Electrical Inspection


  #1  
Old 11-23-18, 08:21 AM
J
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Electrical Inspection

Hey folks, buying my first house and the inspection report came back with a couple of items I'd like to run by y'all.

The house is old, so it doesn't have a grounding system (to my knowledge).

1) The inspector recommended a grounding rod under the meter. My question is this -- what will that do (especially if none of the internal wires are grounded)?

2) He said the panel was "not bonded to grounding system". What is the fix for this?


3) If the house isn't grounded, should I consider GFCI breakers instead? That seems like an easier fix than running grounding wires everywhere, which I don't plan on doing anyway.

Thanks.
 
  #2  
Old 11-23-18, 10:12 AM
A
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1- Grounding rod is mainly for lightning protection. Also want your cable, satellite and land lines bonded to it as well.
2 - A short jumper is the fix depending on what is really wrong.
3 - Different issue. If the wiring from the electrical panel to the receptacles does not have a grounding wire then you should only have 2 prong receptacles. Using GFCI receptacles is a legal solution to provide the third prong for most areas.

You would be better served if you hire an electrician to review what is there and give an estimate of what it would take to fix. A home inspector knows the basics but are known to make mistakes.
 
  #3  
Old 11-25-18, 03:57 PM
Z
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You would be better served if you hire an electrician to review what is there and give an estimate of what it would take to fix.
I would agree with this. While the inspector likely isn't wrong, I agree that there's more to the electrical system than just a missing ground/bond. In an old house, it's expected. You may want to have some circuits updated, or maybe the whole thing. Or it may be ok for a while as-is.

Do you have any pictures of the panel or the rooms with receptacles/switches? We may be able to point you in a general direction... but might be easier to get an electrician in to take a look.
 
 

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