| |
You are here: Experts > Home/Garden > Home Improvement/Repair > Electrical Wiring in the Home > No grounds.
Expert: Bob Sponaugle - 11/5/2009
Question
Just bought a house. It has been updated to 100 amp. Dont think it was done by certified electrician because of the empty boxes of 12/2 I found in crawl space with Home Depot stickers on them. I have replaced a few electrical pieces through out my house. I do know a little about electrical. On all lights and switches that I replaced the ground wire has been cut back and not used. Almost all boxes are metal. Only one so far is plastic. The switches are all pretty old to it seems. There is no ground screw on them. Now my question is how safe is it that all the grounds are cut back??? Another question, in my detached garage there is a fuse box (powers garage) that is getting electricity from the breaker box in the house. Should I replace the fuse box, or is it okay since the power is coming from a breaker? I do eventually want to put in more outlets and lights in the garage.
Thanks
Answer
Hi.
A ground is an additional safety device. If the house is old (around 1950's) it does not have to have grounds. But if the house is newer, and the person just cut the grounds off, an insurance inspector or anyone else would not be too happy to see it.
Fuses are just as safe as breakers. Just more of a pain to replace. So you can leave it there, or replace it when you want.
I hope this helps.
Bob
Add to this Answer Ask a Question
|
|
