Would you worry about lightning if your house had a metal roof?

I've worked on a few homes after lightning strikes, and honestly, the metal roof usually holds up fine, but the electronics inside can get fried if the house isn't properly grounded. One place had surge protectors everywhere, but still lost their fridge and TV. Seems like without rods and solid grounding, the metal just redirects the energy - doesn't always keep it out of your wiring.

Seems like without rods and solid grounding, the metal just redirects the energy - doesn't always keep it out of your wiring.

Yeah, I’ve seen the same thing. Metal roofs themselves are tough as nails against lightning, but if the grounding’s not up to snuff, you’re still rolling the dice with your appliances. Had a job last summer - beautiful standing seam roof, but the homeowner skipped proper ground rods. After a big storm, their breaker box looked like it had been through a war. Metal’s great for durability, but it’s not a magic shield for your wiring. Grounding’s where folks cut corners and end up paying for it later.

I’ve actually wondered about this a lot since starting out. My uncle’s place has a metal roof, and he figured that was enough - never bothered with extra grounding. Then a lightning strike fried his TV and half the outlets. The roof itself was fine, but the wiring took a hit. Is it just me, or do people underestimate how much that grounding matters? I get why folks skip it, but man, seems like a gamble.

The roof itself was fine, but the wiring took a hit.

That’s exactly what I’ve seen too - people assume the metal roof is like a shield, but it doesn’t really protect the stuff inside unless you’ve got proper grounding. I remember a neighbor had a similar thing happen, and it was a pain getting all the appliances checked after. The roof didn’t even have a scratch, but the surge just found its way into the house anyway.

I guess I always thought metal roofs were safer, but now I’m wondering if they actually attract more strikes, or if it just makes the damage more obvious when there’s no grounding. Anyone here ever had to add extra lightning rods or grounding after the fact? Or is it something you really need to plan for before installing a metal roof?

I ran into something similar after we switched to a metal roof about five years ago. The installer mentioned grounding, but I honestly didn’t pay much attention at the time since I figured the roof itself would be enough. Turns out, during a thunderstorm last summer, we lost a surge protector and a couple of outlets fried - roof looked perfect, but I had to call an electrician anyway. Looking back, I wish I’d budgeted for a proper lightning protection system upfront. Retrofitting isn’t impossible, but it’s more complicated and definitely not as cheap as just doing it right from the start.