Ungrounded outlets

[Andrew Cox]

I just inspected a house built in 1936. The electrical was recently (in 2001) upgraded to a 125-amp service, but there are problems.

First, I can't see where the box is grounded. I can see grounds coming in from the circuits, but no ground. Second, none of the outlets are grounded. They apparently rehabbed the house (a rental) about 10 years ago, and there are some 3-prong outlets, some are 2-prong. But none show a good ground with a tester.

Considering the age, how should I bring this up in the report?

[James F. McKee]

Yes ...You should always mention ungrounded 3 opening outlets..the fact that they changed them makes them more of a problem than being un-grounded....looking at that configuration you could assume incorrectly a grounded circuit....they need to either add a ground....add gfci outlets or put back the proper two opening outlets...

[Jeffrey R. Pope]

Regardless of the age of the home, if you can't confirm a system ground, you should defer it to an electrician.

"We are unable identify the point where the system is grounded, which should be confirmed or established by a qualified electrician."

[Andrew Cox]

Thanks for the advice. This place had a few more problems than just the outlets... a broken rafter tie, plus, when I got into the attic, the entire attic/roof structure was covered in black. They'd had a fire about 10 years ago. There was creosote everywhere...