House struck by lightning last night

[rr1963]

iibgdi is on point. I don't know how old your house is but you may want to check with the builder. My sisters house was struck and the builder bought it back. I believe because of a grounding issue.

I would be concerned about an insurance agent giving coverage advise for something like this. Could be a potential for litigation.

Also, I don't think there is an Act of God exclusion in homeowners insurance policies

 

[augustus]

thanks for the tip on calling the fire dept, Kevin54, I didn't think of the smoldering stuff.

 

[ZRX61]

Sorry if the phrase offends you, and if you like, I will go back and remove it from my wording.

I didn't post it with the intentional means of offending anyone.

What you said wasn't offensive to atheists, what is offensive is insurance companies getting a pass on valid claims by blaming it on superstition.

 

[ZRX61]

Good Lord. Dont let the politically correct whiners/perpetually outraged/self absorbed maroons try to shame you into feeling guilty about your beliefs or words.

Maddening state of idiocy we are moving into in this country.

What post was that directed at? I didn't see anyone whining or claiming outrage about anything posted previous to your post.

 

[nicksnothereman]

So to keep the story short house got struck by lightning last night. House is fine no damage to the structure it self (at least that I have found yet). We are both ok, wife got a small welp on her leg (she was standing next to stove and got shocked). Weird thing is stove is fine and I am sure it is grounded.

Anyways tons of electronics around the house are fried but not enough to justify the 3k deductible on the house.

So on to the question where GJ can help me out maybe... One of the things that is out is the garage door opener. It is a craftsman unit from 2005. The trouble light blinks 5 times on it which is indicating the logic board. If you push the wall button you hear a click but nothing happens. If you hit the light button on the wall nothing happens then at all (not even a click).

Question is should I buy a used logic board off ebay for $50, will I probably get lucky and that will fix it? Or should I **** it up and acccept that it is probably more damaged then just the logic board and buy a whole new opener?

You sure it was lightning and not something else?

That level of electricity usually causes some cosmetic damage where it "strikes" (on your roof). Now, there is a type of "electricity" that won't but we're not talking about that.

I would just replace the garage door unit rather than the board (50 is too much to pay for parts when you're doing it yourself). But maybe wait a day or two then use the main disconnect then reconnect and try everything again in case it's that second thing.

 

[RonnieC]

What post was that directed at? I didn't see anyone whining or claiming outrage about anything posted previous to your post.

I believe his post was self-referential.

 

[mayday0017]

Positive it was lightning... Me and my wife were both home, it was storming out, It fried 2-3k in electronics. Wife has burn marks on her leg where lightning jumpped from stove over to her in the kitchen.

If it came from power company it would of grounded from the breaker box. Also if it came from power company lines it would of hit the other houses around me as well at minimum.

Anyways.... thanks for all the replies guys, Hopefully this weekend I will be able to better judge the cost to repair/replace everything and based on the numbers can decide if I want to involve insurance or not. I think it's gonna be close....

 

[G_P]

back before i moved lightning struck my neighbors house. It hit near his chimney and got the 100lb propane tank that was next to the house causing a leak in the copper line going to the house. Took about 30 minutes before the gas ignited from some smoldering siding or something but luckily he had called the FD and they were there and knocked the fire down quick limiting the damage to only one area of one wall.

Point it, if you have any gas appliances at all check the lines!

 

[iibgdi]

Perhaps I am mixing up warranty paperwork with insurance paperwork. My apologies if I have made an incorrect statement.

Unless I offended anyone...if I managed to offend anyone then i revoke my apology and would like to add anything and everything that may further offend said person.

Thank you.

LOL. Good post. No worries. I get carried away sometimes!

 

[iibgdi]

what is offensive is insurance companies getting a pass on valid claims by blaming it on superstition.

Another uninformed consumer spewing out misinfo

They don't "blame it on superstition" and deny claims. Read my earlier post and you might learn something.


Sorry if I'm a bit direct but it's very frustrating hearing uninformed criticism spewed forth all the time.

 

[iibgdi]

Positive it was lightning... Me and my wife were both home, it was storming out, It fried 2-3k in electronics. Wife has burn marks on her leg where lightning jumpped from stove over to her in the kitchen.

