Lightning struck house! Advise Please.

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cwsolo

Member
I went to give an estimate on a house directly hit by lightning, I mean a chunck of concrete was blown out about 1' in diameter. Several problems landscape lighting obviously gone as well as dock power, master bedroom recep's with lamps plugged in flicker on and off, several other similar findings. My concern is that if several wiring circuits were super heated even for a matter of milliseconds what kind of damage may be unseen or even unoticed without a load being placed on the wire for an extended time? I am inclined to tell the customer that they need a complete rewire, am I out of line? Anyone experienced with direct lightning strikes on a house? I just can't help but think that some of the copper may be "carbonized" or damaged but may not be seen or noticed and I don't want to just fix the known problems and leave the unknown telling the HO that they can sleep well knowing everything is fixed.
thanks in advance for you replies.
 

jeff43222

Senior Member
Re: Lightning struck house! Advise Please.

Well, you could test all the wiring in the house by doing load tests, voltage drop, insulation tests, etc. You'd have to check an awful lot of wiring, though. Chances are, a direct lightning strike caused a lot of damage that is not readily apparent. The house's electrical system was not designed to be able to withstand a direct strike without suffering damage. Sounds to me like you've already found plenty of damage without even having to look very hard.

I'd go for a complete rewire. That's why they have homeowner's insurance.

[ November 07, 2005, 11:00 PM: Message edited by: jeff43222 ]
 

jimwalker

Senior Member
Location
TAMPA FLORIDA
Re: Lightning struck house! Advise Please.

The key word here is insurance.I would be sure to find enough items damaged to justify a rewire to the insurance company.One word of caution that i was taught about fire jobs is we can only collect once.So if you feel its needed to be rewired then go for it.Keep in mind the insurance companies might want a few opinions first.Have seen them pay for $100,000 damage on a house worth $120,000.They look at it as a $20,000 savings.Ask the insurance company if they are willing to pay for a day of your time to investigate and run a megger.
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
Re: Lightning struck house! Advise Please.

There's a big difference between structures directly struck by lightning and those near a strike or effected by a strike on utility lines. Write up everything visible and apparent, advise/warn on the stuff you can't see and let the insurance company make the determination about what should be done. The ball is really in their court, you just need to provide them with a realistic evaluation of the situation.
 
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