How to Install Christmas Lights on Brick

Brick is the most common frontage in London and the South East, and the surface people most often damage at Christmas. Treat the brick face as off-limits and protect the mortar.

Why brick gets damaged

Most damage comes from three habits: hammering into the face, forcing something into a soft or wet joint, and pulling fixings out at an angle in January. Old lime mortar is far softer than modern cement, and a fixing that suits one can crumble the other. That is why the method is decided by looking at the wall itself, not by a rule of thumb.

What not to use

Frost, damp and the January problem

Water in a mortar joint expands when it freezes. Anything forced into a saturated joint can spall the edge of the brick when the first hard frost arrives. Fit in dry conditions where you can, never force a fixing that does not want to go, and take everything down carefully in January.

Wind is the trade-off

Non-invasive runs protect the wall, but they are significantly more vulnerable to storm gusts, winter winds and heavy rain. On exposed elevations that has to be weighed honestly, and runs need checking through the season.

Listed buildings and conservation areas

Seasonal lighting is temporary, so it is usually fine — the test is whether anything is fixed permanently or any fabric is damaged.

Having it fitted

Period and painted brick frontages are most of what we light across London and the South East. Non-invasive fixings are our default, everything comes down in January, and lighting is normally supplied on seasonal hire — a purchase option is there if you'd rather own it.