If it came from power company it would of grounded from the breaker box. Also if it came from power company lines it would of hit the other houses around me as well at minimum.

Anyways.... thanks for all the replies guys, Hopefully this weekend I will be able to better judge the cost to repair/replace everything and based on the numbers can decide if I want to involve insurance or not. I think it's gonna be close....

Earlier I believe you mentioned that you have a $3,000 deductible? That tells me you are likely with State Farm? Or some other large national carrier that has started applying large deductibles that are a % of your property limit.

You should really talk to an independent agent. These direct writers, like State Farm, have great marketing programs that draw a great deal of trust and loyalty simply based on......well......great marketing.

Unless you have a poor history of claims or maybe financial issues, there is no reason you couldn't get a policy with a $1,000 deductible AND probably get it for less than you are paying.

I have a buddy that works for State Farm as an agent and he has a fairly large book of business and he told me that he is just praying that his clients don't shop around right now because if they do, they'll find out that they can probably get a better deal elsewhere.

Loyalty is a good thing but it can be expensive.

 

[Bob-B]

We were hit by lightening about 18 years ago. It struck a HUGE tree 10 ft away from the house and on the way down to the ground, jumped the gap to the aluminum trim around our bedroom window, hit the electrical outlet below the window, and finally the baseboard radiator. The blast blew some of the sheetrock off that portion of the bedroom ceiling and wall, blew the insulation out of the wall and ceiling, some shingles off the roof and some of the siding around the window. The room lit up like it was high noon.

At the time, all 5 of us were in that bedroom! The kids were 2,5, and 8, and it was a really bad storm. We called the FD right away. They came right out and found nothing smoldering.

Everything electronic was fried, tv's, sprinkler and pool timers, but not any of the major appliances. Less the deductable, our insurance paid for everything, and they were quick to pay out.

We've since removed the tree for a different reason, but at least I can sleep in the room again during a storm. Until the tree came down, I spent my time in the basement during ANY thunderstorm.

 

[Jackfre]

As an equipment rep I've seen a lot of lightening strike situations. It is hardly worth trying to repair equipment in a home that has taken a hit. You may get the equipment to function, but there is so much happening in the equipment that frequently other components will give out, after you have either sucked it up and not filed a claim or settled the claim for less than you should have. I suggest "total loss" of all electrical/electronic appliances and gear. Pay the deductible and start over. You will be happier and you will know what you have.

The $3k seems a high deductible. I think mine is $1k. I have played the high deductible auto insurance game for years. Basically, you cannot afford an auto claim for short money so I max my deductible on the autos and after 3 yrs with no accidents I have a positive cash flow...sorta

On grounding. If you weren't there when the electrician pounded the ground rod in, it is worth putting in another ground rod next to it. Had a guy who was having all kinds of problems with a heater. I checked that thing up and down and was back a couple times. Finally, I went out with a wrench and put it on the ground rod clamp. Took an easy turn on the loose bolt and the ground rod flipped right out of the ground. Homeowner said, "well, I hit a rock." Today on nuisance outages of about anything the first place I go is that ground clamp.

 

[Mattlt]

Just a reminder to some that have landlines, don't talk on a landline phone in a bad electrical storm.

Every once in a while, it pays to remind some of the younger ones what happens as we were told by our parents. And talking on the landline is just one of them, as many have been killed by talking on the phone and lightening hitting the house and following the phone line in to the person holding the phone.

I have been to numerous lightning-related fire calls. One that stands out was a situation like Kevin is referring to - the wall-mounted phone in the kitchen was actually blown off the wall by the lightning strike. I really have to wonder what would have happened if the person had been talking on the phone at the time.

Another one that stands out was a house that was struck in the soffit/facia area. At every seam in the white metal facia trim, there was a black scorch mark the entire way around the house where the lightning had arced. That was a fun night, laddering a two-story house while lightning continued to flash overhead....

 

[Tarheelgarage]

As an equipment rep I've seen a lot of lightening strike situations. It is hardly worth trying to repair equipment in a home that has taken a hit. You may get the equipment to function, but there is so much happening in the equipment that frequently other components will give out, after you have either sucked it up and not filed a claim or settled the claim for less than you should have. I suggest "total loss" of all electrical/electronic appliances and gear. Pay the deductible and start over. You will be happier and you will know what you have.

