Should A Metal Roof Be Grounded

Experts say metal roofing systems aren t any more likely to be struck by lightning than other types of roofs.

Should a metal roof be grounded.

Metal conducts electricity but when you are dealing with a full roof a lightning strike would ground out through the rest of the structure without causing damage or harm to the interior. Your metal roof is not grounded and thus lighting has no reason to strike it. Further in a dry environment it might be necessary to water the grounding stakes to assure good contact with the surrounding soil. In simple terms the answer is no.

You have numerous options when it comes to re roofing your home including asphalt shingles concrete tiles and metal roof panels. Metal roofing is safe and you won t incur additional risks if you don t ground it in most circumstances. Do you need to ground metal roofs. Wouldn t a grounded metal roof protect your home.

It does not attract any extra attention from lightning and just like buildings constructed with traditional building materials any electricity from a lightning strike will will be safely transferred to the ground below so occupants will be unaffected. The short answer is no you don t have to ground a metal roof and you will incur no additional risk if you don t ground it in most circumstances. In general there s no need to unless it s mandated by your local building codes. By bonding the steel rebar you simply eliminate the difference in potential between the metal objects above the steel rebar and the steel rebar you are not forcing current to travel through it to find a path to ground.

What if lightning struck your roof. Metal roofing is perfectly safe. A metal roof in no way makes your home more vulnerable or susceptible to lightning strikes. It is important to have every vertical metal support beam grounded required in the building code with a metal building.

Do you need to have your metal roof grounded. We elaborate further in this post. If you plan on using metal roofing you may need to consider whether or not you need to ground that roofing like other metal equipment in construction. Hazardous currents have a path to ground the massive buried copper network and grounding electrodes.

You might choose to install a metal roof because they do not rot crack peel burn or blow off.