System principle

First of all, we will understand how lightning protection for a private house works and what is needed to create it. You can clearly see all the component elements of the system in this diagram:

As you already understood, the metal rods on the roof are lightning rods that release a dangerous discharge to the ground through a down conductor and a special grounding conductor.

There is an opinion that if a telephone tower is installed near the house, then you cannot make a lightning rod in a private house. This is a mistake because it is better to spend some time and provide yourself with complete protection against lightning strikes.

So that you know what a lightning conductor should be and how to do it yourself with your own hands, below we will separately consider the features of choosing each element of the system.

Protection elements

Lightning rod

The main task is to choose the appropriate air station, which should provide complete protection of the country house in its area of ​​operation. Today, a pin, mesh, cable, or the ceiling itself can act as a lightning receiver. We will consider in detail the features of applying each of the options in a private house.

As for the pin, there are already finished products from manufacturers that have a suitable shape and suitable fastening. As a rule, the metal of manufacture of the air station is copper, aluminum or steel. The most suitable and effective option is the first option.

In order for the receiver to cope well with its task, its cross-section must be at least 35 mm2 ⁽  if copper) or 70 mm2 ⁽  steel rod). As for the length of the rod, in domestic conditions it is recommended to use receivers with a length of 0.5 to 2 meters. Nails are convenient to use in order to make a lightning rod in a garden house, bathhouse or other small building.

The metal mesh can also be sold ready-made. As a rule, the mesh air station is a cellular frame made of reinforcement with a thickness of 6 mm. The cell size can be from 3 to 12 meters. Most often, this type of lightning protection is used in residential buildings and large buildings, for example, shopping centers.

The cable is more practical at home and copes with the task better than the network. To make a lightning rod in a private house with cable, you need to stretch it along the roof (along the ridge) on wooden blocks, as shown in the photo below. The minimum cable diameter for lightning protection of a building should be 5 mm.As a rule, this option is used if you want to make a lightning conductor on your house with a slate roof with your own hands.

Well, the last option – the roof can be used as a receiver, if the roof of the residential building is covered with corrugated board, metal tiles or other metal roofing material. With this version of the lightning rod, two important requirements are imposed on the surface. Firstly, the thickness of the metal must be at least 0.4 mm.

Secondly, there should be no flammable materials under the ceiling. You can make a lightning rod in a private house with a metal roof much faster and at the same time save on the purchase of special lightning rods.

We draw your attention to the fact that if you are going to use the grid, it must be installed at a height of at least 15 cm above the ceiling!

Down connector

As a down conductor for a private house, a 6 mm copper, steel or aluminum wire is used. The wire must be connected to the air terminal and grounding system using screws or welding. The only, but very important condition for the down conductor – it must be isolated from the environment and pass to ground along the shortest path. As for insulation, the use of ordinary cable channels, which are also used if necessary, is common in summer houses and country houses.

Grounding switch

Well, the last component of a lightning rod is the ground loop. In order not to make the material too bulky, we have highlighted a separate article for this issue – how to make grounding in a private house.

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the information so that you know all the intricacies of this stage.

Summing up, we can say that the ground loop should be next to the house, but not in the park of the site, but on the contrary, closer to the fence. The charge is removed on the ground by metal rods buried in the soil to a depth of 0.8 metres.

It is better to place all the bars according to the triangular scheme, which is just shown in the photo:

So, we are accustomed to the components of roof lightning protection, now we will look at how to make a lightning rod with your own hands.

Manufacturing instructions

To facilitate the assembly of the lightning rod system of a private house as a whole, we provide step-by-step instructions with photo examples:

1. We calculate the materials. The most important point is the choice of the length of the air terminal. For effective protection, you need to calculate this way: 1.5 The radius of the protection area is the height of the mast. For example, if the height of the bar is 10 meters, the diameter of the protection zone will be 30 meters. The chart below shows the essence of the calculation.
   We draw your attention to the fact that for effective operation of the lightning rod, the height should not exceed 12 meters. If it is not possible to cover the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe house with one lightning rod, it is better to make the masts in 2 or 3 different places.
2. We install receivers in appropriate places, according to the recommendations above.
3. We independently extend the lower conductor from the bars to the floor along the ceiling and walls. It is recommended to fix the wire using special plastic fasteners. To make extension wire length, use universal copper connectors. You can make the work easier, running a conductor down along the gutter, and securing the wire with clamps.
4. Connect the bottom conductor to the ground loop. To do this, it is recommended to use welding or a closed connection. In order for the connection to be good and, accordingly, the lightning rod effective, before connecting, clean all areas from rust and dirt to metallic color.
5. Check lightning protection using a multimeter, measuring its resistance. The display should display a value no greater than 10 ohms.

This is the whole technology for creating a lightning protection system.As you can see, making a lightning rod in a private house with your own hands is not difficult at all, the main thing is to carry out the calculation work correctly. We recommend watching the video instructions in which all stages of installing a lightning rod are discussed in more detail.