Under cabinet receptacles instead of counter top wall.

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patricknola

Electrical contractor/Generac Dealer
Location
new orleans, La, United States
Occupation
Electrical contractor.
Good morning gentlemen, I'm doing a kitchen, dining room remodel in Louisiana where we use the 2020 NEC. My customer wants under cabinet receptacles, gfci projected, with no receptacles on the counter top back wall. Initially I thought it was OK but when read the NEC article.......Is there any way to achieve this? TIA
 
Plugmold.

Also the receptacle(s) must be no more than 20" above the counter top to be considered 210.52(C) receptacles. Usually not a problem, but height of cabinet can impact that.

some may put this on the wall but imediately below the cabinet.
 
I would go for the high end plugmold if you want a really nice finish. For low end you can mount wiremold boxes under the cabinets if the cabinet are designed to hide them. Personally I think that looks kind of lousy but it's code complaint.
 
I have probably done it in a few dozen kitchens. Here's one of my "lousy" installs:

Top pics: Switch in background for disposer in sink in front of pass-through:

Cab3.JPG Cab4.JPG

Bottom pics: Dimmers next to doorway for ribbons and recessed lights over sink:

Cab1.JPG Cab2.JPG
 
Little Bill said:
I think it looks silly to have cords hanging down vs an appliance mostly hiding the cord & receptacle.
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Depends on the cook. A messy cook, with splatters of who knows what ("I told you to make sure the lid is on the blender!"), or flour from cookie making will make wiping down the power cord necessary. An overhead outlet is less likely to get splattered...
And, if you read the instructions, most appliances say "Unplug when not in use." Sounds like they don't trust their electrical engineering!
 
patricknola said:
My customer wants under cabinet receptacles, gfci projected, with no receptacles on the counter top back wall.
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When we had the kitchen remodeled in our Seattle home about 4 years ago, we had the electrician install this exact configuration (the "boss's" preference). I posted a photo on this forum at the time, but I am too lazy to look for it.

There were several plugmold sections with 2 to 4 receptacles each along the undersides of the entire upper cabinets. I verified from the GC's plans that they would be less than 20" above the countertops. I was present during the electrical inspection. The inspector started to say we were missing the required outlets. But when I asked her to look at the cabinet undersides, she immediately signed off the work.
 
LarryFine said:
I have probably done it in a few dozen kitchens. Here's one of my "lousy" installs:
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Sorry Larry I didn't mean to imply that your installations were lousy I was merely stating that I dislike the look of the wiremold boxes but to ewch his own. Your installation looks very neat. IMO a Decora style receptacle in the wall with a screwless plate looks better.
 
infinity said:
Sorry Larry I didn't mean to imply that your installations were lousy I was merely stating that I dislike the look of the wiremold boxes but to ewch his own. Your installation looks very neat. IMO a Decora style receptacle in the wall with a screwless plate looks better.
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I wasn't offended at all. That's why I used your word.

A Decora wall receptacle with a screwless plate is still a receptacle in the backsplash.
 
I have had a half dozen or so customers request the under cabinet outlets the past 10 years or so. After it’s done, I had every single one say after it’s over that the plugs are a pain to use as you have to bend over and look under the cabinet to plug them in. They all hated it. I try to talk customers out of it the best I can.
 
I was consulting my buddy down the road on his new house last night about how he needs to set up his generator and we went and looked at the house. He was talking about this exact situation. His wife doesn't want plugs in the walls, she wants them under the cabinet like this. I don't get it. Seems like it would be a PITA to plug stuff in blindly and a great way to get your fingers shocked.
 
jmellc said:
I agree. I bet a lot of people will want it changed down the road.
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I agree. I don't see why a receptacle on the wall looks so bad. Just match the device color and plate to the backsplash and they’re hardly noticeable but that's just me. And then you have the issue with the cord hanging down whereas if the receptacle is behind your coffee maker you won't even see the cord. I just don't get it.
 
Crash117 said:
I have had a half dozen or so customers request the under cabinet outlets the past 10 years or so. After it’s done, I had every single one say after it’s over that the plugs are a pain to use as you have to bend over and look under the cabinet to plug them in. They all hated it. I try to talk customers out of it the best I can.
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We didn't hate ours. It was at most a very minor inconvenience to have to bend down to see where to insert the plug. One thing we (or should that have been "she"?) liked about no receptacles on the walls is being able to put small appliances anywhere without their bumping into something else that was plugged in.

One key suggestion for anyone asked to install these: Do not "cheap out" on the make and model of the wireway (is "plugmold" a brand name?). We ofter had to push harder than should have been necessary just to insert a plug. Get the highest quality item, and convince the homeowner it us worth the cost.
 
...and another advantage of under-cabinet outlets-- the backsplash isn't interrupted by outlets (duh). This is especially nice if you have a tiled backsplash with a nice design you don't want broken up by the outlets.
 
Little Bill said:
I think it looks silly to have cords hanging down vs an appliance mostly hiding the cord & receptacle.
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It is all about picky designer types and not wanting a receptacle to mess up the appearance of a tile back splash.

These same people would seldom have something that sits on the counter and stays plugged in other than while it is being used as that is considered clutter as well.
 
When working for "picky" customers, I'm always amused with what I can get away with

Paddle fan 1" off center, receptacle not perfectly aligned with faceplate . . .

I don't do it on purpose, sometimes there are extenuating circumstances
 
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