal or crack a cold tab. A broken seal may not glue back until warm weather | Bottom row, mild day |
| Adhesive clip on the fascia or trim | Stuck to the painted board under the gutter | Can pull paint when removed. Holds poorly on a cold or damp surface | Fine on trim |
| Magnetic clip | Needs steel to grab | Seamless gutters are aluminum, which a magnet will not hold, and drip edge may be aluminum or steel. Check with a fridge magnet first | Steel only |
| Ridge clip | Straddles the ridge cap at the peak | Means walking the roof. GAF advises installing from the ladder because foot traffic can damage shingles on older roofs | Skip it |
One more note on the shingle row. The bottom course of a roof sits over a starter strip, and the shingle above it covers the nails. Anything pushed far enough up to hide behind that shingle is working in the zone that keeps the nails dry, which is why we keep shingle clips short and low.
How much a gutter can carry
A gutter on a house in our area is aluminum, held to the fascia board by hangers screwed in along the run. It is built to hold water and the odd load of wet leaves, and in a normal year a string of lights adds very little. Trouble starts when the load and the pull add up.
- Heavy strands. GAF warns that heavy lights "can loosen or damage the gutters if they weigh too much". Big incandescent bulbs on thick cord, doubled runs and hanging icicle sets with many drops are the ones to think about.
- Ice on top of lights. A gutter half full of ice in January already carries far more weight than the lights. Clips that hold the strand tight against the lip leave less for the ice to grab, and a run that sags under ice is a hanger problem; our page on what holds a gutter up when it starts to sag shows the fix.
- The outlet. Keep clips and cord clear of the hole where the gutter drains into the downspout. A cord lying across the outlet catches leaves, and a blocked outlet means an overflow in the next thaw.
- Leaves still in the trough. Late leaves are falling right now, so clean before the clips go on, not after. Our guide to when to clean gutters in the fall covers timing by tree.
If your gutters wear guards that fasten to the front lip, a lip clip may not fit. Use a clip made to hook the guard's edge, or an adhesive clip on the fascia, and leave the guard where it is.
If you clip to shingles anyway
Plenty of houses have a roof edge with no gutter, such as a gable rake, and lights there have to go somewhere. For houses without gutters at all, our older article on hanging lights without gutters covers the other mounting options. Where you do clip to shingles, this order keeps the roof intact:
- Pick a mild, dry afternoon.Asphalt shingles stiffen in the cold and the sealant strip only bonds in warmth. Our article on the best time of year to replace a roof explains why we treat 40 degrees as the line. IKO says not to hang lights at all with snow or ice on the ground or roof.
- Work from a ladder, not the roof.A ladder set at the right angle and footed by a second person; our downspout article shows the angle worked out for a one-story and a two-story eave.
- Slide the clip onto the edge of the bottom row only.If a clip needs the shingle bent up to go on, it is the wrong clip for your roof.
- Feel each tab before you clip it.A shingle edge that flaps freely is already unsealed. Leave it alone and tell your roofer about it in spring.
- Space clips evenly and keep the strand snug.GAF suggests 6 to 8 inches between clips. A loose strand flaps in wind and works the clips against the shingle all season.
On a hip roof like this one, every edge is an eave with a gutter under it, so the whole outline can be lit from gutter clips without one clip on a shingle.
Power at the roofline
Most of the injuries from decorating come off a ladder, not from a shock. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission counted 18,400 emergency room injuries tied to holiday decorating from November 2016 through January 2017; 38% were falls, and two people died falling from a ladder.
On the electrical side, the CPSC advice is to "check outdoor lights for labels showing the lights have been certified for outdoor use", and to plug them only into a GFCI-protected outlet or a portable GFCI. Run cords along the gutter or trim, never under shingles or through a window that then gets shut on them.
Taking them down in January without taking the gutter with them
The single most expensive minute of the holiday season is the one where someone grabs the end of a strand from the lawn and pulls. IKO puts it plainly:
When you take down your lights, you shouldn't just pull on the string.
A pull from the ground turns every clip into a lever on the gutter lip or the shingle edge. Unhook clip by clip from the ladder, on a day above freezing if you clipped to shingles. Then walk around the house and look up. These are the signs we would want to know about:
- A dent or kink in the front lip of the gutter
- A bent lip often means the gutter was pulled outward and a hanger behind it let go. Watch that run in the next rain for a sag or water spilling at one spot.
- A shingle tab at the eave that lifts in the wind
- The seal is broken. It may glue itself back down in the summer heat, but it is the first tab a strong gust will take, so have it hand-sealed.
- Small holes or rust spots in shingles or gutters
- Staples or nails from this year or an earlier owner. A hole near the nail line can show up as a ceiling stain by the outside wall; our page on nail pops in shingles covers how water follows a fastener in.
- A gutter that pulls away from the fascia at one end
- Usually a hanger screw has stripped out of the board. That is a quick repair if the wood is sound and a bigger one if the fascia has rotted.
If any of these turn up, we can look at it when we are out on a free inspection, and if a run is beyond repair we replace it with aluminum seamless gutters formed on site. Damage to the shingles themselves goes into our roof repair and replacement work.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put light clips on gutters that have gutter guards?
Only if the clip fits over the guard and the lip together without forcing it. Many guards screw or slide onto the front lip of the gutter, so a clip made for a bare lip either will not grip or pries the guard up. Do not lift a guard to make room for a clip; look for a clip that hooks the outer edge of the guard or use an adhesive clip on the fascia below.
Is it safe to tie an inflatable or a lighted figure to the gutter?
We would not. A gutter is held to the fascia by hangers spaced along the run, and it is built to carry water, not a sideways pull from a decoration catching wind. Stake inflatables to the ground and run their tethers to the lawn. A gutter that was pulled loose this way usually needs its hangers reset, and sometimes the run replaced.
The last owner stapled lights into the shingles. Is that a problem?
Each staple through a shingle is a small hole, and both GAF and IKO say not to puncture the roof for lights. A few staple holes in the bottom course often never leak, but they are worth a look, especially if you see rust stains or a ceiling spot near an outside wall. Pull the staples out gently and have a roofer seal or replace the damaged tabs.
Can I leave the light clips on the gutters all year?
You can, but there is little reason to. IKO notes the sun can fade them, a brittle clip breaks when you finally take it off, and clips along the lip catch leaves and maple seeds through the fall. Take them down with the lights in January and store them on the strands.
Related reading: whether gutter guards are worth it in the north suburbs and why ice dams form on Illinois roofs.
Gutter bent or a shingle flapping after the lights came down? Call (866) 992-2982, seven days a week (weekdays 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, weekends 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM), or book a free roof and gutter inspection online.