Receptacles for a Foyer

[mkgrady]

In looking at 210.52,I Foyers, how are the requirements for receptacles any different from a typical room that has the 6'-12' rule? The only difference I see is that every wall space at least 3' wide gets a receptacle as opposed to a 2' wall. This applies to foyers over 60SF

What confuses me is whether or not large foyers are wired like any typical room but with 3' exception I noted. I must be missing something because I don't see many receptacles in foyers, even large ones.

 

[GoldDigger]

Foyers may have furniture along the walls, with table lamps, etc. even if they are just small and decorative.

One problem, an ever recurring one, is that the NEC gives us no clue as to which of several meaning of "foyer" they are contemplating.

It could be the North American usage, which includes an overly large hallway-like element just inside the front door of a residence,
Or the commercial meaning, as the large lobby area or pre-lobby area of a hotel, apartment house, theater, etc.

The word has one meaning when pronounced "FOY-er" in much of the US (the space just inside the front door), and a different meaning when given the French pronunciation "Fo-YAY" (the commercial lobby.) Neither of those correspond to the meaning of the same word in French.
Without a spoken version of the NEC to refer to refer to, we are left without even that clue as to what they are talking about.

 

[infinity]

In looking at 210.52,I Foyers, how are the requirements for receptacles any different from a typical room that has the 6'-12' rule? The only difference I see is that every wall space at least 3' wide gets a receptacle as opposed to a 2' wall. This applies to foyers over 60SF

What confuses me is whether or not large foyers are wired like any typical room but with 3' exception I noted. I must be missing something because I don't see many receptacles in foyers, even large ones.

The major difference is that the 6'/12' rules do not apply. Each wall space of 3' or greater requires a receptacle, a 30' unbroken wall only needs one.

(I) Foyers. Foyers that are not part of a hallway in accor-
dance with 210.52(H) and that have an area that is greater
than 5.6 m 2 (60 ft 2 ) shall have a receptacle(s) located in
each wall space 900 mm (3 ft) or more in width and un-
broken by doorways, floor-to-ceiling windows, and similar
openings.

 

[mkgrady]

The major difference is that the 6'/12' rules do not apply. Each wall space of 3' or greater requires a receptacle, a 30' unbroken wall only needs one.

Thanks. I see the difference now.

 

[Jeff Gerling]

Foyer Receptacle Spacing

Foyer Receptacle Spacing

What is causing me confusion is the logic of requiring receptacles on walls greater than 3', but then not analyzing whether that will be sufficient to prevent the use of extension chords. The excerpt below is from ECMWEB.COM with annalysis from Mike Holt. According to the analysis, foyers are now treated like any other room with regard to receptacle spacing except that wall spaces must be at least 3' wide. I agree that a straight forward reading would seem to only require one receptacle per wall space regardless of the length of the wall, but then I refer to the intent of the code, which is to prevent the use of extension chords. Additionally, I would use the standard fall back position in that foyers aren't really defined in the code. If it is not considered a hallway, then why wouldn't it be similar to a living room that has an entry door? I see it all the time where you have a sliding glass door that leads to the back porch, and we enforce the 2' 6/12 rule. In fact, I've seen "foyers" in some houses that would give most living rooms a run for their money and to logically say that because it's called something else on the plans then we are only going to require one receptacle on a particular wall seems a bit illogical. Treating "foyers" like any other habitable room seems to make the most sense with regard to receptacle spacing.

A new requirement to provide receptacles in foyers was added.
210.52(I) Foyer Receptacles. Foyers that aren’t part of a hallway [210.52(H)] having an area greater than 60 sq ft must have a receptacle located on any wall space 3 ft or more in width and unbroken by doorways, floor to ceiling windows, and similar openings.
Analysis: Newer homes are often built with substantial foyers, some of which can be larger than other rooms of the house. In previous editions of the Code, these areas were typically treated as hallways, with only one receptacle being required and only one being installed. This change will now require foyers to have the same receptacle requirements as a bedroom, family room, dining room, or similar area. I guess the only question now is…what’s a foyer?

 

[infinity]

What is causing me confusion is the logic of requiring receptacles on walls greater than 3', but then not analyzing whether that will be sufficient to prevent the use of extension chords. The excerpt below is from ECMWEB.COM with annalysis from Mike Holt. According to the analysis, foyers are now treated like any other room with regard to receptacle spacing except that wall spaces must be at least 3' wide. I agree that a straight forward reading would seem to only require one receptacle per wall space regardless of the length of the wall, but then I refer to the intent of the code, which is to prevent the use of extension chords. Additionally, I would use the standard fall back position in that foyers aren't really defined in the code. If it is not considered a hallway, then why wouldn't it be similar to a living room that has an entry door? I see it all the time where you have a sliding glass door that leads to the back porch, and we enforce the 2' 6/12 rule. In fact, I've seen "foyers" in some houses that would give most living rooms a run for their money and to logically say that because it's called something else on the plans then we are only going to require one receptacle on a particular wall seems a bit illogical. Treating "foyers" like any other habitable room seems to make the most sense with regard to receptacle spacing.

A new requirement to provide receptacles in foyers was added.
210.52(I) Foyer Receptacles. Foyers that aren’t part of a hallway [210.52(H)] having an area greater than 60 sq ft must have a receptacle located on any wall space 3 ft or more in width and unbroken by doorways, floor to ceiling windows, and similar openings.
Analysis: Newer homes are often built with substantial foyers, some of which can be larger than other rooms of the house. In previous editions of the Code, these areas were typically treated as hallways, with only one receptacle being required and only one being installed. This change will now require foyers to have the same receptacle requirements as a bedroom, family room, dining room, or similar area. I guess the only question now is…what’s a foyer?

The part that you have in bold print is not the same as what's written within the requirement posted in post#3.

 

[templdl]

Think about it....

Think about it....

But a wife may be a driving force in this when she assigns you to do the vacuuming. So you wheel the vacuum out of the closet after saying ,yes dear" while smiling so that you can check it off of your honeydo list, the you proceed to the hallway/foyer. Unwind the cord and look for an outlet. Nada. So you go to the first bedroom and look around and find that you can't reach the outlet being the bed and the other one is behind the dresses. The only ones that are accessible are clear acroos the room which is great if you had enough cord to reach the length of the hsall. You look is the next bedroom, the exact same thing. The home office computer room has a bookcase in front of one and a desk in front of the other. At last you discover an outlet in the bathroom with the luck that you have enough cord to stretch across the bathroom and vacuum the entire length of the hall without pulling the plug out of the outlet because the cord was just not quite long enough bending the prongs of the plug in the process.
And you have to wonder why you were asked to do the vacuuming? It's so that the NEC be lobyed to require an outlet in a hall.
You may have as headache now but you have to consider the headache your wife could be complaining of later.