On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:45:29 GMT, aemeijers wrote:

Peek in the boxes with a flashlight. If the place was built mid-1960s or
later, odds are there will be a ground wire rolled up under the romex
clamps.

The house was built in 1960. I'm hoping the boxes are grounded, but if
they are not, I'd like to have a Plan B.

And you did plug one of those quick-testers
into the grounded outlets to make sure they really were grounded, right?

I haven't done that yet because I don't own the house yet, but the
home inspector did it, and he reported that several three-hole outlets
in the original living space are _not_ grounded.

A couple of people suggested going down from the attic. I haven't
examined the attic yet (see above), but I've done that before, and I
can testify that several things can make it impossible, or nearly so:
an outside wall under the eaves; any outside wall that has been
insulated; any wall with bracing. I'm hoping there's a better way.