[Grob]

Hello,

We are building a lake house in an old barn style that will have a cupola on the roof with a copper finial. Under the roof (inside the house) the finial will have a metal face plate. How do we best ground this (assuming we have to as this will be the tallest point on the home). What type of wire, and it is safe to run the wire down through the walls of the home then into the ground, or should the ground wire be run on the outside of the home? Or is another option putting a lighting rod on the chimmney? Thanks much!:confused:

[tkrussell]

Does this:

Under the roof (inside the house) the finial will have a metal face plate.

Mean it is not exposed to the outdoor elements?

Why does it need to be grounded?

I am a bit confused by this question.

If you think need lightning protection, professional advice is needed.

I can tell you, Do not run any lightning protection conductor through any interior portion of the structure

[stanfortyman]

If you think need lightning protection, professional advice is needed.

Ab-so-lutely!

What you are considering is lightning protection, NOT "grounding". PLEASE call a professional.

[Grob]

I guess you're both right, it's not grounding but lightining protection (as an under-knowledgeable about this topic I was thinking their one and the same). So I've done some research on the internet and it appears the whole topic of lightining protection; i.e. lightining rods is quite controversial... that being many folks believe it to be a waste of money and not really needed at all. However, being a barn on a hill seems to require some kind of lightining protection, since it's quite a target (at least to me). So any advise on the topic of lightining protection would be appreciated. I gathered from the internet there are quite a few folks out there who think this is a scam, esp. from those "experts" who sell the lightining rod protection systems... What do you think?

[tkrussell]

We here are not familiar enough about lightning to discuss any advice, opinions, controversy, etc.

If anyone says they know, do not take any advice here.

Lightning is a very subjective topic, based on many variables, too many to go over here.

The best advice I can give is to contact a professional company, or several, to discuss your situation.

[Tev]

Also, according to the internet everything is a scam and/or conspiracy and everyone is an "expert". I'm more likely to trust someone I can actually see than a faceless person on the internet.