Great video, I went “pro” about 8 years ago and will never look back. I use a harness when walking around on my roof. I don’t have a problem with heights, but I do have a problem with falling from them 😂
I love that you did it early. 1. I think lights should go up as soon as possible so they can be seen for as long as possible as well. 2. I'm glad you did it now so I can start planning. If you had waited til Christmas these ideas would have had to wait a whole other year for me. Thanks for doing it soon!
Adam I would like to bring this to your attention. Having the lights pointed up will catch rain and snow and might cause you problems unless they are waterproof somehow. I would suggest putting the lights pointing down in your bracket so they won’t be able to retain any form of moisture. Enjoy your lights
Make sure you add labels to the light strands, including location keys such as "ridge here" where the gable strand crosses the ridge or "corner here" where you turn a corner. Also helpful to identify at each male connector which strand you're looking at and where its start point is on the house. Great work and technical tutorial, Adam! (You could have walked/scooted the ridge of the 9/12, ridges and valleys are much easier to work than the flats - access it from the 5/12 gable. Improvements for next year I suppose!)
Love this video! It is motivating me to get lights back up in the house this year. I’ve had a bunch of the same frustrations with lights in the past. The lights look great! The main pond also seems to be coming along very nicely with the view from the roof. Nice to not be limited by HOA rules around when lights can go on the house, even if you don’t run them every day. I also applaud the ingenuity of using the machine and the IBC tote. The outtake from Neighbor Doug is priceless!! “If you’re going to fall, I want to see it!” Also, love the eagle call back to Kyle’s video.
Great idea Adam! Always smarter not harder. That’s for anyone asking why are you putting up lights so soon? It’s always good to think ahead. Good to see you and Doug collaborating! He’s such a great friend. I know he feels the same way about you. My, the kiddos are sure getting big. That was so cool to see Lana holding Josie with Anderson by her side. 😊💙💙
DIY or Pro, keep in mind your plastic clips and sockets are going to dry out and begin falling apart due to UV light after a few years. Mine stay up year round, so fell apart more quickly. 99% of us don’t have the equipment you have, either. You did a great job and they look great. Next time I put up new lights I’m definitely going with programmable.
I have a house in my neighbourhood and they used a multi color bulb so they can program the bulbs.... Halloween is orange and purple ... Green at st pattys days ..you name it... They leave them up all year round ... Kinds cool ... Amazing how far they have come in short time.... I remember the old glass bulbs that got so hot they would melt snow and i would watch the hydro meter spin
My Dad always said he was going to decorate and never did so when my kids asked me decorate I said next year and then realized that was a cop out and I went out and bought blights sand decorations and put then up. I continued until after they graduated from college. They now have fond memories of those times. It is important. I always put them up the week of Thanksgiving and took them down after New Years when the weather was good if possible.
I did my Christmas lights a few years ago. I cut my strings for each roof section and have them labeled for easy installation the next year. So far I haven’t had any issues with them. I however remove the bulbs each year so no tangles. Last year I noticed some corrosion in the sockets so I put some dielectric grease on tip of each bulb when installing. What is nice about the LED bulbs you can run all the string together without worrying about tripping a circuit. Awesome video.
GOOOOOOOD MAAAAAAAAWNIN EVERYONE from beautiful Newport RI!! The Fall colors are wicked excellent this year !….Nice job Adam. & don’t let the negative Nancy’s get to you… Keep up The great job Have a day
Nice job Adam. Looks great. Love the view from your roof. Makes all the hard work on the pond(s), building and landscaping worth it. Your fire pit in front of the house is a great place to hang out...
You should consider getting Neighbor Doug over to help, put one of your tote baskets on the tractor, let him drive you around in a makeshift man-lift. There’s a reason you’re not comfortable with heights, it’s because of your body’s sense of self preservation. One fall is life-changing.
"Oh, it's high up here!" I could hear the pucker factor in your voice. Nicely done, pushing through your obvious discomfort. Looks great. I climb, so having a climbing harness, rope, belay devices, carabiners, etc is par for me. Mrs Token knows how to rappel and belay. Not necessarily suggesting this as it's not industrial fall pro, but it's definitely one way to ensure fall protection.
