electrical outlet placement under window code question

every 12 feet, 6 foot cord, blah, blah....

I have a 19 foot wall that has has left to right:

  1. 1' of wall
  2. 3' feet of door
  3. 1' of wall
  4. 6' of window
  5. 8' of wall

In a normal situation, one electrical outlet would be placed on the 8' wall section and one outlet some place under the window on that wall. What makes my situation a little different is that this 6' wide window starts 6" above the floor and is 6' tall.

Question: Is it allowable (or required) to put an outlet in that 6 inch space between the floor and the bottom of the window (outlet would start about 1" above the floor and end about 5" above the floor), or can I just skip putting an outlet under the window?

Thanks, Jess keyword = jessjoemama

Reply to
Jess
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Both sides of window, plus another further down the 8' wall. Put an outlet centered under window if you think you will need power there, like for a reading lamp for a pair of sitting chairs or something. If window has a wide sill, a horizontal outlet in the shadow area under the still may be less jarring visually. Outlet could even be in the window trim, if you are using a flat apron board under the sill. The right cover plate, and it would almost vanish.

Like the endless threads on here always say, you can never have too many outlets. What keeps the inspector happy is the low-end requirement. Outlets and wire are cheap, and when the walls are open is the best time to put an outlet anyplace you think you may ever need one. If you do holiday lights outside, this in a good time to fish a weatherproof GFCI outlet into the outside overhang, hooked to an extra switch on the hinge side of the door (opposite side from the regular-use switches), set higher than normal to avoid confusing people.

Reply to
aemeijers

*If it is a required outlet and if for some reason you can't meet code by putting an outlet on each side of the window, then a floor receptacle would satisfy the requirements. If there is room you could put an outlet under the window. It sounds as though you could just put an outlet on each side of the window. Don't get too close to the window frame to avoid a conflict with window trim. The code spacing requirement is a minimum. You can install more outlets closer to each other if you want. I usually do 10' unless the customer has specific needs for more.
Reply to
John Grabowski

Of that 19 feet, as a minimum, Nec requires that no point along the floor be more than six feet from an outlet.(assuming that this is a "habitable" room) The door space is not included in that measurement, however the one foot space before the door, if it's contiguous with at least one foot of wall space on the adjacent wall, would require an outlet as well. As John pointed out, if you can't meet the outlet requirement by installing outlets in the fixed wall, the Nec allows floor outlets to meet the requirement.

Reply to
RBM

This is a situation that could vary by geographic location. The NEC is a starting point, but the final word comes from your local Code Enforcement Office. They often add or modify things to be more stringent than the NEC, which is really only a set of minimum requirements. Check with your local code enforcement people and you'll have the full skinny.

HTH,

Twayne

Reply to
Twayne

Why aren't you considering the 1' section between the door and the window? For sure I'd want one there.

An outlet in that space, plus one in the 8' wall between 2' and 5' from the window, by my counting puts an outlet no more than 6' from any point. However, I'd put two in the 8' section: one close to the window and one near the corner. Bonus points if the two that flank the window are equidistant from it.

Code does not require an outlet in the 1' section on the other side of the door, but I'd make sure there was one not too far down that adjacent wall, too.

I certainly think you're allowed to put an outlet under the window, there is no rule that I know of that limits how close to the floor an outlet can be. Personally, I dislike outlets in baseboards (and horizontally-mounted outlets) and I think it would look particularly bad to have one out of line with other outlets in the same wall. But I don't see why you'd need to go there.

Chip C Toronto

Reply to
Chip C

One under the window might be a good idea. Where else are you going to plug in your electric Christmas candles? Outlets are inexpensive, if you think you might need one there, do it.

Reply to
Phisherman

Likely more accessible but could be there or under the window (or floor).

If you use a floor outlet a special box is required (I think you can drive a truck across it) and special cover with flush closures.

The 1' space is considered in conjunction with the wall around the corner. The 6'/2' rules go around the corner.

RBM gives the basic code requirements, John summarizes what to do at the window.

Reply to
bud--

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