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Metal roof and lightning

Started by Raider Bill, July 31, 2008, 08:02:09 AM

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Raider Bill

I figure I'm on a roll here getting great answers so I'll ask another.............

My house is on top of a hill which is the tallest for about a mile. I put a metal roof on.

Dumb question number 4665896 is [and I woke up in the middle of the night thinking of this] should I ground the roof? Maybe lightning rods?

The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Jeff

Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Raider Bill

Looks like I need to ground it.

Thanks Jeff.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Ironwood

Looks like a pretty technical answer, good link, BUT I tend to go with what the old time builders say. I had one guy who has retired now (lost himself to Alzhiemer's as well, he's VERY old) He was in the trades up in the mountains near me and worked on a huge number of structures (both functional, barns and houses of mountain folk,  and homes of some extremely wealthy families as it is historically a second home and estate area for monied people from Pittsburgh) His experience was that he thought the rods ACTUALLY attracted lightening. Two thoughts, one strikes are WILDLY WILDLY unpredictable and can avoid the "system" you create altogether. Second, I have had a metal roof for 10 years (standing seam Fabral) and had two strikes near by, one small one on my antenna, the other was MASSIVE up in the yard 30 yards from the house. I think had I had the rods the larger one may have come to the house instaed of blowing apart the big poplar in the yard. Yous situation may be somewhat unique on the hill and all, but I still don't think I'd make the choice to go with them. Can you check with some seasoned builders in your area?

Ironwood

PS, I have metal on every building here on our property
There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love to do, there is only scarcity of resolve to make it happen.- Wayne Dyer

Fla._Deadheader


Nearly ALL roof down here are metal. I've not heard any locals mention lightning hitting a roof.

  Lightning mostly seeks ground + to -, - To +. Phone lines and Power lines usually take all the hits. My roof is NOT grounded.  ::) :o
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

ADAMINMO

Redneck it and throw a couple dozen old tires up on the roof. Don't think it helps much but all the rednecks in the trailer parks do it.  :D I remember when I was a kid .. We lived in a trailer and dad was all the time bringing home an old tire or 2 to put up on the roof. I think it was more or less to quiten the roof down during storms.
Generally though it is the power lines , phone lines , and trees that take the brunt of the strikes.

Raider Bill

Tires on the roof will give me that down home feeling as the roof is blue and already reminds me of all the blue tarps you see on roofs in Florida after a bad storm. ;D
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

brdmkr

Acccording to this site, metal roofs are no more susceptible to lightning  than shingles.

http://www.metalroofingwholesalers.com/faq.htm#lightning
Lucas 618  Mahindra 4110, FEL and pallet forks, some cant hooks, and a dose of want-to

Raider Bill

I think building this house myself on the fly is going to drive me nuts. ::)
It's about all I think about, some things make sense to me others well I lose sleep over them like last night waking up wondering about lightning or things I may have forgot to do. :-[  :o

Sure am glad you guys are around! :)
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

logwalker

Put up a metal pole away from the house and ground it. Make it higher than the peak of the house. Or ground the roof. Those would be my two choices.   Joe
Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

Don P

I agree. If I wanted protection I'd put the rod on the neighbors house or a nearby high spot.
Warning, I still don't understand how Franklin didn't get knocked on his keester.

Raider Bill

I will probaley ground it just for peace of mind. Easy enough and then I can lose sleep over something else.................. :-\
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Raider Bill

Quote from: Don P on July 31, 2008, 11:40:44 AM
I agree. If I wanted protection I'd put the rod on the neighbors house or a nearby high spot.
Warning, I still don't understand how Franklin didn't get knocked on his keester.
I am the high spot 8)  Boy just saying that is weird.......... :o
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Warbird

Grounding the roof does not imply one must put up a lightning rod on the house.  I agree with Joe.  Either put up a large pole slightly away from the house and ground it, or ground the roof.  Or do nothing and don't worry about it.  ;)

Don P

One thing ya gotta figure, the spark just jumped a several thousand foot gap, where it goes the last few feet probably ain't overly important to it.

Fla._Deadheader


  IF you ground the roof, it WILL become the Lightning Rod.

