The Old Method
I’m not a fan of climbing on the 2nd story roof of my home so for years I used ladder-less roof clips and a long painters pole to put LED string lights onto the roof. This system had so many flaws; it took a long time to put lights up (over an hour), the clips would break if you tried to re-use them more than one season, sometimes the clips wouldn’t hold the weight of the wire, strong wind would sometimes blow a few clips off causing the lights to sag, and my personal pet peeve the lights were never straight.
Researching Options
I did research on various light mounting techniques and saw a few variants of the Crevier Christmas Light System which uses broomstick clips for 1/2″ pvc pipe to snap into and the DIY Nils System which uses a combination of 1/2″ pvc pipe, clips made from pvc pipe, and large hooks screwed into the fascia of the dormer peaks. While, I was interested in these concepts because the pixel strip lights have to be mounted to 1/2″ pvc pipe (or something firm) before attaching them to the house. I didn’t want to use broom clips, hooks, or lexan clips screwed into the fascia on the gables of the roof. I didn’t want possible water penetration points that high on the house and I did not want to climb the 2nd story roof to snap the roof sections into the clips. I also wanted the clips to be as hidden as possible during the day.
The advantage of using pixel strip is that it’s installed with separate sections of pvc pipe, so if I design a new mounting system correctly I shouldn’t need a helper to put the lights up. The more thought I gave it, the more I realized using a pole to snap the pvc into clips was not going to work for a 2nd story roof using seperate sections of pixel strip lights. I decided I needed a way to “hang” the the pixel covered pvc pipes instead.
Creed Roof System (CRS)
Looking for some type of clip I could use or adapt I found Grip Clips which are designed to hold heating tape on roofs/gutters to melt snow, watch the video. With a couple of bends and some white spray paint these clips work perfectly and they are virtually invisible on the roof in daylight. The clips are capable of holding lots of weight and made of material designed to be on a roof permanently, so they should outlast the shingles. The .325 size clips are perfect for a variety of asphalt singles (single tab through architectural / dimensional types).
The clips are easily customized with three bends (see image below);
1.) bend the long arm 90 degrees so it will hang down over the fascia on the roof when the clip is installed on the edge of the shingles,
2.) bend the wire cradle out a bit to accomodate the pipe with the pixel strip attached,
3.) bend the tab under the cradle to make it more of a 90 degree bend to prevent the stop clamp from riding up.
Then paint to match the color of your houses fascia.
Installing Grip Clips
I decided it would be smart to hire a roofer since installing the grip clips requires not only climbing on the 2nd story roof, but also getting within a couple feet of the edge to install the lowest clips. The folks at Excel Renovation were easy to work with and the roofer even helped with taking measurements and marking the pipe. After I cut the pipe pieces he would lay the pipe into the grip clips and mark their location, which end was the top, and assigned a number on each pipe with a Sharpie so I’d know where to install it after attaching the pixel strip. This saved me time later because I knew where to install the stop clamps on each pipe and where each of the seven roof sections go on the roof. The process of measuring, installing the clips, cutting & marking the pipe took two hours for the seven roof sections totalling 45′ of pipe.
Make sure you have three clips for each 7′-9′ roof section because 1/2″ Schedule 40 PVC pipe has tendency to bend/bow if not properly supported. You might also be able to use Schedule 80 (grey) pvc pipe which is much stronger, but I wanted the white color of the Schedule 40 to hide the lights in daylight hours. You want to install a grip clip within 18-24″ of each end and a third clip in the middle of the pipe.
NOTE: I gave the roofer measurements for installing the grip clips on the roof sections to minimize the chances of the clip blocking an LED on the pixel strip, but I found the light from the LEDs are so bright it shines around the narrow metal of the clip. I couldn’t tell where the clips were installed with the pixel lights turned on anyway.
Stop Clamps
The pixel pipe fits nicely on the clips, but the gables of my home are at 45 degree angles so I needed a way to prevent the pipe from sliding out of the clips. Pipe clamps were the perfect solution and they can be positioned to center the pipe on the Grip Clips when they are on the roof, see red circles in image below. I use two stop clamps positioned at the top and middle grip clips for redundancy and to spread the downward load across clips.
The Pixel Pipe sections for the roof gables are between 7′ to 8.5′ long. Surprisingly these lengths of PVC including pixel strip and clamps weighs 1.5 lbs or less (about the weight of a smart phone in a hard case). So I don’t need a super strong tool to raise up the Pixel Pipe sections onto the Grip Clips, but it does need to be able to reach high and be stable holding an 8′ length of pipe.
Pixel Push Pole
To install the pixel pipe sections I used a telescoping painters pole and built a pixel pipe cradle using 1/2″ pvc pipe and fittings. The fittings were so tight the only part I had to secure was the 1/2 in. PVC Female Adapter that’s under the black duct tape. The threads on the painters pole are standard broom handle threads. I couldn’t find a PVC adapter with the proper threads so I ended up squirting a bunch of hot glue in the threaded end of the female adapter, screwed it on the end of the pole while the glue was hot, then wrapped it with the duct tape making a surprisingly strong connection with the pole. Its a jacklegged solution, but for a tool that is only used twice a year its more than adequate.
Pixel Push Pole – Cradle
I used short sections of 1/2″ PVC to connect the female adapter to a 45 degree elbow and then to a Tee adapter. The total length of the cradle is 21″ wide and the cradle cups are 4″ tall. I kept everything short and compact to increase strength, reduce weight, and minimize flex under load. Afer all, this rig and an 8′ section of pixel pipe is going to be hovering over my noggin while I am standing on the 1st story roof!
