How to hang Christmas lights on metal gutters without clips or drilling
Plastic gutter clips break, slide off and pile up in a drawer. If your gutters are steel, you can hang the lights with magnets instead: no clips, no screws and no holes in the gutter. Here’s how to do it in an afternoon.
Step 1: Check that your gutters are magnetic
This is the step most people skip. Many gutters in the US are aluminum or vinyl, and a magnet won’t stick to either. Steel gutters, including galvanized steel, will hold a magnet. Copper won’t.
- Take a fridge magnet up the ladder.
- Hold it against the front face of the gutter in a few places, including near the corners and downspouts.
- If it grabs and stays, you’re good. If it slides off or doesn’t stick, the gutter isn’t steel.
Gutters not steel? Look for other steel along the house: a steel garage door, a metal fence, a steel porch railing or a metal carport frame. The same method works on all of them.
Step 2: Plan the run
- Measure the length of gutter you want to light, and buy outdoor-rated lights to match.
- Find the outlet. Use an outdoor, GFCI-protected outlet and an outdoor-rated extension cord. Check the light maker’s limit for how many strings can be connected end to end.
- Count mounts. A good starting point is one mount every 12 to 18 inches, plus one at each corner and each end. Add more on windy sides of the house.
Step 3: Prepare the mounts on the ground
Loosely thread a zip tie through each mount before you climb. Doing it at the bottom of the ladder saves fiddly work at the top.
Step 4: Hang the lights
- Plug the lights in on the ground first to check every bulb works.
- Start at the end nearest the outlet. Snap a mount onto the front face of the gutter.
- Pass the light wire through the zip tie and pull it snug. Don’t crush the wire; snug is enough.
- Move along, keeping the spacing even. At corners, put a mount on each side so the wire turns cleanly.
- Leave a little slack between mounts so the wire isn’t under tension.
Ladder safety: keep the ladder on firm, level ground, keep three points of contact, and move the ladder rather than reaching sideways.
Step 5: Adjust
Step back across the street and look. Because the mounts are magnetic, you can slide a sagging section into line or lift a mount off and move it, without leaving marks or holes. Lift rather than drag the magnet across painted metal to avoid scuffs.
Taking the lights down
- Snip each zip tie and coil the lights.
- Pull the mounts off the gutter and keep them in a small box or tin.
- Next year, add fresh zip ties and start again. The magnets are triple-plated for outdoor use, so they can go back up season after season.
Quick answers
Will wind blow them off?
Light strings are light, and each magnet holds about 10 lb straight off the metal. Wind works sideways, which is where any magnet is weakest, so add extra mounts at corners, ends and exposed runs.
Can I use them on the garage door?
On a steel door, yes, for decoration while the door stays closed. Keep lights and wires away from the tracks, rollers and springs, and don’t open the door with lights attached.