We looked at that type of gear and without instruction and experience it would have been difficult to pull it off safely. Sadly- It’s a skill that we know nothing about.
Looks great! I got up on a ladder the first year we lived in our current house to put up lights and that was enough for me to know I never wanted to do it again. We ended up getting permanent lighting put up by a company called Trimlight and I am thrilled with them. There are other companies as well (gemstone and jellyfish) and some DIY versions. I love that I never have to put them up and down and that I can use them for other holidays as well.
Pro installer/ pressure washer here. Need to have your house power washed(soft washed)in the spring. Noticed the tiger stripes on your gutters and the algae on your cupola. As holiday light installers, we are always installing for ease of takedown in January. Meaning that we are able to takedown the entire house from the ground, clips and all. It takes about 15 minutes. You will not be able to do that with the clips that were chosen. They are not professional grade. You will have to return to the roof to remove the lights in January. The clips you need are called Tuf clips or Best clips that always stay attached to the bulb and socket. They are not available on Amazon. The clip is held onto the socket by the bulb being screwed into the socket. We use 15 inch spacing due to the brightness of the LED C9s. It is difficult to discern the 3” spacing difference. Always install lights with the lights turned on and use a wireless remote control to turn the lights on and off for making cuts in the wire. We would have your entire house installed in about 1 1/2 to two hours with a 2 man crew. On the re install next year it will take about 30 minutes 😊. Before taking down the lights, make a diagram of your roof and color code the connections with the male vampire plugs and the direction each strand runs to aid in ease of reinstalling. I just use different color electrical tape and note that color and location on the diagram. You should be proud of your self. It looks fantastic. With the remaining sockets, it will look great to get ground stakes and put ground lights at the base of the front of the house. Just drop a zip cord down from the gutter line to the ground. Of course put the lights on a timer to not have to remember to turn them on each night. I like to run dusk to 10 or 11 then about 5 am to dawn. If you have any questions, You may give me a call. 423-310-1278. I owe you anyway cause you inadvertently sent me a free hat. Fly fishing vests work great for holding all the bulbs and supplies need on a roof. Brian.
Thanks for the video! I was just looking at Christmas lights last night. I haven’t put them up since I was a kid, and now I have a 1.5-year-old. Also, thanks for spreading joy! I’m still a kid at heart, and this year I put up Halloween decorations. My child and I love them! My neighbor, who also set up lights, shared that he found realistic human-like blinking lights for his skeletons. I completely agree with you-put the lights up now while the weather’s nice and enjoy more quality indoor time later when it’s not as good!
Awesome video. I’ve been considering this for a couple of years. I have a high slope roof and a 3 story house so I’ll happily pay the pros to scamper around up there.
I too am not fond of heights either, so I sucked it up and had them installed professionally, and they used the same type of wire, connectors and bulbs. We only did the front of the house facing the road, so likely only about 150 feet, but it was an initial cost of only about $1500, but it is also $600 per year after that....I am not Wealthy, but as I get older I find more value in having them done....
I had no idea this product is available. I am really glad to see this. I use some form of Christmas light year around. Around the gazebo and the fire ring. You said 75 degrees? The safety police would just shoot me. I would have worn flip flops and shorts without a shirt, but with extra suntan oil. There is probably a reason I do not have a RU-vid channel. Have a great day.
Great job doing it early. I just finished putting mine up. The only difference is that mine are permanent. They are only attached to my soffit. Mine are also Govee lights. I can control them from my phone. Which means I can change the color pattern to suit the holiday. They'll be in use at least 4 months out of the year. We'll have them on for Halloween, Christmas and, since we're in southeast Louisiana, Mardi Gras.
Great lights Adam. Make those impressions/memories with your children regardless of what a few might say. Some of my fondest memories are also from Christmas time. Someone may have already mentioned this in the below comments, but you may want to think about getting a pair of magnetic Cougar Paws boots/shoes to wear when doing this each year. It will definitely give you added traction on that metal roof. They're not cheap but well the investment versus potentially falling.
Great video I would suggest for the tie off next time either get a winch for the 4 wheeler or one on your side by side. That way you can raise and lower yourself.
Try going up a sailboat mast about 60 feet on a windy day. I am also afriad of heights, but your fear keeps you safe. Great video Adam! Your family and your family outside of your family thanks you!
