So the house I am working on has mostly 3 prong outlet with no ground connections. I don’t have access to Canadian Electric Code but I am going to assume that’s a validation to the code.
Rewiring the house would be hard work. Is a bungalow with partially finish basement. It would be hard to try fish wire the whole house at this point.
What’s my option? Could I change the non-grounded outlet to GFCI outlet? These the code allow that?
I’m not sure about the Canadian Electric Code. The National Electrical Code, used in the USA, gives you three options.
Reverting back to 2-prong receptacles.
Grounding of ALL 3-prong receptacles, which requires running a ground wire.
Protecting them with ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI’s). Labeled “Non-Grounded”. NOTE: Event though this is acceptable, it still would not have an equipment grounding cconductor to actually protect the equipment.
You say it has “no ground connections”, what is the wiring method? Type AC cable and other wiring methods can be used without a wire type EGC or a bonding jumper if the receptacle is self-grounding.
Under the NEC you can place 3 prong grounding type 15 and 20amp 120 volt outlets on a circuit without an equipment ground, provided that circuit has 5ma GFCI protection and all the down stream outlets after the GFCI are labelled “GFCI protected, no equipment ground”. If GFCI protection is not provided the only option is 2 wire non grounding outlets or just changing the circuit over to 3 wire by running new NM back to the panel.
Now, since the CEC applies in your case I think you have a 3rd option but I could be VERY wrong. I have heard of Canadian electricians filling the 3rd grounding prong with a hard glue thus making its use complaint on a non grounding circuit. The glue prevents 3 prong plugs from being used. However, this is what I have heard verbally and not sure if the CEC really allows for this.