Home Inspection say building have no ground.

[arnettda]

I looked at a job the other day where they had a home inspection when they bought the place that said there was no grounding in the panel in the house or the garage. It is a older home that has the P.O.C.O. meter on a pole. The disconnect below the meter is grounded. There is a 3 wire service to both the house and the garage. Which is how they did it back in the day when these buildings were built. But neither building has any ground rods driven at it. What do I do to appease the home inspection report? To bring it up to code in my mind I would need to run a 4 wire to each building and then drive ground rods at each. But since the three wire service installed was legal at the time can I just drive ground rods at each building? Were ground rods at each building not required at the time they built these building?

 

[jap]

Even if a 3 wire feeder was allowed at the time, simply driving ground rods without properly bonding at the panels will serve no purpose.

JAP>

 

[petersonra]

Do whatever the owner is willing to pay for.

 

[tom baker]

Until the 2002 it was allowed to run a 3 wire feeder to a remote building, neutral was regrounded but ground rods were required. So it was not per code when done.

 

[AC\DC]

Maybe rods were destroyed and ground wire removed after install and now your just doing a repair.

 

[gadfly56]

Until the 2002 it was allowed to run a 3 wire feeder to a remote building, neutral was regrounded but ground rods were required. So it was not per code when done.

This assumes that there was any code in force at the time of construction. NJ didn't have a state-wide code until the late '70s. 1970's. I'm guessing there are still unincorporated sections of the US that don't have any codes in place.

The other thing is, home inspectors don't have any enforcement powers. It's up to the buyer, and possibly their insurance company, to determine what risk they are willing to assume.

 

[arnettda]

Even if a 3 wire feeder was allowed at the time, simply driving ground rods without properly bonding at the panels will serve no purpose.

JAP>

So by properly bonding, Water line etc would it make what I do legal? And there were no codes in WI enforced at the time this building was built.

 

[gadfly56]

So by properly bonding, Water line etc would it make what I do legal? And there were no codes in WI enforced at the time this building was built.

No codes, no infraction, unless someone wants to wheel out a claim of "immediately dangerous to life or property."

 

[infinity]

Were ground rods at each building not required at the time they built these building?

Since they aren't there now I would just drive two rods at each structure and connect them to the panel neutral.