Noise is the enemy on HF no doubt of that. However, what is 'about right' for an area is almost impossible to define, since there are so many sources of noise. Everything from light dimmers, flourescent lamps, swtching power supplies on appliances, dirty contacts on electric motors ... the list is almost endless.
Ambient noise on a band can also be solar related. Right now things have settled down somewhat; and of course, every radio - no matter how good - has its own noise floor.
I'd get that ground wiring done ASAP (with the weather getting cooler, time is critical...). Don't be too surprised if you find that your grounding sucks; it's hard to get a really good RF ground. There are articles on this very subject on the BADX and Hard Core DX sites found on the Antennas Wiki. Some are a bit technical, but well worth the reading.
In general, you'll come away with 2 realizations...
a. A single 8 foot rod in the ground isn't always a good ground;
b. It takes work to create one.
73s and GL...Mike
