so another house in our neighborhood burned down after the storms yesterday and the wife is asking for one. Cost? Ease of installing? Permits required?

Lightning starts fires due to the massive rush of current and resultant heating through combustible materials (trees, your house, etc). The idea behind a lightning rod is to give the current a relatively easy path to ground that doesn't involve going through the structure. You really only need three things: the lightning rod for your roof, a length of fairly thick gauge steel cable, and a grounding rod that you drive into the ground probably 8-10 feet.

I'd check with Grainger... they probably have everything you need.

I didn't install it, but my home has a full lightning rod grid on it. The roof has multiple "spikes" on it, all connected together by a braided cable (not steel, which would be a poor choice for rusting), further connected to a copper rod driven in the ground.

I'm not sure I would do this myself. When my roof was replaced last year the work to restore the lightning arrestors had to be done by a professional installer (Bonded in this case).

The pic below is not very good but it was a picture taken for insurance purposes of our roof before we filed the claim (The damaage to the roof was not related to lightning). You can see the braided cable and the spike on the far end.


[This message has been edited by SpicewoodAg (edited 5/31/2012 1:33p).]

[This message has been edited by SpicewoodAg (edited 6/1/2012 9:37a).]

I have seen a few systems installed. As Spicewood said, they are much more complicated than two rods and a wire.

I have no idea on cost, but I imagine it is pretty easy to call around for quotes.

I think the cost (paid by insurance) on my home to RE-install the existing lightning arrestor system was just under $2K. Home is two story and about 3500 sq. ft.

Steel isn't a good choice because of its conductivity, or lack thereof. Ideally, the conductors between terminals and the down conductors are copper. Aluminum is used where you have Galvalume roofing, or other surfaces where using copper would cause galvanic action (the $2 way of saying it corrodes).

If you want the "it's better than nothing approach" you can slap up a couple of rods and tie them together, but there are subtle nuances to having a real lightning protection system. One, the size and location of the terminal (usually rod) will dictate the coverge. You could potentially (no pun intended) mount something at one end of the house that does nothing for the other side. On the other hand, a truly designed system could offer protection to adjacent structures like an outdoor shed where it falls within the "zone of protection."

The routing of the down conductors will also have certain requirements. For example, you have to avoid sharp bends in the conductor to prevent the surge from "jumping" off the cable to something else. You also want to use compression (Hy-ground) or exothermically welded (Cadweld, Thermoweld) connections to ensure a tight connection, and one that won't get blown apart by a surge.

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When my roof was replaced last year the work to restore the lightning arrestors had to be done by a bonded installer.

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Generally speaking, insurance companies require the installed system receive a UL Master Label to ensure that, well, it wasn't put together with parts from Grainger. It is also a way to ensure it complies with NFPA 780 Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems. In order to keep the Master Label, related work has to be done by appropriate shops.

Gives you an overview. There's a link at the bottom to find installers.
http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offerings/services/globalfieldservices/fieldservices/lightningprotection/

If it were me, I'd start with Bonded out of Argyle.
http://www.bondedlp.com/residential/

Was this one of the ones in Frisco that burnt yesterday?

To add to what Underoos Ag said, you generally don't just connect it to "a ground rod" although there are connections to ground rods in the system. Most Master Labeled systems I've seen have a full ground ring buried around the outside of the building to minimize contact resistance and maximize soil contact/energy dissipation over a larger area and trying to maintain a reasonble voltage gradient across the property.

I've done some investigations where the building still caught on fire with a lightning rod system....because lightning can still come into the building on unprotected electrical wires if there aren't lightning arrestors or Cat A surge suppressors at the electrical service.

Since you didn't give a locale, I'll recommend Taylor Lightning Protection out of Katy as well. I think they may work all over the state anyway.

Another vote for Bonded, we use them on a lot of projects, I'd also recommend Hicks Lightning Protection out of Prosper

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Was this one of the ones in Frisco that burnt yesterday?

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we had 2 burn down in McKinney, right off Custer

http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_76881.shtml

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McKINNEY, TEXAS (May 30, 2012) – Lightning is considered the most dangerous and frequently encountered weather hazard most people experience.

As severe weather moved through McKinney on Wednesday morning, two residential structure fires occurred in a neighborhood near Alma and Silverado. Both fires were attributed to lightning strikes.

The first fire, on Loma Alta, was reported at approximately 11:18 a.m. Report of the second fire, on Laughing Waters, was received a short time later. More than 20 personnel responded to each scene, with the last unit clearing after 3:00 p.m. In addition to the two confirmed structure fires, a third home, also located on Loma Alta was struck by lightning. Upon investigation, there was no fire.

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