It is very common for me to inspect homes that are older than 1960′s that have three prong outlets that are not grounded.
Originally these outlets would have been a two prong, with one side acting as the “hot” and the other side acting as the “neutral.” The hot is, for the purposes of my discussion, the supply of power and the neutral is the return. When well meaning home owners try to “improve” their original two-prong outlets with three-prong outlets they very rarely think about the third prong and what its purpose might be and the fact that there is no wire for the third hole in the outlet.
Often, when I start to discribe what is going on, my client’s thoughts jump their electrical devices not functioning properly. Proper function of electrical devices is not really what we are dealing with when a ground wire is missing. The ground wire is merely a backup for the neutral/return, and its purpose is to protect the occupant (you) from shock/electrocution and has very little to do with proper function.
There is a slight caveat when referring grounds, computers and some newer televisions. Surge protectors take excess electricity and dump it into the ground leg. If no ground is present the surge protector will not function. I have also heard that some newer televisions will not function at all without a ground. This is a liability protection for the TV manufacturer that is built into some newer TVs.
To put this in a more understandable analogy I compare this sittuation to a car. Ground wires are kind of like a seat belts. They protect the person from injury and older homes (just like vehicles and seat belts) didn’t have them. Grounds/seatbelts really don’t effect the way the car drives/electrical device operates. They are merely a safety devicethat will protect you from injury. Grounds are not required on a 1950′s or older home, just like seat belts aren’t required on that age car. Vintage two prong plugs are relatively safe because it is obvious that there is not a ground and you cannot plug in a device that wants the ground prong.
Three prong adaptorsare devices that allow you to plug a three prong plug into a two prong outlet. When three prong adaptorsare used it is VERYimportant that theelectrical box is grounded. You might be wondering what in the world is a grounded box? In the early to mid 60′s the nonmetallic wiring changed from a strickly two wire (one hot, one neutral) to a three wire (one hot, one neutral and a newly added ground). The wiring changed but many of the plugs (two prong) did not change. The only way to verify if the box is grounded is with atester. Plug one side into the hot and touch the other to the screw in the center of the outet. If the outlet is grounded there will be a completed circuit and the light will glow. This type of grounded box is the ONLY time that the three prong adaptors should be used on a two prong plug!
Now lets say the home we have interest in was pre 60′s and none of the outlets are grounded, what do you do now? Always, always, always talk to a licensed professional electrician. The conditions I describe are totally gerneralities and your specific sitiuation may have specialcircuistances that make these general recommendationsless than ideal or even DANGEROUS! Now with that disclaimer out of the way……..
Grounds are especially important around water sources. Kitchens, bathrooms, garage and exterior plugs should all be grounded at the least. These areas are the places that you are most likely to become a great source for electricty to try to jump to ground through you.
The ideal way to ensure these shock/electricution prone areas are protected are by running a new, properly wired circuit from the panel to the plug.
Boot-legging a ground may be an option but TALK TO YOUR ELECTRICIAN FIRST!! Boot-legging a ground is where you run a single conductor (wire) from the outlet to a bond (clamp) on a cold water pipe. Boot-legging is not ideal and you may not be able to find a licnesed professional electrician that will help you out with this (that should tell you something!)
The installation of GFCI’s on the ungrounded circuits. This is kind of like installing an airbag in a car with no seat belt. It is safer than no seat belt, no airbagbut it is not as safe as a properly installed seat beltand airbag. The installation of GFCI’s on ungrounded circuits will not provide an equipment ground and should be labeled as such. This means that surge protectors will not protect equipment from surge and your surge protectors are usefull only as paper weights.
I have used this analogy for a few years and it seems to hold up pretty well when describing this electrical theroy. If you have any questions on how the electricity working in your home please contact your local electrician or of course your favorite home inspector!
Funny thing about labels, they can tell you some useful things but there is a trick…..you need to actually read them.
There are labels for almost anything, to tell you when you should purchase something, or throw it away or even how it should be installed…..
I was in a Salem, Oregon attic the other day and I noticed some labels. These labels were on building components and the labels had instructions or indications for how the product should be installed. The first label I noticed was on the fiberglass batt insulation:
Clearly, right on the surface of the paper face were some instructions, “Apply this side toward living space.” I was in the attic space and it was definitely not set up for “living.” The reason for this label has to do with the movement of moisture vapor as it leaves the living space and enters an unheated space. With the vapor barrier/paper face installed improperly, water vapor that is traveling up through the ceiling and through the insulation hits the big temperature difference at the paper face and condenses into liquid. Here the liquid water is trapped and will cause bad things to happen to the home (mold, rot, deterioration, ect). When the paper face is installed properly the vapor will not hit the dew point till it is past the vapor barrier/paper face and if the vapor condenses into liquid in the fiberglass batting, it can breath and escape and most importantly, is not trapped!
