Roof Lights

[Chrisoco]

Hey guys, I’m considering putting lights on my roof along the edge transitions, I definitely don’t want to drill into my new roof. I will probably have to keep them lifted up so they don’t get covered in snow. Just wondering if anyone had any suggestions. Thanks in advance 

[Vince4xmas]

I use Boscoyo strips and hooks.

Look at the link in my signature to see effects.

[Chrisoco]

3 minutes ago, Vince4xmas said:

I use Boscoyo strips and hooks.

Look at the link in my signature to see effects.

Can’t seem to find your signature probably case I’m on my phone, will check when I get home from work. Thank you!!

[TheDucks]

9 hours ago, Chrisoco said:

Hey guys, I’m considering putting lights on my roof along the edge transitions, I definitely don’t want to drill into my new roof. I will probably have to keep them lifted up so they don’t get covered in snow. Just wondering if anyone had any suggestions. Thanks in advance 

What is the roof material?  There are 'Ridge clips' that hold C9 style  upright.

[Chrisoco]

10 minutes ago, TheDucks said:

What is the roof material?  There are 'Ridge clips' that hold C9 style  upright.

I just replaced the roof with new shingles. I was thinking about using pvc pipe to lift the lights off the roof just need to figure out a way to keep them in place 

[k6ccc]

8 hours ago, Chrisoco said:

I just replaced the roof with new shingles. I was thinking about using pvc pipe to lift the lights off the roof just need to figure out a way to keep them in place 

That's what I did with my roofline peak lights.  Built a frame that has a pipe right along the roofline peak with a piece that goes down each side every few feet to keep it in place.  You could put some sandbags on top of the side pieces if it is needed.

 

[Chrisoco]

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Edited February 27, 2021 by Chrisoco
Made a mistake

[Chrisoco]

1 hour ago, k6ccc said:

That's what I did with my roofline peak lights.  Built a frame that has a pipe right along the roofline peak with a piece that goes down each side every few feet to keep it in place.  You could put some sandbags on top of the side pieces if it is needed.

 

Did you make a base to sit on the roof?

[k6ccc]

Not exactly.  Sorry, I have no pictures at all.  Start with a piece of PVC pipe that runs right along the peak of the roof.  Every few feet, put in a T connector so that the straight through openings of the T are in line with the roof, and the third leg goes off to one side.  This is the important part.  The piece going to the side MUST be glued so that a short piece of PVC inserted into that T will lay flat on the roof.  Alternate the direction.  In other words, if for example your roofline is exactly a north / south line.  The first side piece goes east and the next is west, then east, then west, etc.  The side pieces should be a foot or so long.  In order to make it managaable for install / removal, and off season storage, I made eight foot sections with a coupler between sections.  One side of the coupler was glued normally.  I sanded down the piece of PVC that went into the other end of the coupler so that it was a somewhat loose fit.  Then put the sanded down piece of pipe into the coupler and drill a hole through the pipe and coupler and put a pin, or machine screw with a nut through the hole to keep it in place.  At teardown, remove pin or machine screw, and take it apart.  Obviously, you need a disconnect of some sort for the wiring at the same place.  What type will depend on what lights you are using.

Make sense?

 

[Chrisoco]

5 minutes ago, k6ccc said:

Not exactly.  Sorry, I have no pictures at all.  Start with a piece of PVC pipe that runs right along the peak of the roof.  Every few feet, put in a T connector so that the straight through openings of the T are in line with the roof, and the third leg goes off to one side.  This is the important part.  The piece going to the side MUST be glued so that a short piece of PVC inserted into that T will lay flat on the roof.  Alternate the direction.  In other words, if for example your roofline is exactly a north / south line.  The first side piece goes east and the next is west, then east, then west, etc.  The side pieces should be a foot or so long.  In order to make it managaable for install / removal, and off season storage, I made eight foot sections with a coupler between sections.  One side of the coupler was glued normally.  I sanded down the piece of PVC that went into the other end of the coupler so that it was a somewhat loose fit.  Then put the sanded down piece of pipe into the coupler and drill a hole through the pipe and coupler and put a pin, or machine screw with a nut through the hole to keep it in place.  At teardown, remove pin or machine screw, and take it apart.  Obviously, you need a disconnect of some sort for the wiring at the same place.  What type will depend on what lights you are using.

Make sense?

