New House: Electrical questions!

Discussion in 'DIY' started by LetMeBeFrank, Feb 8, 2020.

  1. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Our new house was built in 56 and has about half the original wiring, which means 2 wire and no ground. The kitchen and 3 bathrooms all have new 12-2 ran to GFCI outlets. The living room and 3 bedrooms however are on the old 2 wire with 3-prong outlets. They have GFCI breakers and are up to code according to the county inspector.

    Should I run dedicated 20 amp outlets to the living room and the bedroom that will be my office? I'd feel better about my expensive electronics being grounded. I would do a single run to each room with a 4 outlet box where the entertainment center and my desk are located.

    If anyone has any suggestions or tips I'll be very grateful.

    P.s. it's an unfinished basement so hopefully that will make it easier.
     
  2. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    1956 still had knob & tube wiring in places. If undisturbed it will be ok. But updating to 3-wire with safety ground is often a good idea.
     
  3. squishware

    squishware Friend

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    I am an HVAC tech by trade but I have wired a house and I have an anecdote. A cottage I was renting in Florida dropped the neutral from the pole so was running to earth ground instead of neutral from the pole and burnt up my mother board on my PC. Point is electronics do not like ground being energized, so yes I would run a circuit with ground for my Gear. Congrats on the house.
     
  4. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    No knob and tube in this house. Just old cloth 2 wire Romex.

    Looks like all-in my cost will be around $100 for the whole project.
     
  5. randytsuch

    randytsuch Friend

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    If you're pulling wire, maybe consider running ethernet too. Sometimes its nice to hard wire things.

    The other thing I wish I had is neutral at the light switches. Makes it much easier if you ever want to use wifi or similar smart home switches. My house mostly only has hot lines at the switches.
     
  6. skem

    skem Friend

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    Your electronics being grounded is more about protecting *you* rather than the electronics. Common-mode noise is worse in a grounded circuit. It’s primarily a safety consideration. Your electronics only care about the voltage difference between the hot and neutral. But since I’m giving advice on the internet, of course I’ll say yes, you should do it ... for safety reasons. By the way, if you have metal water piping that goes into the ground, that can often provide a readily accessible and suitable ground line.
     
  7. Ziva

    Ziva Friend

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    I did a lot of research into this recently. Our house was K+T, so not the exact same. Long story short, if you can do it for $100, it’s a no brainer for peace of mind alone. The GFCI breakers will probably protect most of the time, but they aren’t perfect. If you were plugging small stuff into them, probably not a big deal. If you are plugging expensive audio equipment into them, definitely upgrade.

    Also agree with @randytsuch on the Ethernet, if you can do both.
     
  8. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    I'm in the same position. My house is over 100 years old and none of the light switches have a neutral wire. GE is introducing new smart switches that don't require neutral (announced at CES last month, availability Q1). I look forward to seeing if these will work for me.
    https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/2/2...mers-no-neutral-wire-price-specs-features-ces
     
  9. SeanT

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    I realize I'm a little late to this thread, but using copper pipes as a safety ground is not a good idea. Copper pipes that go into the main traditionally do have a main panel ground wire attached to them, but only to act as one of the grounding electrodes to keep the system at earth potential (usually along with a grounding rod) and to prevent the pipes from posing a safety risk should a live wire contact them. Safety ground is ALWAYS bonded to neutral. Electricity takes the path of least resistance and a copper pipe in the earth has much more resistance than one might think.

    EDIT: Realized my train of thought here was a bit disorganized. It's easy to confuse safety ground with earth ground. Using pipes that are grounded to the earth alone as a safety ground isn't ideal. Copper pipes that go into the ground and are bonded to the neutral bus can act as a safety ground in addition to an earth ground, but shouldn't be used as a safety ground, one reason being what @squishware mentioned. Always best to use a separate conductor purpose made to be used as a safety ground.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2020
  10. squishware

    squishware Friend

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    The reason they stopped using copper pipes is when you cut a pipe and something is grounding out in the house you can be killed by holding both sides of the cut. Picture cutting out an old water heater.

    EDIT: I mean using copper pipes for earth ground not the change to PVC and CPVC water lines.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2020
  11. Zampotech

    Zampotech Friend

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    Perhaps my post will be inappropriate, but I will continue this topic. I had to design and build earths for communication nodes.
    Communication nodes are very demanding to the quality of grounding.
    Requirements for the protective ground loop:
    -The ground loop should be made along the perimeter of the building with a steel strip.
    -Earthing devices are made of steel channel.
    -All connections are only welded.
    -Entrances to the building must be marked with contrasting paint.
    -Bolted connections inside the building must be covered with thick grease.
    -The ground resistance must not exceed 8 ohms.
    -The form and method of placing earthing device should be determined by the type of soil.
    -Earthing device should not be located near underground gasification pipes, water pipes, or sewers.
     
  12. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    I still haven't done this yet. I really should but we have so much other stuff going on it has been pushed out. I might try to order what I need on Amazon instead of waiting to go to Lowe's.
     
  13. bjack70

    bjack70 New

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    If you do your own wiring, I recommend that you have it inspected by your local building inspector. It may prevent future problems.
     
  14. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    Thanks for the suggestion.

    I actually picked up all the stuff I need to do this and I'll be doing it this week.
     

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