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Repairs Under the Existing Building Code (grounding receptacles)

jar546

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Here is an excerpt in the FBC, similar to the IEBC under repairs within the electrical section:

607.1.3Nongrounding-type receptacles.
For replacement of nongrounding-type receptacles with groundingtype receptacles and for branch circuits that do not have an equipment grounding conductor in the branch circuitry, the grounding conductor of a grounding-type receptacle outlet shall be permitted to be grounded to any accessible point on the grounding electrode system or to any accessible point on the grounding electrode conductor in accordance with Section 250.130(C) of NFPA 70.

If you are wondering what 250.130(C) says, here it is:

(C) Nongrounding Receptacle Replacement or Branch Circuit
Extensions. The equipment grounding conductor of a
grounding-type receptacle or a branch-circuit extension shall
be permitted to be connected to any of the following:
(1) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode system
as described in 250.50
(2) Any accessible point on the grounding electrode conductor
(3) The equipment grounding terminal bar within the enclosure
where the branch circuit for the receptacle or
branch circuit originates
(4) An equipment grounding conductor that is part of
another branch circuit that originates from the enclosure
where the branch circuit for the receptacle or branch
circuit originates
(5) For grounded systems, the grounded service conductor
within the service equipment enclosure
(6) For ungrounded systems, the grounding terminal bar
within the service equipment enclosure


So, here is what I did one time back in the late 80's, early 90's that I felt was better than the current situation. It may not have been code compliant back then or today but I felt it was safer.

I had a customer with very old, ungrounded NM cable (pre-1965) in a Cape Cod style house. The second floor receptacles were 2 wire, ungrounded receptacles and the customer was adamant that they wanted to change them to 3 prong. Some of them were already illegally installed but had no ground. There was no money to have me rewire the 2nd floor receptacles and I told them one of the options was marking the new receptacles as "ungrounded/GFCI protected." So rather than do that I came up with an idea. I had a chase that I was able to use and brought up a #10 copper wire and ran it across the studs on the knee wall inside the small crawlspace outside the thermal envelope and then tapped off of that to connect the boxes and ground the receptacles. Most boxes did not have a tapped hole for a ground wire so I use grounding clips with a pigtail. The other end terminated on the ground bar in the main panel down in the basement.

Would that pass inspection today? Hell no. Was it safer than having ungrounded receptacles? Hell yeah.
 
Alternate means and methods
When you cannot meet the black and white language of the code then you meet the intent which in your case was to have grounded 3 prong receptacles that function properly.
 
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