Replies

1. 
   Jim_Haynes | Jan 27, 1999 02:35am | #1

   *
   Have to admit I was a little dismayed when this thread disappeared. There was a lot of solid commentary and several good questions. For those interested, I will sorta kinda briefly recap my opinion for what it is worth.

   I think we considered that since the beam was not exposed, was not a part of a structural steel framework, and had little probability of becoming energized from the building wiring, little would be served in grounding it for those purposes.

   Now the lightning thing. If there is a possibility that lightning would find its way to the beam, all the more reason not to ground it as one would for equipment grounding purposes. Such a ground would be too small for the lightning energy and could add further to the damage. If, for lightning protection, the builder decides to ground the beam, it should be done to LPI standards (ie: full size down conductor exothermically welded to the beam) and carried to a grounding electrode separate from the electrical service ground.

1. 
   Brian_McCall | Jan 30, 1999 09:08am | #2

   *No requirement for steel posts around here that I know of. I thought steel posts would get soft and buckle in a fire, which would have the same end result.

2. 
   Guest_ | Jan 30, 1999 11:23pm | #3

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   Joe:

   Here in VA I see steel beams over garage doors and garage ceilings ( living space above ) supported by wood all the time. I never thought about the fire fighter danger before.

   Frank

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 31, 1999 12:07am | #4

   *I always understood steel to burn faster than wood.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 31, 1999 03:11am | #5

   *If the beam were wood instead of steel and fell, would that hurt the firefighters any less?

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 31, 1999 03:15am | #6

   *Alan - A loaded steel beam may fail in a fire sooner than a large wood beam in its place, but I don't think thats quite the same as saying steel burns faster than wood.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 31, 1999 05:06am | #7

   *okay.

2. 
   Guest_ | Jan 31, 1999 06:21pm | #8

   *I think a set of worry beads would solve most all in this thread. I don't worry this obsessively about beams falling on firefighters or Grandma for that matter and how often does lightning enter a house looking for an ungrounded beam? For that matter what would all do if the sky were falling or Humpty Dumpty fell off a wall, could you put him back together again?Jack : )

3. 
   Brian_McCall | Feb 03, 1999 07:16pm | #9

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   Jack,
   I'm guessing from your response that your answer to the original question is no it doesn't need to be grounded. :)

4. 
   Brian_McCall | Feb 03, 1999 07:16pm | #10

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   This is a repost of an earlier message that disappeared. I never got a good answer the first time so I'll try again.

   Should a steel beam (W10x39)used as a ridge beam at the top of a house be grounded? The steel beam is supported by wood girder trusses so it is not grounded at this time.

   It seems to me that if I ground it I will be increasing the likelyhood of lightning strikes. Any lightning strike (grounded or not) will probably result in dmage to the roof, right? What is the worst case scenario if I don't ground the beam? Could the lightning arc to nearby electric lines connected to ceiling fans, etc?