Wet bar recpt. Requirements

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Do wet bar counter tops need to be laid out like a kitchen counter top (210.52 c 1)? I getting two different inspectors opinions.
 
The real difference is that "all" receptacles within 6' of the sink must be GFCI protected, not just serving the counter top(s). But I agree that there are no layout or even receptacle requirements for a wet bar.
 
Not I. 210.52 (C) is for countertops, notes the rorms and then says "similar areas". IMO, it should be laid out similarly to a kitchen as it is a similar area, as a kitchen. Probably the best solution is to get your opposing AHJ's together and have a discussion.
 
marti smith said:
210.52 (C) is for countertops, notes the rooms and then says "similar areas."
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That was added in 2008, and kept in 2011. The 2005 just said "kitchens." So it matters which code cycle applies to the installation. It also matters how this alleged "countertop" is constructed. Does it sit up against a wall, or does it look more like a peninsula or an island. Finally, it could be argued that this horizontal surface is not a "countertop," a word that is not defined in the NEC. I can envision a flat surface with legs (almost like a table), with a sink at one end, and with space under the flat surface for the legs of a person sitting on a stool. That is not a "countertop."

All that said, I would have a hard time arguing that a wet bar is not "similar" to the collection of rooms that are now named in that article.
 
I think we're going off on a wrong turn.

If there is any uncertainty in the code, it ought to be construed in the narrowest possible manner. In effect, this principle would render the term 'similar areas' meaningless.

Our system is based upon the precept that laws exist to serve the people and limit the government - not the other way around. Likewise, the NEC is not a 'design guide.' Using the NEC to enforce a 'best' method is using it for design purposes.

Even in the narrowest sense, there's no reason to assume that a 'wet bar' needs any receptacles serving the counter at all. A lot depends on the specific design and intent of the space. Maybe there will be a blender used - or maybe it will only be used to rinse out the occasional glass.
 



Kitchen.




An area with a sink and
permanent provisions for



food preparation and cooking.
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If the wet bar is a kitchen or other similar area it will be required to have outlets that are part of SABC's. If it has permanent provisions for food prep and cooking then it is a kitchen.
 
How is a wet bar a kitchen. If I install a wet bar in my living room or bedroom it is nothing more than a wet bar. If I install a counter, in my bedroom, without a sink is that to be wired as a kitchen? IMO, NO.... So why does a sink make it similar to a kitchen. It is similar to a bathroom counter more than a kitchen.

Point is if I have a wet bar I would have receptacles on the counter- they just don't need the spacing of a kitchen.
 
It's that reference to 'similar areas' that is the camel's nose under the tent flap.

Sure, absent permanent cooking facilities - a microwave sitting on the counter doesn't count - keeps it from being a 'kitchen.' Yet, we are required to serve dining rooms with an SABC, and they don't have cooking facilities. The next step is to not only require countertop receptacles, but to require that they be served by two SABC's.

One size never fits all.
 
Wet bar ≠ Kitchen. However, we usually wire it like a kitchen countertop would be.
 
To stir things a little more -

If a wet bar is a "similar area" and needs to follow kitchen requirements then many patios should need to follow kitchen requirements also.
 
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