Don’t feel bad about being queasy on a roof, Adam. Unless you do it all the time, it’s natural to be a bit timid. Asphalt shingles add grip- when I was a young man, I used to run around on a 9/12 pitch after the guy I worked for hollered at me saying “don’t curl your toes and keep your feet flat”! Yeah, easy for him to say… but I did get fairly comfy with it. Metal roofs are a whole different animal. Never liked to get up on those. You did a great job!
You did a great job. You were safer than I’ve done crap before and it’s your house. Run those lights in July if you want to. I had no idea lights were available like that. Don’t know why, just never looked into it I guess. Anyway, the house looks great and you did a great job.
The male plug ends are not fused? That's an incredible fire hazard! Professional light strings absolutely need to be fused, just as all commercially available consumer grade lights are.
This explains why women live longer than us! 😆 dude that looks legit I’m definitely going to have to try this out! Doug the GOAT in operating an excavator!
Looks like a great product style and you’re putting out great advice. But you know we all have opinions and I think the light itself should face down because if it’s not sealed properly, it may trap water in the electrical connection and could cause an issue. As we know water and electricity do not mix well.
I think it's funny how the big bulky lights I grew up with went out of style in favor of the small twinkling icecicle lights and now we're back to the big bulky lights being considered "professional grade". Everything is cyclical I guess. Ha. Looks great, btw!
Adam check out : waterproof electrical connection box for extension cords. IP 54. They come in different sizes and colors. They keep the plugs connected and out of the weather. Maybe even out of sight. Keeps the critters out of them along with the kiddos from playing.
I have never stressed so much watching one of your videos. I kept thinking would Lana post a video of Adam falling from the roof and dying. Well Adam would have wanted to her to as a lesson to the rest of us. It would have been his final wishes. So there was a lot of suspense!!! Also kind of ironic that the 6'5" guy is afraid of heights.
Hey Adam you did a great job and nice solution to getting to the higher spots. Wish I lived closer to you as I would of put the lights up on all the higher spots for you for a big steak dinner. Would look more awesome if you had the whole roof done.
While old C9 style Christmas Lights are a timeless classic. There are much better ways to go. Personally, I went with the GOVEE brand permanent install LED lights. I use them year round as perimeter lights. Each LED is programmable to a specific color and mode. Love them. The price for almost 200 feet was about $300.
I used to do this for 6-7 years at a landscape company. Box store lights are shit/ yup, youre gonna pay a bit more for pro grade stuff, but the pro grade stuff will last you many many years vs a single season. The world really changed when they started making LED bulbs. Now you can run like 1000 ft of lights off a single outlet instead of just a few hundred.
I always comment before watching. Those bulbs are little tanks,, run them over? no.. but these things can bang rather hard against stuff and still work. That lamp/jumper wire is handly. I used a bunch in my game room office to sort of hide the wires. those M/F ends are sort of cheap when you look at them, but man, life savers!
I bought the heavy duty led lights with thick rubber cords designed to be left up year-round and you can change colors with an app on your phone they are on sale lots of times but i think they were like 40or 60 for a 25-foot string. the ap was annoying it only works on the 2.4 band of wifi so you have to set it up with your phone on 2.4 also then it will work after that if phone is on 5 gig wifi.
I have plastic slate roof, and it is very difficult to walk probably close to yours you can walk it with rubber shoes but you can't sit down you will slide down it so I fell over trying to walk the ridge and slid down to snowguards got a nice road rash on my arm rubbing roof on way down getting too old for walking roofs anymore.
I have strings of LED lights on the front porch railings and around the front windows. They have been there for 5 years and still light up every December. Programmed strings and solid strings. Too much trouble to take them down and put them up every year.
The lights look great and you did a fantastic job as always, the view of the ponds from roof is beautiful. Curious if there is a waterproof termination on the end of the string or do you just cut the wires.
Why not save even more money by having no lights at all? No time used putting them up. No electric costs on no lights. No time used on taking them down. Win win win all round!
He still talks about sitting in the house when he was little and looking out at our lights. Very fond memories for him. He wants his kids to have the same sweet thoughts of their childhood….
