riverfever
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Woodland Park, Colorado
I was watching tv, just minding my own damn business on Tuesday when a wicked little storm moved in. I heard thunder and it sounded nearby so I closed the laptop and was just about to stand up from the couch and go over and unplug the tv and the laptop from an outlet just below a window in the living room when it struck. It sounded like someone shot a gun in the room and I saw a massive flash. We had some metal candle holders and a pair of binoculars on the window sill and they came flying at me. I honestly didn't know what the heck happened. I saw and smelled the smoke that was now ocming out from under the window sill. Brilliantly...I summmized that lightning was probably the culprit. I called 911. Luckily the house was not on fire and the dog and I were fine (although I thought I was going to need a new pair of BVD's).
TV, laptop, DVD and all the Direct TV sateilte stuff is fried but at least we had a place to sleep. An electrician found nothing wrong with the wiring in the house. Nothing was melted at all. There are no marks on the house, ground or trees so we're not sure where it entered. There is a hole (see pics) where I guess it came out near the window. Maybe the aluminum corner pieces on the drywall had something to do with it? The hole is about the size of a .22 round and then you can see the burn marks. The other side of the wall had some paint and portions of drywall mud come off. The 1" oak sill was split lengthwise. Later we even found a corner in the bedroom where more mud and paint was chipped off.
We had a guy come up today and check the tv and laptop and he advised replacing both. TV repair was estimated at about 400 and the computer repair was estimated at 900. Anyone know how this works? In a situation like this do they normally write off the appliances? I think they'll write off the laptop after I complain abotu not wanting to use it for grad school work (and run the risk of losing things). I'm worries they might say to try and get the LCD flat screen repaired. We paid about 700 or so for it I think.
TV, laptop, DVD and all the Direct TV sateilte stuff is fried but at least we had a place to sleep. An electrician found nothing wrong with the wiring in the house. Nothing was melted at all. There are no marks on the house, ground or trees so we're not sure where it entered. There is a hole (see pics) where I guess it came out near the window. Maybe the aluminum corner pieces on the drywall had something to do with it? The hole is about the size of a .22 round and then you can see the burn marks. The other side of the wall had some paint and portions of drywall mud come off. The 1" oak sill was split lengthwise. Later we even found a corner in the bedroom where more mud and paint was chipped off.
We had a guy come up today and check the tv and laptop and he advised replacing both. TV repair was estimated at about 400 and the computer repair was estimated at 900. Anyone know how this works? In a situation like this do they normally write off the appliances? I think they'll write off the laptop after I complain abotu not wanting to use it for grad school work (and run the risk of losing things). I'm worries they might say to try and get the LCD flat screen repaired. We paid about 700 or so for it I think.

