51–60 of 82 posts
Magnet attaches to the roof edge flashing which is metal. In the US, there is a substantial probability the flashing is non-magnetic aluminum. So test first.
Most places in the world with metal flashing, metal gutters, or other metal on an exterior will have aluminum. It’s old houses that might have steel. If you have a new house, I guarantee this won’t work. If you have an old house it’s worth checking, though.
You can get led strips of lights designed for outdoors that when off are just a clearish rope. Install those permanently and when they’re not on they’re basically invisible.
Individually addressable, waterproof LEDs are super cheap. Most expensive part is the power supply.
Eaten by squirrels... Tube gets full of water... As soon as one LED dies, all the rest start flickering like crazy....
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Haha, code. IIRC, Christmas lights have their own exception in the NEC, as the things are wildly unsafe by general NEC standards. For example, nothing stops you from plugging a space heater into the outlet at the end of a string. But relax, it's Christmas! Having said that, OP's lights are built a bit more solid because they look like the 120V parallel-wired style, rather than the series wired tiny lights. I'd be com…
> For example, nothing stops you from plugging a space heater into the outlet at the end of a string. But relax, it's Christmas! IIRC because they're designed to chain but not for high power applications, Christmas cords are one of the few extensions which routinely include a fuse[0], usually 2.5 to 5 amps. So you can plug a space heater at the end of the string, not much should happen. As opposed to using a 15A exte…
Of course, manufactured items aren't actually regulated under the NEC, but rather UL/ETL or another NRTL. Which is why you run your nice 10gauge wire for a dryer, then at the junction panel inside it switches over to 14 ga stranded or whatever. They've done the math with power dissipation, higher temp insulation, etc etc. And if it burns down your house you get to sue the manufacturer.
As an aside, it's a travesty that public.resource.org no longer has the building codes available. If the codes are not available for all to read, they cannot be considered binding law.
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Yeah it looks like an early 20th century 1920s Craftsman style home. (1905-1929) It’s likely made of extremely high quality old growth wood and a rather lovely home to live in if well maintained.
I love homes from this era! The quality of the materials, at least among the homes still standing, is often excellent. This is anecdotal, but I find that they also tend to have a lot of natural light and stay cooler in the summer.
Double hung sash windows are especially popular in this era because they are designed to maximize airflow. You’d open the bottom sash’s on the cool side of the house to let cooler air in and open the top sash’s on the other side to let hot air out. This also creates an airflow across the home.
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These may exist. For example, search for magnetic C9 light clips on Amazon.
My issue with those is you probably still need a ladder to place them. My family has a history with ladder accidents so I wanted to avoid that haha.
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And you can tell from the style that OP's house is old. It could easily predate the great depression
Yeah it looks like an early 20th century 1920s Craftsman style home. (1905-1929) It’s likely made of extremely high quality old growth wood and a rather lovely home to live in if well maintained.
As you're likely aware, American Craftsman is an architectural style inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement.[1] In an historical double entendre, "Craftsman" can mean something else entirely, and yet can still be American Craftsman, as this home is. These particular style American Craftsman home in particular, among the many types of American Craftsman, with the front covered porch on the short end of the rectangular shape, were sold out of the Sears Catalog.[2] Sears Craftsman... get it? Sears sold various architectural styles, such as Cape Cod, but I think far and away the most popular was their American Craftsman home kits, which the OP's home appears to be. Not all Sears kit homes were American Craftsman, and not all American Craftsman homes are Sears kit homes. But a lot of them are both.
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Yeah it looks like an early 20th century 1920s Craftsman style home. (1905-1929) It’s likely made of extremely high quality old growth wood and a rather lovely home to live in if well maintained.
> it looks like an early 20th century 1920s Craftsman style home As you're likely aware, American Craftsman is an architectural style inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement.[1] In an historical double entendre, "Craftsman" can mean something else entirely, and yet can still be American Craftsman, as this home is. These particular style American Craftsman home in particular, among the many types of American Craftsma…
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wondering if my gutters are steel. Are they rusting? If not, probably not. [1] [1] To coma, stainless steel is not magnetic.
Well, they're painted. And you'd think that would still mean rust where they were scratched, cut, etc. But OP's magnets stuck to a drip edge, which I wouldn't think would be made out of plain steel either. I'm assuming my gutters aren't ferromagnetic, but I could be pleasantly surprised!
Gutters are usually aluminum because gutters and downspouts are a specialized trade and those businesses fabricate components on-site from aluminum roll stock to correctly fit the building.
Well, looks like both permanent and seasonal professional installs are happening.
https://tulsaworld.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/merry-and-...