In article , "Tom" wrote:

Here's another issue I'd appreaciate help with. The obvious way to get
power into the porch is to punch through the stucco and tap into an outlet
on an inside wall. There isn't much on this circuit and every other route I
can think of would require a lot of creative carpentry.

OK so far...

The problem is that
this is a very old house and there is no ground on this circuit. What is
the proper way to establish a ground for this circuit?

Install a ground-fault circuit interrupter. You won't have a ground, but you
*will* be protected against ground faults. The GFCI will include several
stickers that say "No Equipment Ground" - place these stickers on every outlet
that is protected by that GFCI.

Re-wiring the whole
circuit is very impractical. Can I ground to a water pipe?

No. Illegal and dangerous. If a ground fault should occur, that would
electrify the water pipe.

Can I run a
ground wire along the outside of the house to the service ground?

No. Code requires that all conductors for any circuit be in the same cable,
raceway, conduit, etc.

Would the ground fault interrupter eliminate the need for a ground?

Yes.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?