Gladstone is a Northland city of mid-century ranches and split-levels, a short drive from our Kansas City base. Most of these houses were wired well for their day. Their day did not include central air, a home office and an EV.
What a 1960s house was wired for
Much of Gladstone was built out in the 1950s through the 1970s. Houses of that era often started with a 60 or 100 amp service, a handful of kitchen circuits and two-prong outlets in the bedrooms. Some still have their original Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel, and a small number from the late 1960s and early 1970s have aluminum branch wiring.
None of that is a crisis, but it is worth knowing what is in your walls. A panel upgrade, grounded circuits where you need them, and AFCI and GFCI protection make an older house safer and ready for how you use it.
Its own city
Gladstone is its own municipality, surrounded by Kansas City, so permits and inspections go through the City of Gladstone rather than Kansas City. Ask your electrician to pull the permit with the right city.
Gladstone questions
Asked in Gladstone.
Short answers to the questions we hear from Gladstone homeowners and businesses. More in the full Q&A.
My Gladstone house has a Federal Pacific panel. Should I replace it?
Many electricians recommend replacing Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panels because of long-standing concerns that their breakers may not trip when they should. If yours is original, have it evaluated, and plan a replacement, especially before adding big loads.
Can I add central air or an EV charger on a 100 amp service?
Sometimes. It depends on everything else the house runs. An electrician should do a load calculation first; the answer may be a new circuit, a load-management device, or a service upgrade.
Are two-prong outlets safe?
They work, but they are ungrounded, so they do not protect three-prong equipment the way a grounded outlet does. The fix is a grounded circuit, or GFCI protection labeled “No Equipment Ground” where running a ground is not practical.