Using Magnets to hold light strings to roof.

BradsXmasLights

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Dec 23, 2010
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Brisbane, Australia
For the past 3 years, I've used magnets to stick lights to my tin house roof.

The magnets are slavaged from old computer hard drives; cheap ($0) and super strong! Wrap it in gaffer tape to prevent scratching the roof up, add a bit of twister-wire through it's existing hole; then I have an instant anchor point.
 

fasteddy

I have C.L.A.P
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Apr 26, 2010
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Albion Park NSW
A fantastic idea, shame i have a tiled roof, but a great way for mounting to a colourbond roof
 

Robbo

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Dec 10, 2010
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Hastings-Victoria
hats just a great idea in it's simplicity....I might have to utilise that idea for next year...Thanks :)

one problem I had this year was trying to put a led curtain 2.5 meters wide on a rendered brick wall.....the gable has a timber fascia which I used to take the majority of the weight of the curtain, but I thought the curtain was boring just hanging straight down and wanted to add some shape to it as well as go around items that were also hanging on the wall.......my solution was "BLU-TACK" holds the strings in position very well and sticks to the render very nicely, so far in the 23 days it has been up I have only had to re attach 2 strings and it's as easy as squeezing the blu tack around the string and pressing to the wall.

Inexpensive and does the job....love it.
 

JPB

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May 13, 2010
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Glenwood
Great idea. I don't have a colourbond roof but this will work perfectly with colourbond fascia, thanks for sharing.

Jon
 

SmartAlecLights

Im a SmartAlec what can i say!
Community project designer
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May 4, 2010
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Murray Bridge, S.A.
most of the places ive lived have allways had the tin roof.
i used to wrap a very long garden tie, from one side of the roof to the other an use the nails to ancor the cable tie from sinking

lets say i now know what way i'll be putting up the lights.

them rare earth magnets should also be just as good but not free tho.

could also hang things to the gutters an the side fences using the same way..

thanks for the idea
smartalec
 

dowdybrown

New elf
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
37
Location
Spring, TX
I've attached my RGB strips to steel drip-edge. I've attached magnets to large office binder clips using exterior-rated double-sided tape. I just clip the binder clips to the eaves and then the drip edge just clings to the magnets. The highest eaves that are exposed to the most wind require 4 clips per 3 meters, lower eaves out of the wind only require 2 per.

Actually, this was my main reason for switching to strips -- the much easier put up and take down. The cool RGB lights were just a bonus!

BTW, this does NOT work for gutters. Metal gutters are usually aluminum, which is not magnetic.

Matt
 

dowdybrown

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Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
37
Location
Spring, TX
Well Murphy must have been looking over my shoulder when I wrote that last post. We had a very strong squall blow through Houston tonight and everything held up my magnets came tumbling down. It was beautiful for two weeks, but I'll be trying a different technique next year.

Matt
 
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