Floor Receptacles

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goldsborough

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The Local Township Enforcement Building Inspector has written fines for Electricians not installing Floor Receptacles next to Open Railings for Stairways leading to Basement Area's. My question is according to NEC Article 210.52 Wall Spaces or Similar Openings means to install a receptacle before the railing within 6 feet and after the open railing within 6 feet. You CAN install a receptacle next to railing but this is not enforceable. Am I correct by stating this Open Railing is not a Wall but shall be counted as Wall Space?
 
I went behind another contractor that bailed on the job, all he lacked was the final and a few items that were turned down by the inspector. This was a log cabin with open beam ceilings everywhere including under the balcony, Inspector wanted a floor outlet at the railing. Yeah, exposed box and wire could be seen from the downstairs hall, but couldn’t do anything about it.
 
Well, it does say "The space afforded by fixed room dividers, such as freestanding bar-type counters or railings" are wall space, and wall spaces require receptacles, so I agree that a receptacle is required within 18" of the railing.
 
goldsborough said:
What does similar openings mean to you?
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On a stairway, the first or last step is the opening, so the first receptacle along the railing must be within 6' of the main post. You may or may not need a second before you hit a wall, but if the railing is around the end and both sides, you might even need three.
 
I am having a hard time envisioning the installation described in the first post. You don't put receptacles on the walls next to stair steps. So let me try a description.

Cut a hole in the floor, and stick a set of stairs leading to the next lower level. As you walk down the first few stairs (before your head crosses below the level of the floor you just left), you will have a wall on one side and an open space on the other. A person on the upper level could walk past that open space and fall into the stairwell. To eliminate that risk, you install a railing that goes from floor level to perhaps 3-4 feet high, that starts where the hole in the floor starts, and continues until it covers enough of the open stairwell to prevent a fall from above. Is that the railing we are talking about?

If so, then yes it counts as "wall space," and therefore must obey the receptacle spacing rules. It need not be a floor receptacle, however. If you could, using approved wiring methods, mount a receptacle on the railing itself, that would pass the NEC rules. It might not pass the ugliness test, though.
 
This is what we're discussing in this photo (from Google), there is a receptacle missing within 18" of the rail and maximum 6' from the end since the area seems to qualifies as meeting the requirements of the 6'/12' rule.

Designer-Railings-For-Stairs-amazing.jpg
 
I would consider that wall space. I would install a receptacle in the wall next to the door and a Floor receptacle along the railing. If it is in around a 36" wide hallway it would not require a receptacle at the railing.
 
I was once involved in a very high-end house, and the owner did not want to see such receptacles. We convinced her it was required, and she agreed. But she insisted that the floor receptacles be covered by a removable 2x4 board that exactly matched the floor pattern.
 
LarryFine said:
If the railing were a solid half-wall instead of open balusters, the same rule would apply.
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Open Railing is considered wall Space Article 210.52 A (2) 3 so it should be a floor receptacle installed within 18 inches of the railing. It took my arm to be twisted to accept this but its written within The NEC

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goldsborough said:
Open Railing is considered wall Space Article 210.52 A (2) 3 so it should be a floor receptacle installed within 18 inches of the railing. It took my arm to be twisted to accept this but its written within The NEC

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That's a tough call, maybe something the inspector might mention to you on the rough. A sheet rock knee wall is a little different than a decorative railing that probably wouldn't have a couch pushed up to it.
 
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