  I've been on call outs for the power company, where Lightning hit and all that was left was splinters. NO POLE, NO Crossarm, just the 3 wires, with insulators swinging in the breeze.  ::) ::) ::)

  I'm on THE top of a high hill, and I'm not about to ground my roof.  :o ;D

  Got double grounds on the Power drop though.  ::) ;) ;D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Raider Bill

 smiley_dizzy smiley_headscratch smiley_whacko smiley_tom_dizzyguy02

I need a chill pill
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Fla._Deadheader


   :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

  Sorry about the cornfyuzyen.  :D :D :D :D :D :D
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

TexasTimbers

I vote for no rods either. Metal roofs get hit with lighting frequently and you often never even know about it. Wood frame houses get hit as often if not more and I do mean %wise not merely because there are more of them. Electricity will always take the path of least resistance and metal will transfer the voltage to ground more efficiently than wood. So if anything, I would simply ground the roof, but not use a rod. The roof itself is a rod. A lighting rod on a wood frame house is simply a low tech way to attempot to channel the strkie from the rod to the ground and hope it doesn't get on the roof, and travel through all the goodies hooked into the electrical system.

I made a psot here somewhere a few months ago where my shop got a direct hit. I was here in it when it happened. Wiped out my phone but that was it. You want to discuss loud noises? I can have an intelligent discussion about that. :D
The oil is all in Texas, but the dipsticks are in D.C.

pigman

I think you should connect a small wire to the metal roof, run it down to the bedroom and wrap it around your big toe. That way in a storm you will know when to get up and shut the windows. Make sure it is a real small wire or you won't be able to get up at all. This method has not been tested by me, so try it at your own risk.
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

Raider Bill

Quote from: pigman on July 31, 2008, 01:16:44 PM
I think you should connect a small wire to the metal roof, run it down to the bedroom and wrap it around your big toe. That way in a storm you will know when to get up and shut the windows. Make sure it is a real small wire or you won't be able to get up at all. This method has not been tested by me, so try it at your own risk.
What a GREAT idea! I would have to make the wire long enough for my many nightly trips to the head but short enough so that I don't sleep walk off the 14' deck
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

sharp edge

Submersible pumps get hit a lot in steel wells. Yours is in a deep rock hole, so I don't know about it. My drill rig had a 40' tower and often a 100' deep grounding rod and never got hit. Just thought I would add to this so you can figure out lightning, I can't . Reading the posts I think your luck ran out on getting good answers. ::)

sharpE
The stroke of a pen is mighter than the stroke of a sword, but we like pictures.
91' escort powered A-14 belsaw, JD 350-c cat with jamer and dray, 12" powermatic planer

Raider Bill

Sharp E,

Thanks!

Oh great now I get to worry about my pump! ;D

Well I look at this post like this,

I've asked the greatest minds on the internet and even got Dang's opinion, [maybe that was another question]  :-\ and pretty much decided that I'm going to move my roof ahead of the axles, ground the tires, leave the shovelhead on the interstate unsecured, connect the trailer to my truck with the winch so I can make adjustments while driving, and last but not least tie a small copper wire around my &$%^#@ and jump off the 14' deck. That's for sure the proper solution to my issues.

This forum is the greatest! smiley_beertoast
That about takes care of the metal roof question
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

scgargoyle

It's a gift to be able to take all the different answers on here and put it into one coherent sentence, Bill!  :D :D :D

We went through the same discussion when we had a sailboat with a big aluminum stick up in the air. It boiled down to this- if you ground it, you'll be better protected, but you'll get hit a lot. If not grounded, you'll rarely get hit, but if you do, it would be worse. Then they showed me a sailboat in drydock with two huge holes in the bottom where the copper grounding plates got blown right out of the hull! I don't think the metal roof is any more attractive to lightning than any other roof UNLESS you  ground it. The lightning doesn't know what it's made of until you have a complete circuit to ground. Look at it this way- cars are made of metal, but are insulted by the tires. Have you ever heard of a car being hit by lightning? I wouldn't worry about it.
I hope my ship comes in before the dock rots!

SamB

You might want to read  :P the thread on the Urban and Community board before you end this discussion.

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