A few feet away I saw another label. The manufactures for the gas flue for the water heater wanted to help the installers and make sure to remind them of proper installation: Looks like this was another instance of lack of proper literacy. The purpose for the 1″ gap requirement is fire safety. The type B vent is designed to stay cooler than a straight walled pipe however it does heat up. Over the years the combustible materials that are too close to the pipe will heat up over and over again. Each time this heating occurs there are slight changes in the molecular structure and the material’s flash point, temperature that it catches fire, drops. Eventually this may become a fire hazard.
Labels are important. Read, read, read and if you don’t know why you should do something, call someone, like a wonderful home inspector, who does!
A few years ago a little company was producing a neat little electric wall heater that was easily installed, relatively inexpensive and allowed wonderful zonal heating (read-"energy efficient")!
Things were wonderful for sometime but like most things there were a few issues with the first models. The little electric heaters were made by the Cadet corporation and after the release to the general public it was discovered that if housekeeping was not top notch these little heaters had the tendency to overheat (read-"catch on fire" and there could be "flames, sparks or molten particles spewing through the front grill cover of the heaters into the living areas")!
The problem arose at the heat exchanging point. This is the point in every heating device where the heat that is produced in the heating device is transfered or "exchanged" to the medium that will carry heat to the home. The little wall heaters used fans to transfer heat directly to the home's air through convection.
The more surface area that the heating device can have exposed to the house air the better the transfer of heat. The more volume of air flows through the device the better transfer as well. There is a point between these two conditions where a balance between the two is chosen.
The little wall heaters that were brand new, met both of those expectations very well. Lots of heating elements (red hot wires) exposed to the air and the little fans did a very functional job of moving a large volume of air over the heated electric coils.
To prevent the red hot wires from getting dirty, which would insulate the heater elements from the air, hampering the exchange of heat, a small screen was placed in front of the fan. The little screen did a good job of keeping the elements clean, too good of a job.
The screens, especially in dusty areas or homes with pets became plugged very quickly. Even with the label on the side stating, "clean the heater fins every month," these screens and heaters got neglected.
Although the heaters had wonderfully clean elements, the flow of air had been destroyed by the plugged screens. The thermostats didn't know about the restriction of air and kept asking for heat. The elements got hotter and hotter as very little house air was able to flow over the elements to absorb the heat. This occurred over and over until the unit or the wall or both caught fire.
The moral of this tale is; while we are in our friends, family and neighbor's homes this holiday season we should keep our eyes open for these dangerous units. We should mention the recall to our hosts if we notice the electric wall heaters.
The way to determine if the units are dangerous is the model number. You should look for: models FW, FX, LX, TK, ZA, Z, RA, RK, RLX, RX, RW and ZC
The model number should be on the inside of the unit and behind the front panel. At the risk of being like me, "that annoying home inspector guy," you should try to locate the serial number without removing the panel. I have learned that it is rude to take out a screw driver and start removing panels during a dinner party! Also there is that little thing of high voltage live wires behind the panel and people wondering how much you have had to drink.....
At the very least, you have a conversation starter for those awkward
Many posts have been written about how you should prepare your home for the winter months. Here in the willamette valley our
winters are not all that extreme. It does stay wet, however we don't get much snow on the valley floor and our temperatures very rarely dip much below freezing. These moderate temperatures do have their own set of maintenance issues:
1. Gutters: Gutters, gutters, gutters. Did I mention gutters? Seriously, gutters. The manner in which we receive rain requires properly functioning gutters. For around 8 months we stay wet. Not huge downpours, just steady and wet. Every drop of rain that hits your roof is supposed to be concentrated and collected into a few spots around the home. If the collection system is plugged or allowing water to splash or dump around the home serious problems can develop. This is my number one thing to keep functional on my own home.
2. De-moss the roof. In general, every two years you will want to spread some moss killer. The shady slopes and roofs that are near large trees may need additional applications of the copper or zinc.
3. Remove the hoses from the outside water faucets. I do not use the styrofoam cover thingys. Again, it is all about our climate. If you remove your hoses it will not usually get cold enough to need those cover thingys.