The $3k seems a high deductible. I think mine is $1k. I have played the high deductible auto insurance game for years. Basically, you cannot afford an auto claim for short money so I max my deductible on the autos and after 3 yrs with no accidents I have a positive cash flow...sorta

On grounding. If you weren't there when the electrician pounded the ground rod in, it is worth putting in another ground rod next to it. Had a guy who was having all kinds of problems with a heater. I checked that thing up and down and was back a couple times. Finally, I went out with a wrench and put it on the ground rod clamp. Took an easy turn on the loose bolt and the ground rod flipped right out of the ground. Homeowner said, "well, I hit a rock." Today on nuisance outages of about anything the first place I go is that ground clamp.

Daym, I'm betting you dirtied yourself when that happened....

 

[bjcouche]

As to "surge protectors" , they are a mixed bag. First off, the "connected equipment warranty" "insurance" or whatever it's called that comes with the surge protector is not worth the paper it's printed on. I've never heard of any that paid anything. For homeowner insurance companies not wanting to pay claims stating that the surge protector insurance should be contacted first, is lunacy to me but might be a legal loop-hole for them to get out of paying.
Surge protectors DO NOT protect against a direct lightening strike. Think about it, lightening had enough voltage to arc from the sky all the way to your house, do you think it can't arc a couple inches more across a surge protector? Surge protectors can HELP protect against INDIRECT lightening strikes, like if the power lines were hit a couple miles from your home. By the time the power get's to your surge protector the energy might be low enough for your surge protector to limit the voltage surge to your electronics and save them. If the voltage surge is too large for the surge protector to absorb, they usually fail shorted. I've seen cases where the surge protector exploded, and caught fire during a power surge.
Lots of surge protectors don't have diagnostics built in to determine if they are still protecting the equipment. If the surge is big enough, the protection circuitry can fail but the outlets still function. In better designed surge protector there is a indicator LED that indicates this failure. In even better designs, the power to the outlets is removed when surge protection is non functional.
Based on your direct lightning strike, I would recommend replacing all surge protectors as well to be sure they are still functioning, especially if you lost the electronics that was plugged into it.

Brian

 

[iibgdi]

insurance companies don't decline homeowners claims citing that surge protectors are primary.

Another urban myth.

An insurance policy is a contract.

The general public has a very poor understanding of how these contracts work and its comical to listen to people regurgitate embellished and fabricated stories of "denied claims"

Just because a claim is denied doesnt mean the insurance company screwed anyone. It is much more likely (like 99%) that the policy holder was just pissed because they dont understand what is and is not covered and are just frustrated and therefore perpetuate the myths they and their friends have always spouted

 

[upndown]

Back to OP's original question, if that includes shipping..Buy it. A few screws, unplug old board, plug in new, refasten everything, reprogram transmitters, keyless entry, etc. Done deal! Make sure you unplug unit first or you run the risk of damaging new board.(Don't ask me how I know this)

Make sure all the # match up and the color of the smart button is the same! Good luck..

 

[mayday0017]

Ordered a new Chaberlin Whisper drive unit to replace my craftsman. Should be in tomorrow... Started a claim with insurance as well, keep finding more and more stuff that is fried. About 7k in fried equipment in the house that I have found so far, even got my snapon underhood light that I love so much

Really curious why 90% of the 120v stuff in house is toast but everything 220v made it out just fine?

 

[volleyball]

Over 50 posts and no one mentioned about how you should add protection to your house. You need surge protectors at the panels and at any thing that has electronics you don't want to pay to replace. And not with the $5 surge protectors.
The further you live from others, the more you need to protect yourself. You don't see the neighbors, get lightning rods installed.

 

[James E]

As a dyslexic, I find your use of "acts of dog" to be confusing and offensive.

 

[cide1]

In my home, the 220 stuff is either heating elements of some sort, a/c, welder, or compressor. All these things are made of big beefy components. 120 volt stuff in many cases has 120 volts going straight into a switching mode power supply that generates much lower voltages. More semiconductors and small parts that are much more sensitive in these types of devices.