On Mon, 03 Sep 2007 05:17:10 -0700, John Ross
wrote:

I had an electrician over and asked about grounding an outlet (early
'60s house with grounded wire only to baths and kitchen).

This was an outside wall with a water pipe faucet near. He said he
could just poke a hole through the wall and run the ground wire to the
pipe and attach it there. So he does this and I end up with a green
ground wire coming out of the wall about a foot up. He then said he
could just have it go straight down to the ground and then over to the
pipe, which is about 6 feet away. I was surprised when he offered to
just make a very shallow impression in the dirt and then just cover
directly with dirt. So basically it is just put on the ground with a
little dirt thrown on it. I did ask if this was code and he said
"sure" (just so you know, he is licensed and has been around for
years).

Well now I don't feel so comfortable with this. Is it ok to have a
wire like that in/on dirt with no hard weatherproof casing? Is this
considered normal practice for a ground wire?

Interested in opinions on this and what problem(s), if any, would you
be concerned about. Note: to be clear, this is not bare copper, it
does have the green sleeve.

That's not an electrician, it's a nutcase.
DONT PAY THE ****ER.
Tell him if he wants to be paid to come and do it right.
If he refuses, and if you already paid him, call your local building
inspector and show them the job and your receipt from this asshole.
His license will be revoked.