4. Crawlspace vents. There seems to be a viral belief in the necessity to plug the foundation vents. I do not think that this is a verygood thing to do. Most of our winter temperatures are going to be around 40 degrees. Pipes do not freeze at 40 degrees. More likely than frozen pipes is the possibility of moisture bubbling up from underneath the home. If the vents are all plugged, and water is present you have created a moist, stagnant area that is perfect for critters and fungus that eat the wood that is holding up your home. The moral of all of this is: Do not plug your vents unless it dips below 25 degrees, and as soon as it warms up again, take the plugs out.
Foundation cracks are typically something that home inspectors look for around the perimeter inside and out. Foundations in Marion and Polk counties are usually a poured concrete or possibly concrete block type foundation.
Concrete does two things, it gets hard and it cracks. Small, less than an eighth inch, vertical cracks are typically indicators of shrinkage and are a normal part of the concrete curing process. The cracks that are potentially structural in nature fall into a few categories:
1. Diagonal cracks: these cracks typically occur near corners and indicate that the corner has settled. This happens either with moving down, or uplifting moving up. Diagonal cracks typically occur in pairs. One on either side of the corner.
2. Horizontal cracks: these cracks typically indicate pressures against the foundation wall from soils. Either in properly backfilled soils or soils that have unusual amounts of moisture creating excessive pressures.
3. Cracks with displacement: displacement indicates movement on either side of the crack. One side of the foundation has moved forward or back more than the other side. Displacement can occur with any of these types of cracks and is always an indicator of structural movement.
4. Cracks that are wider than one quarter inch: this indication can also occur with any of the previous mentioned cracks. Cracks that are larger than one quarter inch may indicate a significant amount of structural movement and repairs may be needed. When cracks of this size are noted standard operating procedure for most good home inspectors is to recommend a structural engineer further evaluate.
Those are the types of foundation cracks to look for. If any of the above four are noted it may be time for further evaluation. Structural engineers are your best bet for professional opinions.
A large part of my job is learning. Learning about materials, techniques and styles allows me to be a resource when questions arise. it is important for home inspectors to be "know it alls" about most things relating to homes. Just as important as knowing about stuff is realizing that there is always new stuff to learn about. I am never surprised when I discover something completely new and that is one of the best parts of my job. The video below was taken on a re-inspection. I had griped about the lack of power to the second outlet in the bathroom on the initial inspection. The sellers enlightened me on the more secretive purpose for this particular outlet!
Your gutters need attention. The shorter days have told the trees to drop their leaves. Not only that, the rains are about to begin again. Your gutters will be working overtime for the next few months in this area. It is important to keep your gutters clean. This will require cleaning your gutters out several times over the next few months as the different trees around your home drop their leaves at different times.
We all know that the parts that are exposed to the elements (and leaves) are important to keep clean but lets not forget about the underground pipes as well. These pipes are low and out of sight and are easy to forget about. Those underground pipes are probably the most important part of the system as they will collect, concentrate, and (hopefully) remove the concentrated storm water from around your house.
In Marion and the surrounding counties, the underground pipes are usually where things are going wrong and unless inspections or unusually close attention is paid, things can go wrong for months or even years. It really is all about the way we receive rain.
The rains in the Willamette valley, in Salem and surrounding parts of Oregon show up in mid October and things stay moist until the middle of May. We don't necessarily receive a lot of rain, it is just steady and the clouds do not usually part long enough to dry anything out.
The gutters, downspouts and underground pipes are the wettest points around our home. If there is water in your crawl space or basement the gutter and downspout system is usually the main culprit.
A great test for the underground system is to shove a garden hose in it and see where the water comes out. If water bubbles to the surface in the area you are testing or under the home.......you have some work to do.
Universal symbols are everywhere these days. Traffic signs especially have pictures and symbols instead of words so that any person, know matter what language they speak, can understand what is expected of them. There are universal symbols that all good home inspectors should recognize as well. Mushrooms growing out of your siding, large cracks in foundations and carpenter ants streaming out of a sill-plate are all things that any Marion or Polk county home inspector should recognize as a universal symbol of problems.
The Department of Environmental Quality in Oregon does maintain a database of remediated oil tanks. As I wrote previously, the database is relatively new and unless the tank has been remediating recently, there would not be record of the tank. This means that it is still important for home inspectors to keep their eyes out for the universal symbols and to let the buyers, agents and sellers that are involved in the transaction know about this potential environmental issue.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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