GROUNDING
Adding equipment grounding to ungrounded circuits, installing or replacing the grounding electrode system, bonding the service entrance correctly.
Keil Electric installs and corrects grounding systems across San Diego County and the Austin metro. We add equipment grounds to circuits in older homes, install or replace ground rods at the service, correct bonding at the panel, and verify the entire grounding electrode system to NEC.
Same scope on either side. Pick the shop that covers your area and we will route you to the right crew.
Pre-1962 circuits are often two-wire (hot, neutral, no equipment ground). Adding equipment grounds requires either pulling new cable, retrofitting GFCI receptacles (which provides shock protection without a ground per NEC allowance), or partial rewiring. We pick the right path per location.
The service entrance needs a grounding electrode system: ground rods (usually two, 6 feet apart), water pipe bonding (where present), and connection to the panel via a properly sized grounding electrode conductor. Older services sometimes have one rod or none. We bring the GES up to current code.
The main panel needs the main bonding jumper installed correctly (between the neutral bar and the panel chassis). Sub-panels need separated grounds and neutrals. We see bonding errors regularly and they create dangerous voltage on grounding paths during a fault.
Post-install we verify ground resistance, confirm continuity from receptacle grounds back to the service, and document the grounding system. The verification protects against future issues being misattributed to the install.
Our crew walks the service, panel, and sample circuits to identify grounding issues.
Grounding corrections, ground rod installation, bonding fixes, and cost.
Ground rods driven, conductors run, terminations completed at panel and service entrance.
Ground resistance verified, continuity confirmed, install documented.
Not every job requires a permit. When the local AHJ requires one, we pull it, schedule the inspection, and stay with the job until it passes. No paperwork on you.
Written warranty: 5-year on outlets, fixtures, and EV chargers; 10-year on wire and breakers; lifetime on panelboxes and surge protection. Parts and labor. Transfers with the home.
Improper grounding is one of the most dangerous and most common electrical issues we find in older homes. Ground faults that should clear in milliseconds become shock hazards or fire risks when grounding is missing or insufficient.
Real work from our San Diego and Austin shops. Same standards, same warranty, every job.
For ground wire installation, here's the honest comparison. We'd tell you the same thing if we weren't trying to win the job.
Most ground wire installation calls start when the homeowner is planning ahead: a renovation, an addition, an EV charger, a generator, a panel upgrade, or any project where the existing electrical needs to be sized correctly for the new load. The earlier we walk the property, the cleaner the project sequencing. Bringing us in before the drywall closes saves rework. Bringing us in before the contract is signed with the GC saves scope confusion. We are happy to walk a property at the planning stage even if the install is still months out.
A walk of the property with attention to the panel (age, capacity, available breaker space), conduit accessibility, attic / crawlspace conditions, and the load picture (current loads + planned future loads). For installs that touch the service drop, we factor utility coordination from the start. The estimate we leave with is fixed for the scope as walked. Change orders only happen for genuinely new findings during the work, you hear about them before we proceed.
Grounding is the most underappreciated part of an electrical system. When it is right, nothing happens, which is exactly what should happen. When it is wrong, faults that should be invisible become hazards. We get grounding calls in two flavors: documented grounding deficiencies in inspection reports, and unexplained electrical issues (intermittent shocks, equipment damage, lightning damage) that trace back to grounding when investigated.
Code does not retroactively require grounding existing two-wire circuits. NEC allows a GFCI receptacle on an ungrounded circuit (marked "No Equipment Ground") for shock protection without rewiring. Best practice for any sensitive electronics is full grounding via rewire.
NEC requires a single ground rod or a grounding system that meets resistance requirements. In practice, two rods 6 feet apart is the standard install because measuring resistance on a single rod is rarely done.
Grounding gives ground faults a low-impedance path back to the source so the breaker trips quickly. Without grounding, a fault can leave a metal surface energized at line voltage. Grounding is the difference between a tripped breaker and a shock hazard.
Sometimes. GFCI receptacles provide shock protection on ungrounded circuits per NEC. Some homes have metal-conduit-fed circuits where the conduit provides the ground path. True grounding for sensitive electronics requires either of those or new cable.
Service grounding electrode upgrades are smaller jobs. Adding equipment grounds to multiple circuits or full rewires for grounding are larger. We quote in writing.
A licensed electrician walks the service and panel, identifies grounding issues, and writes the correction in fixed-price terms.
