Got called out on my ground rod connections by an old inspector in Denver

I was doing a panel swap in an older house last month and the inspector pulled me aside about my ground rods. He said I was using too many clamps and not bonding the rods together right at the top. I had always just put one clamp on each rod and called it good. He showed me how to run a solid #6 between both rods and use a single acorn clamp at the top of each one. Has anyone else run into inspectors who are picky about ground rod bonding methods?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethp269d ago

lol yeah I had the exact same thing happen with an inspector up in Loveland a couple years ago. He actually made me redo the whole bond because I had my clamps like 6 inches below the top of the rods and he said they needed to be within 4 inches of the surface. I was so annoyed but looking back he was probably right about it being a better connection that way. Did that inspector mention anything about bonding the rods to the rebar in the foundation too or was he pretty chill once you fixed the clamp deal?

rodriguez.cora9d ago

Oh man, "within 4 inches of the surface" - that's exactly what he kept saying to me! I had my clamps like 8 inches down and he made me pull the whole rod up and re-tamp the dirt. He was chill about the rebar bonding though, just checked it was all continuous and walked off. I bet Loveland has some strict inspectors too, seems like they all have their pet rules. Did yours check the ground resistance after you fixed it or just sign off on the visual?