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Bellingham WA Home Inspector (King of the House) -- Electric System Grounds

By
Home Inspector with King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. Home Inspector Lic #207

 

 

The photo below is of a grounding electrode that was never fully pounded down into the soil. We wonder why. Did they hit a rock down there, so they could not get it to go any farther, or did the installer just decide it was in deep enough? These things are 8' long and if you are that deep, and hit a rock, it is a real bummer. I know that sometimes people hide the fact they met their match with a rock below by cutting the rod. This grounding electrode was harder to deal with than most in that concrete was poured around it. Another issue was, and this is something that I find fairly often, the ground and bond wires were loose in the clamps. Basically, not even taking into account the way the electrode was installed, the integrity of the grounds was minimal. This ground rod should be farther into the ground than it is in the photo. It was about 75% installed. With electricity you do not want to mess with that extra 25%.

 

 

 

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspector

Posted by

Steven L. Smith

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Charles Buell
Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA
Seattle Home Inspector
This is especially true of ground rods because they are a notoriously poor way of achieving an effective ground path----and there are homes where this is the only means of achieving a ground path (no metal water pipe etc.)
Mar 22, 2008 06:42 AM
Steven L. Smith
King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Bellingham, WA
Bellingham WA Home Inspector

Charlie,

Looks like you and I are the only ones who care about this one.

Mar 22, 2008 06:21 PM