2-Prong Outlet to 3-Prong Home Conversion

[sharkbait20]

Hello, I am a new member and new homeowner. I just purchased my first house which was a "completed" flip. I bolded the most pertinent information in case you want to cut through the fluff.

A little bit about the house:

The house was built in 1945 and has been converted from fuses to a (100 amp?) breaker panel. The walls are mostly, if not entirely, lathe & plaster. Most of the outlets in the house (with the exception of a 3 in the kitchen, 1 in the upstairs bath, and a few in the finished basement) are 2 prong receptacles. Other than what I have been told by the electricians that have come out to look at the house (cloth wiring, existing 3 prong outlets are grounded by some means) I am unsure of what the exact status or construction methods are of the current electrical system.

Being that we live in 2020 and I have several electronic items that I plan on using in the house (TV/entertainment center, home computer, guitar amplifier, etc) I would like to get 3-prong outlets that are properly grounded.

Now, I am not very well versed in electricity or wiring, but it is my understanding is that there are a few different methods to accomplish this: PS - PLEASEEEEEE feel free to chime in with any pros/cons or correct my misinformation
1) Replace all receptacles with 3 prong outlets without doing anything else. - Obviously, this will not ground the outlet and will be completely useless for any reason other than to simply be able to just plug a 3-prong plug into the receptacle.

2) Replace all receptacles with GFCI outlets. - This will not "ground" the outlets, but will create a safety in that the GFI will trip if something were to happen. Creates the headache of having to potentially install new boxes(?) in the walls to accommodate the larger GFCI receptacle as well as having every, single, outlet, in the house, a GFCI (maybe I'm just being picky?)

3) Place a GFCI at the panel and replace all 2-prong outlets with 3-prong. - Eliminates the need to rewire the house. Creates the burden of having to run down to the basement to reset the GFI whenever anything in the entire house trips it. If/when the GFI does trip, power is lost to everything in the house, not just one circuit. I received a $1200 quote for this method, but I am weary of the method.

4) Replace 2-prong outlets with 3-prong and ground the outlet directly to the steel box. - This is not as ideal as rewiring, but still accomplishes the goal and is to code(?)

5) Rewire the house (or at least the effected outlets) to include a dedicated ground wire that is run back to the service panel. - I can see this as the ultimate correct way of doing things. The problem is the cost. The quote I received was for $2700 (converting about 15 outlets and adding 2 additional outlets out in the detached garage), and that doesn't include the cost to repair/paint the lathe & plaster that would be damaged during the installation process.

Looking to get more thoughts/opinions and knowledge on the issue and whether or not proper grounding is really as big of a deal as I am making it out to be.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read through this and for sharing your knowledge, experiences, and opinion!
Stay Safe!
-Sharkbait

 

[Snoonyb]

Welcome.
Is the dwelling raised foundation or sitting on a slab?
There may well be a ground in the boxes.

What you need to do is open one or particular receptacles that you feel will be used for sensitive equipment. You may find a wire clamped to the box that is much smaller than those used for the recep. wiring, and is not code compliant

 

[sharkbait20]

Welcome.
Is the dwelling raised foundation or sitting on a slab?
There may well be a ground in the boxes.

What you need to do is open one or particular receptacles that you feel will be used for sensitive equipment. You may find a wire clamped to the box that is much smaller than those used for the recep. wiring, and is not code compliant

house is built on an enclosed concrete basement.

 

[Johnboy555]

Remove the outlet cover and use 'probe type" or multi meter from hot side of outlet to the box. This will show if the boxes are grounded.

 

[bud16415]

You mentioned a flip and the upgrade to 100a was done as part of the flip to make people think the work was done. At the time of the upgrade IMO this also should have been addressed and it may or may not have been.



There is a little 3 prong tester you can buy for a couple bucks that you plug into each outlet and it will tell you if the outlet has been wired correctly (polarity) and also if there is a ground. When ever I go house hunting with a friend or family I always have mine in my pocket.



When they mounted the new 100a box how did they handle moving wires etc. Even a photo of the box and how the wires exit the box will help if it shows the type of wire used.

My fear with flippers is that they may have done the upgrade themselves and who knows if it was done properly.

 

[Rusty]

You mentioned a flip and the upgrade to 100a was done as part of the flip to make people think the work was done. At the time of the upgrade IMO this also should have been addressed and it may or may not have been.



There is a little 3 prong tester you can buy for a couple bucks that you plug into each outlet and it will tell you if the outlet has been wired correctly (polarity) and also if there is a ground. When ever I go house hunting with a friend or family I always have mine in my pocket.



When they mounted the new 100a box how did they handle moving wires etc. Even a photo of the box and how the wires exit the box will help if it shows the type of wire used.

My fear with flippers is that they may have done the upgrade themselves and who knows if it was done properly.

