How to Hang Rope Lights on a Wall Without Nails

Hanging rope lights on walls is a great way to decorate your house. It provides your living space with a welcoming, colorful, and warm mood that you and your guests will admire.

The most common way to hang rope lights is to use nails and it involves drilling holes. Not only does it take a whole lot of time and effort but it can also decrease the value of your property.

In addition, some people also can’t drill holes in the walls of their house legally because of their tenancy agreements. That’s why I’ve come up with this guide that contains the best methods to hang rope lights on a wall without nails.

How to Hang Rope Lights on a Wall Without Nails

Rope lights bring a warm aura indoors as they look aesthetically pleasing.

Different types of rope lights are available in the market and if you’re a creative person, you can even make your own DIY Mason Jar lights and use them to increase the character and beauty of your home.

Start the project with a good and firm ladder to hang the lights with. You can use any of the following methods to hang rope lights on a wall without nails.

1. Transparent Tape

Using double-sided transparent tape is a great way to hang rope lights on a wall without nails. Not only will it keep you from drilling holes all over the place but it’ll also provide your indoor space with a neat and clean look. Double-sided transparent tapes come in different sizes and shapes.

We recommend you go with the one that’s sturdy enough to hold your rope lights in place. You can go with gorilla mounting tape not only because it offers a strong grip but it’ll also be the least noticeable.

2. Adhesive Hooks and Clips

Just like transparent tape, adhesive hooks and clips come with a layer of adhesive that can stick firmly onto walls. The best feature of these invaluable items is that they use hooks or clips to hold your rope lights instead of adhesive.

Additionally, these products can also hold more weight than transparent tape. So, if you have heavy rope lights, using adhesive hooks and clips is your best bet.

However, I recommend you double-check the maximum load limit of these hooks to make sure they don’t detach from the wall.

3. Brick Clips

Brick clips come with sturdy clamps that you can easily attach to any brick. Rather than having to drill into brick, these clips can securely hold your rope lights in place.

They leave no residue behind and don’t damage your wall in any way. You can also detach them from a wall easily whenever you want.

However, the only downside of this method is that you can only use it if you have brick walls in your house. You can’t use it on plain walls because the clams of brick clips attach to the edges of a brick.

Important Note: Brick clips are mostly used in outdoor areas, like to hang lights above your firepit.

4. Hot Glue Gun

Using hot glue or a gorilla glue gun is yet another great way to hang rope lights indoors without nails. Hot gun glue can easily attach to different wall materials such as glass, wood, foam, concrete, brick, ceramic, and stone.

Better yet, it’s 100 percent waterproof, which means you can use it to hang rope lights even on a damp wall. You can also use hot glue for outside settings, like on above your outdoor pallet bar.

We recommend you opt for transparent hot glue so that your lights can be clearly visible regardless of the viewing angle.

It’s important to note that hot glue can get extremely hot that can burn the wires of rope lights. It can also hurt your hand if you’re not careful. I recommend you wear safety gloves and attach glue to the wires when it gets a little bit cooler.

5. Low Adhesive Hanging Strips

You can use low adhesive hanging strips to hang rope lights on a wall without nails. They are extremely cheap and you can also remove them from the wall easily.

The best feature of these strips is that they don’t leave any residue behind and come off without damaging the paint.

Important Factors to Consider While Hanging Rope Lights

There are certain factors that you should consider while hanging rope lights on walls without nails. It’ll allow you to avoid unwanted situations and keep things organized.

1. Clean the surface of the wall using a rag, broom, or brush to remove debris and dirt before hanging rope lights. If there are some oily spots on the wall, consider using a wet sponge to clean them. It’s especially true if you’re using adhesive tape, hot gun glue, or adhesive hooks and clips.
2. If you are using transparent tape or adhesive hooks, make sure they’re not in direct contact with LED lights or bulbs. The heat coming out of light can melt the adhesive that’ll increase the risk of rope lights falling off the wall.
3. Don’t twist the wires of your rope lights as they can damage their PVC coating. Bend them gently if you want to be creative to achieve a particular design.
4. Apply a thin layer of gorilla glue or hot glue on the wall and press the wire of rope light gently onto the glue. Make sure that you hold the rope light string there until the glue dries.
5. You’ll need to apply hot glue or transparent tape every two feet to make sure your rope lights stay in place.
6. Brick clips offer the strongest grip so you can place them five to six feet apart to securely hang rope lights.
7. If you need to turn your rope lights on corners, make sure that you provide at least three to four inches of curved radius to keep wire coating from getting damaged.
8. Avoid keeping your rope lights turned on 24/7. Some rope lights can work all day long, but it’ll decrease their overall lifespan. It’ll also increase the risks of sparks and bursting.
9. If you need to store your rope lights, wind the cables carefully to prevent bulbs from breaking, and always place them in a dry and cool environment. This way you won’t need to replace bulbs next time you hang your rope lights.
10. Always check your rope lights before hanging them on a wall to find out if there are any gaps. If you find fused or damaged bulbs, replace them with new ones. Performing this step will be difficult if you have hung your rope lights already.

FAQs

Final Words

Rope lights give both indoor and outdoor areas an attractive and aesthetically pleasing look. I hope this guide will help you understand how to hang rope light on a wall without nails and set the ambiance of your house just the way you want.