The last step is to make the cradle cups that hold the pixel pipe. I made these by using a Dremel tool to cut the top off two 3/4″ x 3/4″ x 1/2″ PVC Reducing Tee fittings and then grinding down the sides and bump inside.
The idea is to widen out the sides to allow 1/2″ PVC with pixel strip attached to fit perfectly inside. You should be able to slide the pixel pipe back and forth inside the cradle cups smoothly. The pixel pipe should easily drop into the cradle cups without any pressure needed.
Pixel Pipe – Cradle Brackets
To keep the pixel pipe from sliding out of the cradle I made a pair of slide brackets using Angle Type clips. I bend one side of the angle clip in half using a pair of Vice Grips and large Channel lock pliers to form a “Z” shape (don’t over bend or they will snap). I secure the brackets to the pixel pipe using the same size pipe clamps we used for stop clamps. Space the brackets so the push pole is centered on the pixel pipe to balance the weight. It is important to not have any zip ties within 6 inches of the downward side of the bracket so you can slide the craddle onto the pixel pipe smoothly.
The brackets hold the pipe, preventing it from sliding out of the cradle cups. Once you have the pixel pipe laying in the grip clips with the stop clamp against them simply slide the push pole down the pixel pipe 1/2″ to release it from the cradle brackets. Remember to attach the cradle brackets with the open-end pointing downward.
With the brackets properly installed the pixel pipe won’t fall out of the cradle unless you rotate it more than 90 degrees which is virtually impossible with the push pole attached.
TIP: I put a dab of hot glue on the outside corners of the cradle cups to act as a bracket bump stop in case the pixel pipe tried to rotate too far inside the cups.
SAFETY / WARNING & LEGAL DISCLAIMER
The author is not liable for any damages or injury from the use of these instructions. You are responsible for keeping yourself safe and not falling off the roof or dropping a pipe or anything else on your head. Wearing a hard hat & safety goggles would be a good idea. I recommend making sure nothing precious is in front of your house (i.e. cars in the driveway, or children/spouse, etc.) so if you accidentally drop a piece of pvc the only thing that that gets bruised is your ego and a cheap piece of plastic pipe!
Test Fit & Adjustment
I recommend doing a “test fit” of the pvc pipe on the roof before you attach the pixel strip. Have the stop clamps and cradle brackets installed on your pvc pipe. Use the Pixel Push Pole to install a pipe section on both the left and right side of each dormer and also on any run with multiple pipes on the same run. Not only do you get practice using the pole, but you also need to ensure the pvc pipes are not hitting each other at the top/peak and there is no issue with the bottom of the pipe hitting a gutter section or anything else below. Having a small 1-2″ gap between pipes is not a problem at night the lights are so bright they visually fill a small gap pretty well.
Make any adjustments necessary, either moving stop clamps or shortening the pvc pipe, whatever is most appropriate. Its very easy to move the stop clamps toward the top of the pipe if you only need small 1-2″ adjustment to avoid pipes hitting at the peak. If you are off by several inches you may want to shorten the pipe. Make any change needed and perform the test fit again until you have the dormer pairs installing properly together on the roof. Make sure each pixel pipe is labeled so you know where it goes on the roof.
Attaching the Pixel Strip
After zip tying the pixel strip onto the pipe, I also installed 1/2″ pvc caps to prevent snow & water from running into the top end. On the bottom of each pipe I drilled a hole in the pixel pipe and through an end cap to run the pigtail through to act as a strain relief. Then I finished soldering, hot gluing, and heatshrink wrapping the pigtail to the pixel strip.
Install Process & Real-World Weather Testing
We had a blizzard hit with over 8″ of snow and 70 MPH wind gusts for 12 hours straight with wind chills to -35F right after I finished the roof outline. The good news is the Creed Roof System held up under the intense winds and snow!
Having the 45 degree elbow allows me to stand straight under the section I’m installing. This makes the install easy to do. I slowly raise the pixel pipe up until it’s above the grip clips. Then I lower the pipe onto the clips, making sure the stop clamps positioned to the high side of the grip clips. Finally, I slide the Pixel Push Pole down a 1/2″ so the cradle cups slide free from the cradle brackets.
The left side of highest roof peak on my home is recessed above and behind a dormer. This causes me to have to stand several feet to the right when I install that section of lights. I remove the 45 degree elbow and just push the cradle directly onto the push pole so I have a good angle to put that section up.
NOTE: Both sides of the top peak have an extension cable attached prior to raising the pixel pipe into position. This allows me to wire these sections to the controller or other light sections below. I found the waterproof connector can get hung up on shingles as it drags along the shingles. I believe wrapping the waterproof connection in duct tape to create a tapered surface will fix this.
Summary
This process might seem time consuming, but the majority of the time was figuring out the design. Building the Pixel Push Pole took under 30 minutes including cutting and grinding out the cradle cups. Attaching the pipe clamps, bending and attaching the cradle brackets takes 5 minutes per pipe. With the new Creed Roof System the install and removal of the pixel pipe takes around 2 minutes per section. This reduces the job of putting lights on the 2nd story roof from over 90 minutes to under 15 minutes!
See the other pages in the Build menu to learn more details about each display element or click here to read about the Gutter Mount.