Hire a light installer, or hang your own?
The roof edge decides it: how high it is, and what you would be standing on to reach it.
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Your ladder, or ours.
| What you get | Hang your own | Hire an installer |
|---|---|---|
| Right for you when | One story, firm ground, a pole reaches | A second story, a peak, nobody to help |
| Time on a ladder | Yours, going up and again coming down | None |
| A second pair of hands | Needed the whole time, IKO says | Not needed |
| What it costs | The gear and your hours | From $650 for a single-story front roofline |
Is it worth paying someone to hang Christmas lights?
Pay an installer when the job means an extension ladder: the CPSC counts about 160 decorating injuries a day each holiday season, and nearly half are falls. Hang your own when a single story, a light-hanging pole and the bushes cover what you want. Near Annapolis we lease and install Christmas lights from $650 for a single-story front roofline.
Why the ladder decides it
160 a day
Decorating injuries across the US in the holiday season, nearly half of them falls.
If you climb, OSHA's ladder card sets the base out a quarter of the working length, the top at least 3 feet past the roof edge, and three points of contact on the way up.
ESFI adds a wooden or fiberglass ladder, and 10 feet between you and any power line.
- 4 to 1 Set a straight or extension ladder base out one quarter of its working length, OSHA advises.
- 3 feet An access ladder should extend at least this far above its support point.
Sources: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CDC (2014), OSHA and ESFI. Checked on 11 October 2026.
Questions before you climb
What kind of ladder do I need to hang Christmas lights?
One tall enough to reach at least 3 feet past the roof edge, and wood or fiberglass rather than metal for outdoor decorating, because metal conducts electricity. Both points come from ESFI, which also says to check the ladder for loose or missing screws, hinges, bolts and nuts before you use it.
Can I hang Christmas lights without a ladder?
On a single story, often yes. IKO, a roofing maker, describes a light-hanging pole that hooks each clip over the gutter from the ground, and a rented bucket lift as the safe way up to a high peak. Bushes and railings need no height at all.
Should I get up on the roof to reach the peak?
Not as a homeowner hanging your own lights. IKO's instructions say never to stand or walk on the roof: work from the ladder, and move it often instead of reaching.
When should I stop and call someone instead?
When the roofline is a second story, when you cannot keep three points of contact on the ladder while clipping, or when nobody can stay with you. We lease and hang Christmas lights from Pasadena down to Edgewater and across the Bay Bridge on Kent Island.
Should the lights be off overnight if I hang my own?
Yes. ESFI says to turn off all outdoor electrical decorations before leaving home or going to sleep. A timer does it for you, and the Department of Energy's Energy Saver program notes that it saves money and energy too. Every string we install runs on one.
Do you put up lights I bought myself?
Ask before you count on it. What we quote is a lease: our lights, put up on a timer, fixed during the season, taken down and stored. If all you want is help hanging strings you already own, say so when you send the address and we will tell you whether it fits.
Get a free estimate.
If the ladder is the part you would rather skip, tell us the address and the colors you like.
