Ground Rods in Basement

Been inspecting for 16 years and have never seen ground rods driven into the basement floor below the main panel. This is a 1920’s home with upgraded service, but I found no proper pathway to ground and called it out on the original inspection. Was asked to come back to verify some of the repairs and this is what I found as their solution to a lack of ground pathway. I can’t see in the Code Check guides anything about the rods needing to be on the exterior of the home. Is this allowed?

I see them inside garages… it’s fine unless your AHJ has a problem with it. Think of water pipe, also inside. The important part is they have to be 8 feet long… was ceiling high enough for that?

Thanks for the reply Simon. No, the ceiling in the basement wasn’t high enough for that and they don’t appear to have been hammered in at an angle. I’ll note that I wasn’t able to verify the proper length of the rods. Pretty sure the seller did it himself or had a friend do it since they wouldn’t produce a work order.

Also the 8’ rod needs have 8’ in contact witht the earth which cannot be achieved as shown in the photo. What size is the GEC, #8 cannot be run without protection.

Thanks Robert. I told the buyer that they need documentation that the work was completed by a licensed electrician and that a permit should have been acquired.

I agree, but have never seen it rejected when there is a concrete sidewalk or patio next to the house. Is the few inches really going to make a difference?

IMO no because ground rods are pretty ineffective to begin with but here in NJ if they’re not flush or below the surface of the ground they’ll get tagged as a violation. This seems to be one of the things that almost all electrical inspectors look for.