GFCI and grounding electrical outlets on a 1980 house

Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 309 posts · 18 votes

Hey guys!
We are considering a house purchase, and inspector recommended the following:
**Ground the electrical outlets in the bedrooms
**Install GFCI's in the kitchen, baths, and outdoor outlets.

The seller does not want to do it since "the house was built in 1980 and it was built up to code back then".
I was thinking about getting a quote how much this would cost and deduct it from the purchase price... What do you think?

Also, I do not have much knowledge in electrician's field, and I was wondering if this is important at all?
Thanks :)

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J ScottPro Member
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Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 17k+ posts · 17k+ votes
13y
It's weird that you have ungrounded outlets if the house was built in 1980...do you know if there is a ground wire that runs to those outlets that may not be being used?

As for the GFCIs, if you don't need new circuits run, you can just replace the receptacles with GFCI receptacles, which would probably run about $40-50 each if you hire an electrician (the materials are $20-30 per outlet).

If you need new circuits run, figure about $100-150 per circuit plus the new receptacles.

That's just a ballpark...could definitely be higher or lower...
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Dawn AnastasiPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
GFI outlets can be had for around $12 each.
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Mark UpdegraffBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Rochester, NY · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 685 votes
13y
You can replace the GFIs & outlets yourself. Google how to do it. It isn't rocket science. J's quote is a good ballpark. I don't see those issues being a deal breaker on the house. If you try to nit pick little things like that it could sour the deal. Especially if you're in a seller's market. Here in Rochester the Days on Market have dropped drastically and we're back into multiple offers on well priced homes.
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Pat L.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
You may find a lot of that era elect boxes are metal with metal retaining clips. You may also discover these clips.
Have shorted out the switches/plugs occassionally over time so in our case we had to replace ALL the boxes. Esp those for gfi's to fit them in. We also found mosy of the ground wires were either not connected or just attached to the rear of the box.
I would definitely replace them all.
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