I see TV flippers do things wrong all the time. My father was a GC, so I have some experience in all phases of work. I would not trust a flipper to do anything right.

 

[bud16415]

I see TV flippers do things wrong all the time. My father was a GC, so I have some experience in all phases of work. I would not trust a flipper to do anything right.

The only person I would trust to flip a house would be myself and then I would only do it for myself. I have done that several times and when done you sit back and say wow I got a nice place well done at a huge savings. Then you start thinking ya but I’m figuring my labor in as free. I don’t dare keep track of my hours because then I would just know is all I did was find a part time job for myself. You have to love doing this stuff and also know you are getting it done right. All I see flippers do is try and make it look good and complain when they find a big expense item that doesn’t show.



That would be like doing a total rewire along with the new load center and doing it at the time ripping some walls up wouldn’t be a big deal to fix.

If I was the OP I would be in the same debate over what method of the ones he listed to follow. Myself I think I would rewire. At least the stuff that is easy to get to. Ceiling lights and such I would be tempted to let them slide.

 

[Rusty]

The only person I would trust to flip a house would be myself and then I would only do it for myself. I have done that several times and when done you sit back and say wow I got a nice place well done at a huge savings. Then you start thinking ya but I’m figuring my labor in as free. I don’t dare keep track of my hours because then I would just know is all I did was find a part time job for myself. You have to love doing this stuff and also know you are getting it done right. All I see flippers do is try and make it look good and complain when they find a big expense item that doesn’t show.



That would be like doing a total rewire along with the new load center and doing it at the time ripping some walls up wouldn’t be a big deal to fix.

If I was the OP I would be in the same debate over what method of the ones he listed to follow. Myself I think I would rewire. At least the stuff that is easy to get to. Ceiling lights and such I would be tempted to let them slide.

Sounds like my woodworking shop. If I figured my hours, I would owe me money.

 

[Johnboy555]

You mentioned a flip and the upgrade to 100a was done as part of the flip to make people think the work was done. At the time of the upgrade IMO this also should have been addressed and it may or may not have been.



There is a little 3 prong tester you can buy for a couple bucks that you plug into each outlet and it will tell you if the outlet has been wired correctly (polarity) and also if there is a ground. When ever I go house hunting with a friend or family I always have mine in my pocket.



When they mounted the new 100a box how did they handle moving wires etc. Even a photo of the box and how the wires exit the box will help if it shows the type of wire used.

My fear with flippers is that they may have done the upgrade themselves and who knows if it was done properly.

My first thought was of the little 3 prong tester but then I realized they won't fit in a 2 prong outlet!

 

[MattinCA]

Just throwing this out there, is it possible that your jurisdiction might have required them to bring the electric up to code for the remodel? If they were supposed to and didn't you might be able to go to Small Claims Court (or the RI equivalent) to recover the cost of doing what they neglected to do.

 

[mabloodhound]

I would go the full re-wire for $2700 (that's cheap) but make sure the contractor does as little damage to the walls/ceilings as possible. Some electricians are almost like magicians when it comes to running hidden wires.

 

[EricK]

My first thought was to convert the two prong receptacles to GFCI receptacles. As you said, they wouldn't be grounded, but they would provide some protection. And it is the proper way to convert two prong to three prong without rewiring. You wouldn't have to change them all. One GFCI receptacle would protect the ones downstream from it. Some GFCIs are a little smaller than others so you may find one that will fit your junction boxes. Having said all that, I think that $2,700 to rewire house is a great deal. Subtract the price of your new GFCIs and outlets and the time to install them and it's, in my opinion, the best option.

 

[pjones]

In my area a GFCI is a suitable replacement for an ungrounded circuit.

The metal box is mounted to wood and wouldn’t be grounded. It would not only be done wrong but also not function. Don’t do that method.

Sounds like a rewrite is cheep (in comparison to some other repairs) and you get the added bonus of getting the other receptacles that you desire. I would just make sure they are 20 amp outlets that you have installed if going into the garage so you can power the tools you may want in the future without issues.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Are the metal boxes fed by metal conduit?
If they are, then they should be grounded by the conduit, and you can just install new outlets.

Check each box for ground with a tester.

 

[billshack]

I would go the full re-wire for $2700 (that's cheap) but make sure the contractor does as little damage to the walls/ceilings as possible. Some electricians are almost like magicians when it comes to running hidden wires.

I has been my experience that if you restrict the trades man to make little
damage to the wall, ceiling or floors then the job will take extremely long to do the job. So instead of a $2700 job it now cost almost double, much cheaper to let the electrician make as many hole as he wants , the hire a plaster painter to fix. I am writing this as a plumber with 30 years in the trade. I remember people making me work a pipe wrench through a 1 ft x 1 ft hole . very hard to do . You have got to patch anyway so what is the difference to patch a 1 foot hole vs a 2 ft hole .