 

Definitely, was probably going to 1/2 electrical conduit to go along the roof line then a tee connector to down to the roof. The hardest part will be trying to make some kind of plate to sit on the roof. I was kinda thinking of putting a dumbbell weight down the pice pipe that comes up from the roof. Not sure if that makes sense lol

[k6ccc]

If you are asking about a plate to sit on the roof, I think you are still missing something.  Think of the capital letter Y - except upside down (or the Peace symbol if you prefer).  The pipe along the roof is the center of the inverted Y (where all three lines come together), and the two sloping sides lay down right on top of the slope of the roof.  I have never needed anything to hold it down, but sandbags would be better than a dumbbell I would think.  The vertical part of the inverted Y is the lights attached to the top of the pipe.  Zip ties, or screws depending on how the lights mount (I used drywall screws with the GE Color Effects lights that  have there).

As for conduit / pipe for the rooftop piece, if you used metal conduit, I would think 1/2 inch EMT would work.  If you do it in PVC (recommended particularly if you are putting 120VAC lights on it), I would go no smaller than 3/4 inch schedule 40.

 

 

[BluMan]

On 2/27/2021 at 4:16 PM, k6ccc said:

Not exactly.  Sorry, I have no pictures at all.  Start with a piece of PVC pipe that runs right along the peak of the roof.  Every few feet, put in a T connector so that the straight through openings of the T are in line with the roof, and the third leg goes off to one side.  This is the important part.  The piece going to the side MUST be glued so that a short piece of PVC inserted into that T will lay flat on the roof.  Alternate the direction.  In other words, if for example your roofline is exactly a north / south line.  The first side piece goes east and the next is west, then east, then west, etc.  The side pieces should be a foot or so long.  In order to make it managaable for install / removal, and off season storage, I made eight foot sections with a coupler between sections.  One side of the coupler was glued normally.  I sanded down the piece of PVC that went into the other end of the coupler so that it was a somewhat loose fit.  Then put the sanded down piece of pipe into the coupler and drill a hole through the pipe and coupler and put a pin, or machine screw with a nut through the hole to keep it in place.  At teardown, remove pin or machine screw, and take it apart.  Obviously, you need a disconnect of some sort for the wiring at the same place.  What type will depend on what lights you are using.

Make sense?

 

K6ccc, I've trying to think of a way to do this for years without damaging my roof and what you've described here is nothing short of genius.  Thank you.

[Little_b]

I bought these a few years ago, but haven't tried them yet. https://www.cannysystems.com/  I do something similar Jim does, except I use 2x4's on the peak that are about 2 feet long down each side of peak.  I do this because I attach my deer to it, as well as my strip lights that are attached to a piece of J-Channel.  Not sure what kind of lights you are trying to attach, but at about the 7:08 mark i show how I attach my Strip lights. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5i2F72IyBY&t=67s

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1cys0bps3f31k6e/20151031_152652.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fl3g6urtjbkrfot/20170111_124954.jpg?dl=0

[k6ccc]

9 minutes ago, Little_b said:

I do something similar Jim does, except I use 2x4's on the peak that are about 2 feet long down each side of peak.  I do this because I attach my deer to it, as well as my strip lights that are attached to a piece of J-Channel.

Yea, more length down the sides required if you are mounting deer up there...

 

[Chrisoco]

I’m going to try and make a plate that will be held down with a sand bag. Then have a vertical riser to a pice of pvc pipe. The front of my house gets hit hard with snow and if the lights r not high enough off the roof they would be covered in the snow. 

[Vince4xmas]

I used water bags instead of sand bags last year and worked great!

No heavy carrying, fill em up, position, let the freeze, thaw, empty and take down once all water is thawed and drained.

 

[Vince4xmas]

Here is link to water bags I used.

https://smartbottleinc.com/product/5-3-gallon-single-wall-smart-bottle/?_vsrefdom=adwords&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjO6Xv_WZ7wIVytXACh0A-QhZEAQYASABEgLYS_D_BwE

[k6ccc]

15 minutes ago, Vince4xmas said:

I used water bags instead of sand bags last year and worked great!

No heavy carrying, fill em up, position, let the freeze, thaw, empty and take down once all water is thawed and drained.

I like that idea.  I don't have to worry about freezing here however.  I also don't need and bags on my roof, but something to remember...

 

[Chrisoco]

Water bags are a awesome idea. I just found these. 

[TheDucks]

Plastic Milk 1/2 gal jugs 3/4 full (leaves room for expansion), almost free  😀