No ufer, only ground rods

[jaggedben]

Typically like in Kansas City there are two forms of grounding electrodes required one is the ground rod and the other is from the water line where it first comes into the house because it's most likely to be all metal. It then switches over to PEX after the meter in most cases . In some instances, if it's new construction, you will definitely have a UFER and the water line may be Pex from the utility so in that case some jurisdictions would want you to have the secondary ground rod. In other words, one is required for code for minimum standards but as we all have experienced it's up to the jurisdiction who may have the two meaning the Ufer and ground rod or water line and ground rod. I wonder if using building Steel such as a beam in a garage or a basement with suffice being at the house is part of the foundation and the house is built on it.

Ground rods to supplement a water pipe is a normal NEC requirement. Supplementary electrodes for a UFER is *not*. Do these jurisdictions you speak of (or POCOs in the area) actually have official rules requiring supplemental electrodes for UFERs or is it just a case of inspectors not knowing the NEC?

A steal beam cannot be used as an electrode unless it is 10ft in the ground. Being bolted to the foundation does not count.

 

[NEC Inspector]

Do these jurisdictions you speak of (or POCOs in the area) actually have official rules requiring supplemental electrodes for UFERs or is it just a case of inspectors not knowing the NEC?

Yes to both. Kansas does not have state level code oversight, so enforcement varies wildly by jurisdiction. I know of one jurisdiction nearby that will not allow you to bond a gas line because you can't use a gas line as a grounding electrode. There is also no license/certification requirement for inspectors, so getting people who know their stuff is not guaranteed. That's before the POCO gets into the mix.

The POCO we have covers a giant area that includes multiple states, and they do not recognize the Ufer as an effective ground at all, they require a ground rod at the meter no matter what. They told me that this originated because "people were using stranded GEC's and GEC's were too long, so we couldn't count on the Ufer".

Neither concern is addressed in the NEC.