Every winter we hear about a Twin Cities homeowner who fell off a roof or ladder during a lighting install. Here is the brutal math on why permanent or professional installs are the only sane option.
Every Minnesota winter, Twin Cities emergency rooms see homeowners who fell off a roof or ladder while putting up lights. The Squad would like that number to be zero.
What -20F Does to Your Body
Subzero temperatures kill manual dexterity inside of three to five minutes of bare-hand exposure. Gloves help but they make ladder grip slippery. Cold air constricts blood flow, slows reaction time, and impairs judgment in ways most people do not notice until it is too late.
What -20F Does to Your Roof
Asphalt shingles get hard and brittle. Stepping on them can crack them. Standing on the edge of a roof covered in ice or refrozen snowmelt is not just dangerous, it is dangerous in a way that a fall harness will not always save you from.
What -20F Does to Ladders
Aluminum ladders contract in extreme cold, and their grip pads lose traction on slick surfaces. The standard advice of 1-to-4 angle assumes ground that is not iced over. In Minnesota, late season ground is rarely that forgiving.
The Actual Numbers
The Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks more than 200,000 ladder injuries in the US every year. Holiday lighting installs are a leading cause of fall injuries in the November to February window. Many of those injuries are concussions, fractures, and spinal injuries with multi-month recovery.
The Squad Promise
Nobody in Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Woodbury, or anywhere in the Twin Cities should be standing on a frozen roof in December for a string of lights. We have the trained crews, the proper equipment, and the insurance to handle it safely. We also have the patience to wait for a clear weather window rather than send a crew up in a snowstorm.
If you have already installed your own lights and something fails mid-season, do not climb the ladder. Call us and we will come fix it. The cost of one service call is dramatically less than the cost of one ER visit.