Receptacles in bathroom cabinet

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dpb

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Location
Cleveland, Ohio
Occupation
Electrician
I recently had an inspector have a problem at rough in due to them being inside the bathrooms vanity. There are still 2 on counter top for to accomodate the sinks. Unfortunately someone else went to the inspection so I didn't get to ask him where I could find anything about this in the book but wondered if anyone else had run into something like this. My understanding is the homeowner just wanted to leave her electric tooth brush plugged in there so no cords running out the door or anything. I really hate having to tell a contractor we can't do something when he knows full well we have passed in other cities with similar set ups
 
There is nothing wrong with locating them inside the cabinet as long as the requirement for a receptacle(s) is met by the other ones. Ask for a code reference. Just out of curiosity how was it installed?
 
dpb said:
I recently had an inspector have a problem at rough in due to them being inside the bathrooms vanity. There are still 2 on counter top for to accomodate the sinks. Unfortunately someone else went to the inspection so I didn't get to ask him where I could find anything about this in the book but wondered if anyone else had run into something like this. My understanding is the homeowner just wanted to leave her electric tooth brush plugged in there so no cords running out the door or anything. I really hate having to tell a contractor we can't do something when he knows full well we have passed in other cities with similar set ups
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I don’t recall anything in the code that would prevent you from installing it in the cabinet. I believe that it should be GFCI protected. I have installed receptacles in kitchen cabinets before for Microwaves, Dishwasher, and Disposals !
 
Well that was quick but I finally found the answer. I guess I shouldn't have posted this so fast. The homeowner apparently told the inspector she wanted to use something corded that would run out the cabinet door and he didn't like the idea of a cord being smashed in the cabinet door understandably. I work for a company and the boss will usually go to inspections if I'm busy elsewhere but I think I gotta start going to all my rough ins from now on. This is the second time a small miscommunication has led to needless worry when everything ended up fine in the end
 
infinity said:
There is nothing wrong with locating them inside the cabinet as long as the requirement for a receptacle(s) is met by the other ones. Ask for a code reference. Just out of curiosity how was it installed?
Click to expand...
The 2 extra ones were under the plumbing in the vanity. They would have been gfci protected if we had installed them but we ended up blank plating them instead.
 
The customer is your worst enemy when dealing with inspectors. They give information that doesn't matter, but gives the inspector bad ideas. They think they're being friendly and mention something that shouldn't matter, but the inspector thinks it does.

I always instruct homeowners to just show the inspector where to go and let him/her make their own judgment on what they see. Any question from the inspector to homeowner should just be answered, "I don't know, that's what the electrician decided to do."
 
When I win the lottery and get to design my next house, there's going to be an outlet inside the cabinet over the toilet so all the shavers, etc, can charge in there without the cord clutter.
 
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