Christmas lights

[Rick Potter]

Finally getting around to putting up Christmas lights on my eaves. It is all new fascia, and I was wondering how this omniscient panel hangs theirs.

In the past I have tried the plastic holders they sell, nails, staples, and cuphooks. They all let the strings sag, and the wife doesn't like that look. This year I am starting over in our new house, and I came up with the idea of using spring type clothes pins. I am using my new 23 ga. pinner and attaching them to the back of the fascia, where they won't show. I know this cannot be an original idea, and I am curious if anyone has comments on how it has worked for you. That is why I am using the pinner, they will have shear strength, but pop off easily if they don't work out. I am putting them up every 16", so each one will not support much weight.

Anybody have a better method?

Rick Potter

[Kyle Kraft]

Sounds like your soffit area is open allowing access to the back of the fascia board, yes? My soffits are boxed in and I have rain gutters, so I use the little treble clef shaped gray plastic hook thingys. They work stupendously for me! I have even shoved them under the shingles on the gable edges and they work great.

[Greg Stanford]

Those same plastic hook thingys, I leave them on the lights when I take them down & they're ready to go the next year. Work w/ both shingle & gutter.

g

[Gary Herrmann]

Consider trying extreme velcro on the bottom of your gutters.

[Jim O'Dell]

At our former house, I used the cup hooks, but with a twist. I had a bunch of zip ties that have a flange with a hole in it for screwing them down. I placed these on next to a light about every 3'. Then I mounted one cup hook at a time, making sure that the next one made the light string stretch slightly. Stayed very straight, and I was able to take them down and use again the next year, as long as I marked them and put them up in the same order!!:D
Haven't gotten enough in the Christmas spirit here at the new house to put the lights up. Maybe next year.:rolleyes: Jim.

[Lee Schierer]

I used ordinary screw in cup hooks in my vinyl soffet. The sag is minimal if you string the lights fairly tight. My hooks are about 3 feet apart and every other one is rotated 180 from the previous one so the wind can't flip the strings off. I can put up 90% of my lights from the ground and also take them down the same way. No ladders on icy ground. I also installed some outdoor outlets in the soffet on timer switches located inside so the lights come on and off automatically.

[Russ Filtz]

No ice to worry about here in FLorida! Does seem abnormal to be sweating while putting up xmas lights though!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

HA HA Never have. never will.
I get a tree.
Anything more overshadows the trailer.

[Rick Potter]

Yup, I have open fascia boards, no gutters (never rains in California heh, heh), the plastic thingies never worked on my tile roof, so I didn't try them on the new FG shingles. Well, I got the clothes pins pinned on yesterday, but the lights aren't on them yet (it's raining). I will report on how well they work.

Saw a guy yesterday about 24' up trying to put them on a gable. He was really stretched out, hope he didn't fall. I can't imagine using a ladder on ice.

Rick Potter

[Rick Potter]

Put up a string of full size lights on the clothespins, then added a string of icicle lights to it. The spring on the chothespin had enough tension to hold both just fine, and the lights were really easy to install. I think I will keep them a while.

Rick Potter