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Buying a house w/o 3 prong grounded recepticles. HELP! (1 Viewer)

chuckg

Supporting Actor
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Apr 27, 2004
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921


Actually, in most places there are no permits issued for indoor work, and no inspection is needed. I was told point-blank by the city code office that they only care about what can be seen from the curb.

I had to pay $20 to dig a hole and fix a leaky sewer pipe, but they didn't want to know about me ripping out redoing all the electrical and plumbing in my kitchen.
 

chris_everett

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 20, 2003
Messages
403

That _really_ depends on your jurisdiction. That's true in some places, but I would check with your city or county building department.

Generally, if it will affect the legal description of the house, you need a permit. (i.e., adding square footage, or changing bedroom count) Many places have a limited permit for homeowners doing work on their own home if it includes electrical or plumbing. If you hire a contractor, you will also probably need a permit.
 

George_W_K

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Feb 13, 2003
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Location
Ohio
Real Name
George
According to the 2002 NEC, Article 406.3 (D) (3) (b):
I don't have the 2005 Codebook, so I don't know for sure if this has changed, but I don't think so.

Is your ceiling in the basement a drywall ceiling, or a drop in ceiling? Maybe you can just fish the wall and add in a new plug just for your equipment. If not, I'd try the GFCI route. If for some reason you have a lot of nuisance trips, then you're going to have to put in a grounded plug to be happy.

I don't recommend you tying the neutral and ground together. The only place they are allowed to be bonded together is at the main panel. This is so when there is a ground fault, it has only one path to ground, which should be from the fault, directly to the panel, to your ground rod.

The ground is supposed to prevent your equipment's casing from becoming energized. For example, one of your amp's power supply wires gets knicked and touches the inside of the frame. Since the frame doesn't also have a path to the neutral, this doesn't cause a short, which won't trip the breaker. Now the frame of your amp is "hot" and you could be seriously injured. The ground wire bonds the frame and prevents this from happening.
 

Adam_R

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 10, 2002
Messages
395
^thanks for the input George.

I am pretty sure I will be going the GFCI route and take it from there.

:)
 

Adam_R

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 10, 2002
Messages
395
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FRIKKIN HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!


Guess what?

The place is grounded! :) :) :)

The knuckle head who did the inspection was wrong. I had an electrician come out to change out a few open grounded 3 prong recepticles (or so I thought) and low and behold, IT'S GROUNDED!!!

So I had him open up the main panel and look behind and all but 2 circuits in the house are grounded!!! None of which are needed for any computer or HT stuff!!! YES!!!!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my good news. Thanks to all for the input!!!
 

Don.l

Stunt Coordinator
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Apr 9, 2005
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120
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Don
Hey Adam. On a different topic. How do you like the InFocus 4805? I have one and can't wait to finish my HT. I've heard good things about it.

Don
 

Colin Runner

Agent
Joined
Jun 24, 2006
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Real Name
Colin R.
You should see my house! It was built in 1910 and has wires running through old gas lines. Most of it is that nasty fabric-coated stuff that's a pain. I'm luck to find usable 2 prong outlets, not to mention 3 prongs! My plan involves lots of replacing and manually grounding outlets. :angry: Oh well.
 

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