Floor receptacle

N

nizak

Senior Member
I have a walk space that connects each side of the second floor in a new home I’m doing.

It’s 48” wide and has balusters along the sides.
The longest portion is 10’ before it breaks where the steps come up.

The other side is about 5’ and then intersects a hall that leads to a bonus room.

AHJ is requiring a floor receptacle . He’s defining it as a hallway.

Is he correct?

It comes down to what’s the definition of a hallway.

Thanks
 
No wall at the end. The long end, just over 10’ has a bedroom door at the end and a bedroom door to the left.There is literally no wall space there.

The door casings meet at the corner of the two doors.
 
210.52(H) Hallways.
In dwelling units, hallways of 3.0 m (10 ft) or more in length shall have at least one receptacle outlet.
As used in this subsection, the hallway length shall be considered the length along the centerline of the hallway without passing through a doorway.
 
I guess I got caught up in the fact that it’s a catwalk spanning the two sides.

Inspector is calling it a hallway.

Looks like I install the floor plug and move on.
 
nizak, It sounds like there are balusters on both sides and I would think of this as a catwalk rather than a hallway. I would def bring up the safety factor to the AHJ considering that if something is plugged into the floor receptacle it would be a tripping hazard. I had a house with balusters on both sides and there's no way in hades I would have risked someone's life over a floor receptacle requirement.
 
sparknzap said:
nizak, It sounds like there are balusters on both sides and I would think of this as a catwalk rather than a hallway. I would def bring up the safety factor to the AHJ considering that if something is plugged into the floor receptacle it would be a tripping hazard. I had a house with balusters on both sides and there's no way in hades I would have risked someone's life over a floor receptacle requirement.
Click to expand...
Very good point.
 
sparknzap said:
nizak, It sounds like there are balusters on both sides and I would think of this as a catwalk rather than a hallway. I would def bring up the safety factor to the AHJ considering that if something is plugged into the floor receptacle it would be a tripping hazard.
Click to expand...
How is it any more of a tripping hazard than if it were plugged into a nearby wall receptacle? And if the proper guard rails are installed, is tripping in the hallway/catwalk actually more dangerous than tripping anywhere else?

Cheers, Wayne
 
wwhitney said:
How is it any more of a tripping hazard than if it were plugged into a nearby wall receptacle? And if the proper guard rails are installed, is tripping in the hallway/catwalk actually more dangerous than tripping anywhere else?

Cheers, Wayne
Click to expand...

Probably less of a tripping hazard than an extension cord running from either end of the walkway.
 
Does the catwalk have enough direct lighting that no lamps are needed?

Is the catwalk wide enough for, say, a floor lamp, or a table and lamp?

Is there a receptacle near enough to plug in, say, a vacuum cleaner?
 
I am being required to install a floor plug in an area that the inspector is considering a hallway.

It’s a walkway between the two halves of the upstairs in a new build I’m finishing up.

It’s 48” wide and overall from one end to the other it’s just over 15’.

One side is balusters , the other side has a bedroom door opening and the area where the steps from below meet it.

I looked at the section between the bedroom door and the stairs and saw it was under 10’

I figured no receptacle required because of the less than 10’ length.

What I foolishly failed to take into account is that the other side is actually 15’ of length of continuous balusters over looking the great room below.

Is there a requirement for the floor receptacle because one side of the walkway is an unbroken length exceeding 10’?

I know this sounds like a dumb question but I’m just not wrapping my head around it.

I think all this started with the inspector calling this a hallway when I felt it wasn’t.

Thanks
 
nizak said:
Is there a requirement for the floor receptacle because one side of the walkway is an unbroken length exceeding 10’?
Click to expand...
So it's a hallway which is 15' long? Then one receptacle is required but it is not required to be on the railing side. It can be in the wall on the other side.

210.52(H) Hallways.
In dwelling units, hallways of 3.0 m (10 ft) or more in length shall have at least one receptacle outlet. As used in this subsection, the hallway length shall be considered the length along the centerline of the hallway without passing through a doorway.
Click to expand...
 
Agreed. There is nothing that says which side of the hallway the receptacle must be placed on.

Put it in the wall across from the railing, on whichever side of the door has the longer wall.

The inspector can imagine furniture placed along the railing, but you don't need to satisfy that.
 
infinity said:
So it's a hallway which is 15' long? Then one receptacle is required but it is not required to be on the railing side. It can be in the wall on the other side.
Click to expand...
There is no wall space. It’s a bit of a unique design.

One side is 15’ of balusters that extend from one wall to the other.

The other side is a 32”door opening leading into a bedroom, then there’s approximately 9’ of balusters and then the opening for the stairway .

Literally no “wallspace” anywhere in that 15’ length.

The area to one side of the bedroom door opening is simply casing tight to the wall.

The area on the other side of the steps is a 4 1/2” wide wall (finished width).

So really the only wallspace in this scenario is a solidly framed end of a wall that’s 4. 1/2” wide.

There is a receptacle that’s located on the backside of the stairway wall but it’s about 30” down the wall from where it ends into the hallway.

Only option I see is a floor receptacle. Owners don’t even want it and it’s gonna be extremely difficult to fish a wire into the enclosed space under the floor.
 
Well if there is no wall space then you're stuck with a floor receptacle. Did you say that one hall intersects with another? Is that part of the 15' length?
 
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