So, you have just purchased some rope lights and you’re googling, ‘How to Hang Rope Lights on a Wall Without Nails.‘ After all, everybody loves the look and feel of a beautiful and welcoming home. But we all have different tastes and preferences in our choice of interior wall décor. Some are mesmerized by stylish crown molding while others find wall paintings or wallpapers stunning. Either way, installing decorative or accent rope lights is a sure way to highlight these beautiful wall-finish decorations.
Using the best rope lights for your crown molding is a great way to spice up your room with some elegance. If you’re using nails to hang the string lights, choosing the best cordless finish-nailer can help you do a clean job in a short time. But what if you’d rather not drill or puncture your beautiful walls with nail holes?
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How to Hang Rope Lights on a Wall without Nails
There are five major ways to hang rope lights on a wall without using nails. First, you can use brick clips if you want a firm assembly but don’t want tape or glue residue. Second, transparent double-sided adhesive tape can hang rope lights on walls both indoors and outdoors.
Another steadfast way to install rope lights on your walls without nails is using adhesive clips and hooks. Lastly, you can hold the rope lights on the walls using hot glue or Gorilla Glue.
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How Do You Hang String Lights Without Damaging the Walls?
Although nails hang string lights firmly on walls, they can ruin the intricate paint finish on your precious walls. The walls would be pockmarked with nail holes every time you change the position of the rope lights. Besides, drilling holes for the nail studs is tedious and time-consuming.
Use these alternative ways to hang string lights on your house walls securely in a fraction of the time it takes using nails:
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Brick rope light clips
If you fancy a flawless finish job around your walls and rope lights, brick rope light clips are your best shot. These handy clips are designed with clamps to clip onto bricks and hooks to hold the string lights in place.
Brick clips hold rope lights on walls securely without causing any damage. Even better, you don’t need to worry about tape residue on your walls. This means you hassle less to do a cleaner rope light installation job.
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Adhesive tape
While adhesive tapes come in different designs and sizes, clear double-sided adhesive tape is the best for hanging rope lights on walls. It’s not only strong and durable but its adhesive is also strong and can hold the weight of most rope lights.
Another great perk of transparent adhesive tape is that it can attach to damp surfaces. This makes it a choice option for hanging rope lights on walls both indoors and outdoors without using nails. Enliven those damp spaces such as kitchens, saunas, bathrooms, patios, and decks with beautiful rope light work using adhesive tape.
The best transparent adhesive tape to hang rope lights on outdoor walls is resistant to damage by the ultraviolet rays from the sun. This allows it to stay clear for a long time without yellowing or breaking.
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Adhesive clips and hooks
Similar to adhesive tape, adhesive clips and hooks contain are built with a layer of adhesive to stick onto walls. Instead of holding the rope lights using adhesive, they have clips or hooks.
When hanging rope lights on walls using adhesive clips and hooks, ensure you watch the load limitation. The clips and hooks can only hold a particular maximum weight without detaching or breaking from the wall. Luckily, most rope lights are light and can be held in place by adhesive clips and hooks.
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Transparent Gorilla Glue or Hot Glue Gun
You can hang rope lights on walls for some time using Gorilla Glue or a hot glue gun. Gorilla Glue easily attaches to many wall materials including stone, ceramic, brick, glass, concrete, foam, wood, and glass. What’s more, it’s 100% waterproof, so you can use it to hang rope lights on damp indoor walls and outdoor walls. Go for the clear type so that the rope lights can be clearly visible from all angles.
Alternatively, a hot glue gun offers a quick and hassle-free way to hang string lights without damaging the walls. The high-temp glue gun is suitable for use on a variety of walls counting brick, ceramic, and stone among others.
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How Do You Secure the Lights to the Wall?
When installing your rope lights on the wall, you’ll secure the string differently depending on the type of attachment you choose.
Brick clips are suitable for securing rope lights on brick, stone, foam, plaster, and wooden walls. You install them by clamping onto the wall along the line you’re fixing your rope light and then slide the string lights into the hooks protruding from the vertical face of the clips.
Since brick clips are more visible and stronger that the other choices, using a clip after every few feet on the wall will produce a consistent finish. It’s best to clamp the cops in place facing with adjacent hooks facing opposite directions so the string lights can fasten securely on the wall.
If you’re using adhesive tape to hang rope lights on a wall, tape only the strands of wire to the walls instead of the bulbs. You’ll need to attach a varying number of pieces of adhesive tape between individual bulbs depending on the design and weight of the string for steadfast assembly. Keep the pieces uniform and remember to choose a clear wall-safe adhesive tape if your walls aren’t white for a consistent finish.
When using adhesive clips or hooks, first apply them at uniform intervals on the wall and then weave the string light through the protruding hooks or clips. If you choose to hang the rope lights using Gorilla Glue or a hot glue gun, follow these straightforward steps:
- Clean the wall surface using a brush, broom, or rag to remove all dirt and debris
- Wipe the wall with a wet sponge to remove oil and dust
- Apply a thin even layer of the high-temp hot glue or Gorilla Glue along the line you want to hang your string lights
- Press the rope light string onto the glue and hold it there until the glue dries. You can use a clamp to hold the string in place until the glue dries completely.
Can I Use Tape to Hang String Lights?
Yes, you can use tape to hang string lights on walls. The best choice of tape for steadfast and beautiful attachment of rope lights on walls is transparent double-sided adhesive tape such as Gorilla tape. Even better, it sticks firmly onto a variety of wall materials such as concrete, brick, stone, stucco, wood, ceramic, and glass.
There are also different brands of temporary and permanent rope lights adhesive tape for indoor and outdoor use. Temporary mounting tape is best for hanging string lights such as decorative holiday lights for a given duration of time, after which you take the lights down. If you want to install the rope lights permanently on your walls, you can go for permanent outdoor mounting tape.
You can also use duct tape to hang rope lights on walls, but this doesn’t provide for a smooth and consistent finish. Besides, duct tape sticks better on smooth surfaces than on rough walls.
Adhesive tape offers an easy and affordable way to hang string lights on a wall, but you may need to touch-up the paint after removing the lights from painted walls.
Do LED Strip Lights Damage the Walls?
LED strip lights rarely damage walls, but this depends on a number of factors. They’re unlikely to damage walls, but they can damage the wall covering such as wallpapers and painting. This expends on the state and durability of the wall paint or wallpaper, the strength of the adhesive used on the strips, the climate of the area, and the duration of time the strips have been on the wall.
Most LED strips come with a 3M adhesive on their back side. This adhesive is the gold standard for the strength and durability of adhesives. However, its strength and longevity wane over time and in hot and damp climate, making it to attach poorly to oily and glossy walls.
Some homeowners and contractors use foam tape, hot glue, Gorilla Glue, Gorilla, tape, or double-sided adhesive tape to fix strip lights on walls.
LED strips peel off relatively easily and safely from plastic, ceramic, glass, glass, and wooden walls. However, they can damage the fragile layers of bare drywall, paint-coated, and wallpapered walls.
LED strip lights are more likely to come off with pain that has been on the walls for a long time. Similarly, new paint takes around 4 weeks to cure completely, and applying LED strip lights before this time will cause the strips to peel off with the paint. Paint that’s applied to a wall before cleaning and priming is also susceptible to peel off with LED strip lights.
Final thoughts
A few small house improvements such as installing crown molding can add value to a house by making it look and feel cozier. Choosing the best rope lights for crown molding is also an effective and cheap way to make your home elegant. Remember to choose a suitable way to fix the rope lights onto the walls for a beautiful and consistent finish.