Re: [TowerTalk] Re: Floating Ground Steel Building?

[Jim Lux <jimlux@earthlink.net>]

At 02:42 PM 7/2/2004 -0400, doc wrote:
> I just left a meeting with the builder of our new steel home
> where I discovered something troubling -- the steel roof and
> wall materials appear to be floating above ground on top of
> the concrete slab!
>
> The roof and wall are 10" x 48" wide sections bonded together
> and along the bottom of the wall set into a metal channel
> fastened to the concrete with embedded anchor bolts -- but
> those bolts are buried in the slab, none of them are grounded.


The slab itself is grounded, isn't it... This is what UFER ground depend 
on. There may be a moisture barrier between the slab and some of the 
ground, but the footings around the edges should be in contact with the 
soil, and there's a fairly large contact area there.



> So when I bring everything to the entry panel the only point
> of ground is the three planned 20' rods -- for the entire
> steel house shell as well as for the power line, phone,
> tower-related cables, and well cables.
>
> I have been counting on the steel shell wicking off lightning
> energy through multiple grounding points minimizing the collection
> of energy at any single point.
>
> Should I place ground rods at the corners, and perhaps at
> additional 10 or 20 foot locations around the perimeter of the
> 60 x 40 structure, and tie them to the base plate of the
> outer metal wall?


What's the contact area of a wire or rod compared with all those square 
feet of concrete?




> The lightning storm that just rolled through reminded me to take seriously!

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