Permanent lights and a roof replacement: what to do first, and later

The short answer: roof first, lights last

If a roof replacement is on your list, put it ahead of permanent lights. The lights go on after the roof, gutters and any fascia wrap are finished, because a re-roof usually replaces the drip edge directly above the fascia the channel mounts to. Lighting does not stand in the way of a future roof job, but the eave work goes easier when the lights are the last trade on the house.

The good news is in how the channel is mounted. It is fastened to the trim with hardware chosen for the substrate and never through a shingle. The work that matters is the metal and first courses along the bottom edge, right where the channel lives.

Here is the order that keeps each trade out of the others' way:

1. Fascia repairs and wrap. Rotted boards replaced, aluminum coil bent on, trim color settled.
2. The roof. Tear-off, new drip edge, ice barrier, underlayment, starter course and shingles.
3. Gutters and guards. Hung or rehung against the new edge.
4. Permanent lights. Measured from the finished house and installed in an autumn visit.

The first three can shuffle to suit your contractors. The lights stay last.

What a re-roof touches at the eave

A roof job is more than new shingles. The roofing trade's own references describe the bottom edge of an asphalt roof as a set of layers. On a full tear-off, a roofer typically works through each one, so ask yours which of them are in the scope.

The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association describes drip edge that runs at least 2 inches onto the roof deck and turns down at least 1/4 inch below the sheathing, with an outward kick at the bottom to push water away from the fascia. At the eaves, it goes under the underlayment. On the rakes, the sloped gable edges, it goes over. Both matter, since the rakes draw the peak.

The ice barrier is a Michigan detail worth knowing. The National Roofing Contractors Association recommends a water and ice-dam membrane at the eaves wherever the average January temperature is 30°F or below, reaching upslope to at least 24 inches inside the exterior wall. Detroit's 1991–2020 January normals are a 32.3°F high and a 19.2°F low, which puts metro Detroit roofs well inside that recommendation. On a Michigan tear-off, expect the roofer to rebuild the eave, so ask which layers are in the scope.

Why the channel sits where it does

The channel fastens to the trim, or tucks under the drip edge lip, because a shingle is built to shed water and any hole in it gives ice-dam meltwater a way in. Keeping the fasteners on the fascia leaves the roof covering exactly as the roofer built it.

That choice is what makes a future roof job simple. A roofer replacing shingles over the channel never has to cut around a fastener or seal a penetration, because there is none in the field of the roof. The full answer on roof damage is in do permanent lights damage your roof? For why the channel goes on the fascia rather than on the gutter, see permanent lights on fascia, not gutters.

The catch is the drip edge itself. On a house where the channel tucks under the drip edge, the old metal is part of how the line sits. New drip edge can come in a different profile, a simple L shape or a T shape that stands farther off the fascia, and a different color. Neither is a problem if the lights go on after, since we fit to what is there.

Planning a roof, gutters or fascia wrap

On paper the order is easy. Where it goes wrong is timing. Roofers work through spring, summer and autumn, and our installs happen in an autumn visit with dates booked in the order calls come in. A roof that slides from August into late October can push the lights past the window.

• Roof is booked for spring or summer. Request your lighting estimate once the gutters are back up, early enough to pick an autumn date.
• Roof is booked for autumn. Tell us the roofer's date when you ask for an estimate, and plan the install for after the gutters go back on.
• Roof is a year or two out. Consider waiting. A seasonal C9 lease covers December in between. The C9 runs go up in November, held by clips that are gentle on your shingles and gutters, with no nails or staples. We fix outages during the season and remove the display in January, so the eave is clear when the roofer arrives.

Do the math on that lease year before deciding. A Troy colonial typically measures 120 to 180 feet along the street side. At 120 feet, permanent lighting is $2,600–$4,100 installed once, and a season of C9 is $2,200–$3,800. At 180 feet, permanent is $4,000–$6,100 against $3,200–$5,800 for a season. A year of leasing is close to the price of doing it once, so it only makes sense when the roof really is close.

Fascia wrap and new gutters follow the same rule. The wrap changes the substrate the channel fastens to and often the trim color it has to match. New gutters change where hangers and downspouts sit. Let both finish first, and the channel is matched and fastened once.

If your lights are already up

Maybe the lights went on a few years ago and now the shingles are curling, or a hailstorm started a claim. The lights do not make a new roof harder to get. They change who you call first.

Call us before the roofer starts, not after. Tell us the start date, whether it is a full tear-off or a partial repair, and whether the drip edge and gutters are part of the scope. With that, we can look at how your runs are mounted, which ones sit under the drip edge and which are on the fascia face, and talk through what the roofer's work at the eave means for them. Whether anything needs to come off the house, and who handles it, gets settled then, not on the morning the dumpster lands in the driveway.

Two things are worth doing on your own before the call:

• Screenshot your app setup. Zones, colors and schedules, so you have a record of how the house was set if any run is disturbed.
• Photograph the roofline. One straight-on photo from the street, plus close shots of each peak and corner. They are a record of where every run sat.

Your roof warranty belongs to the shingle manufacturer and your roofer. If you want to know whether anything at the eave affects it, ask them to answer in writing from the published warranty document. We will not guess at their terms.

What to tell your roofer

Your roofer may not have worked around a channel fastened to the fascia before, so a two-minute briefing on the first morning saves trouble. Hand them this list:

1. Where the channel is. Fascia face, under the drip edge, or both, and which elevations.
2. Where the controller and its power supply are. Point them out so nobody unplugs it to run a compressor.
3. Keep ladders off the channel. Ladders lean on a roof edge every day. Ask them to set standoffs or place ladders between runs rather than on the aluminum.
4. Watch the tear-off at the edge. Old shingles and nails slide off the eave straight past the lit line. Ask how they protect the fascia and gutters, and include the channel in that.
5. Tell you about the drip edge. Ask what profile and color is going on, and whether it matches what is there now.
6. Do not cut or pry anything that is wired. If a run is in the way, stop and call you.

Checking the line after the roofer leaves

After the roofer leaves, give the roofline two checks: one in daylight, one after dark.

In daylight

Walk the house from the street, then up close. Look for a channel that sits crooked under new metal, a run that is bent where a ladder landed, or a gap at a peak that was tight before. Check that the new drip edge color still sits well beside the channel.

After dark

Open the app and run each zone on its own, first in warm white and then in a full color, so every diode gets a look. Then run the whole house together. The lights are zoned, so a dark run points to its own section without anything coming down. If a zone is dark or a stretch looks different from its neighbors, send us a photo and tell us when the roof went on.

If the roof is not done yet and you are still deciding on lights, start with the LightCast measuring tool once the new edge is on. Shoot the house straight on from the street, tap the garage door as your scale, and the tool returns both a permanent and a seasonal price. If a roofer is already on the calendar, request an estimate and put the roofer's start date in the notes. We confirm within 24 hours, and we would rather hear about the roof before the first shingle comes off. Building from scratch instead? See planning permanent lights on a new build.

Where this applies

Typical roofline lengths and priced examples for these communities are on their own pages.

• Troy

Sources

1. Installation of drip edge at eaves and rakes, Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association asphaltroofing.org
2. The anatomy of an asphalt roofing system, Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association asphaltroofing.org
3. Recommendations for better shingling, Professional Roofing (NRCA) professionalroofing.net
4. 1991–2020 climate normals for Detroit, National Weather Service Detroit/Pontiac weather.gov