Buying an old house: would you consider electrical issues a major problem? (roof, foundation)

[MargoReeta]

We are under contract for a small house in a fantastic location where inventory is EXTREMELY low and most new listings in our price range that are at all decent are going under contract within a few days, sometimes the same day they list. What is left generally is too small even for us, and/or needs LOTS of work, or has other issues (busy street, etc.). Then we had the inspection. In addition to some relatively minor plumbing and HVAC issues, the inspector identified major problems in two areas. One, the attic is very small and cramped, with no ventilation and very little insulation. The temperature was over 100 degrees on a day when the outside air temp was under 60 degrees. We live in a region where summer temperatures routinely soar over 100 degrees. Can this problem be adequately mitigated with additional insulation and adding some type of ventilation? Two, he identified nearly a dozen electrical safety issues: none of the 3-prong electrical outlets are actually grounded, the built-in GFCI breakers are ineffective, there is no electrical ground connection to the furnace or garbage disposal, illegal wiring in the garage, and so forth. The houses in the neighborhood were built in the 1950s and my agent and her broker claim that most of them have ungrounded outlets. She says the entire house would have to be rewired and obtained an estimate from an electrician to fix everything. I did a search of this forum and am still not sure what we might have to do -- is rewiring the entire house truly necessary? Can that be done without putting holes in the freshly-painted walls? Will a pier-and-beam foundation make it easier? We did negotiate a price concession with the seller, but I remain very worried about taking on a house with these challenges, and we can still terminate the contract if we wish to do so. Would you buy this house, and if so, how would you address these problems? Thanks in advance for any thoughts and opinions!

[ShaneSA]

It's an old house and built to 1950s standards. You can get your own electrician to look it over and give you two scenarios. Fix the obvious and immediate electrical issues and wait to do the re-wire later, or do a re-wire now. I would still buy it, just know that those issues need to be addressed.
The roof vents can be added or put in a gable vent if the rood ends allow enough room for that. I love old houses and buy them with the knowledge that things have to be repaired or replaced. Nothing you describe would make me walk away, you list more positives than negatives so go for it.

[chet everett]

There is no reason to expect a home of that era to have other than two prong outlets and the statement that "GFCI are not effective" is incorrect -- outlets with properly functioning GFCI protection are SAFER than a three prong outlet.

There is almost certainly NO NEED to rewire this house over these issues. (If this was " a game of telephone" and the inspector had additional details in their written report perhaps this is less about a stupid inspector and more about ineffective communications ...)

Insulation is NOT about keeping the attic cool. Insulation is supposed to keep the heated / cooled space thermally isolated. Radiant barriers can be effective in preventing solar gain from the attic and cooled space. The value of attic ventilation is key to the lifespan of the roof and superstructure. A well ventilated attic is vital for managing moisture. It is not difficult for this sort of thing to be remedied.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by MargoReeta

One, the attic is very small and cramped, with no ventilation and very little insulation.

You can't fix small but ventilation and insulation are easy enough to remedy.
Plan the work around the next re-roofing job you do.

none of the 3-prong electrical outlets are actually grounded,
there is no electrical ground connection to the furnace or garbage disposal...

These are mostly fine as they are... but need a hands on inspection to be certain.
Eventually you'll want to do more but you don't *need* to do more than to provide for
three or four new (properly done) circuits to meet your needs for decades to come.

We did negotiate a price concession with the seller, but...

Get your own trusted electrician in to evaluate the work needed at the garage
and to add a few new circuits as mentioned (Kit&Bath, GFI, electronic stuff).

[texdav]

I'd egt a elctrican I trust to inspect it over a inspector.he is just tellig you waht exist on a 1950 house.Once inspoecotr leave list have estimate others give opinion and estmates of cost to deacde.

[Billy_J]

Well someone has been living in that house since the 1050's and it is still standing! You can live with that wiring too.

Old wiring is safe. New wiring is safer. Like an old car without airbags vs a new car with airbags.

It is pretty much what you can afford. If you can afford that house, but can't afford $20,000.00 to fix everything right this second. Or can't afford to buy a newer more expensive house. Then maybe you could just fix a few things for now. Be sure it is "basically" safe like 1950's safe.

Do have that garage wiring fixed and the furnace / garbage disposal properly grounded. GFCI's will protect you even on a non-grounded connection.

And you don't have to add more insulation right now. You could do that later.

Maybe you could work a deal where they take some money from the sale and give it to you to fix a few things? Or the seller has some things fixed first? Wheel and deal! Do what you can afford...

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by chet everett

There is no reason to expect a home of that era to have other than two prong outlets and the statement that "GFCI are not effective" is incorrect -- outlets with properly functioning GFCI protection are SAFER than a three prong outlet.

There is almost certainly NO NEED to rewire this house over these issues. (If this was " a game of telephone" and the inspector had additional details in their written report perhaps this is less about a stupid inspector and more about ineffective communications ...)

Insulation is NOT about keeping the attic cool. Insulation is supposed to keep the heated / cooled space thermally isolated. Radiant barriers can be effective in preventing solar gain from the attic and cooled space. The value of attic ventilation is key to the lifespan of the roof and superstructure. A well ventilated attic is vital for managing moisture. It is not difficult for this sort of thing to be remedied.

Since this is what i would have written, I have little to add. Most homes i have lived in had two prong non grounded wiring. Where I was concerned about kids, I put in GFCIs which I would have done grounded or non grounded. If the inspector is telling you GFCIs do not work without grounding he is FOS. If he is simply telling you they do not give you grounded protection, that is true. GFCIs and grounding serve two different purposes.

BTW. look at the cords for the things you plug in, most frequently. If you are like most people, 80 - 90% of them have only two prongs. With 2 prongs, a ground does almost nothing for you.

What I have done in the past is to put in some grounded circuits where it can be done easily and leave the rest alone. then rearrange your furniture and appliances so the things that really need a ground have one. (Fridge, garbage disposal, computer some other things).

[Hemlock140]

Grounding aside, if it has knob and tube wiring, or aluminum wiring, it could be a time bomb waiting to go off (fire hazard). If it has shielded copper but just isn't grounded, you have an increased shock hazard but but only need to ground major appliances. Unless you completely rewire, you will go through this again when you eventually sell, and a more demanding buyer consider it a fatal flaw. Also, should you ever do any work requiring a permit, the local city or county inspector can make you bring the whole house up to code.

[Scooby]

I would never trust the word of a home inspector solely. I'm not slamming inspectors here, but I have seen too many that have no business being in that occupation. When issues like these arise always use a trusted independent contractor for a second opinion. Another thing you may want to check into is if these issues are noted on the purchase contract and are not addressed before you move in, you may have issues with your insurance carrier should a problem arise. I would definately contact my insc carrier first should you decide to purchase. At one time we were considering purchasing an older home that most none of the wiring (knob & tube) had been updated yet and our insc carrier would not give us coverage unless all electrical was brought up to code before we closed escrow. Just food for thought.

[glamatomic]

I personally wouldn't be too deterred. Our house was built in 1959 and no outlets were grounded, plus, the electric box itself was a mess (and there had been some DIY electric work over the years) so we got a quote from a licensed electrician to bring everything up to code and worked that into the sale price we eventually negotiated. All up, the work cost us a little over $3000 which included a new box, removing wires that weren't up to code, grounding outlets in the kitchen & bathrooms, and replacing the other outlets in the house with 2 prong covers (so that it's easily visible that they're not grounded).

If you love the house and the price is right, I say go for it