My Industrial Cabin Build

[dstig1]

Standard NEC. The kitchen requirements are probably the most detailed and picky of anything for basic residential electric. They require 2 independant circuits serving the countertops, they must both be 20A and most of the time GFI protected. Then no more than 2' along the countertop to any outlet and there are special rules for peninsulas and islands too.

Edit: Gator posted while I was writing... No more than 2' to an outlet is essentially the same as every 4', but there are certain circumstances where that is not true. Say you have a section of counter that is 3' long between the fridge and stove. If you put one outlet at one end of it, the other end of the counter would also need an outlet somewhere to meet the 2' max requirement. If you put one outlet dead center, it would be no more than 18" to the outlet from any point along that counter, so you would be fine with one in that case.

Also there is meeting code minimum, and more importantly meeting your needs above and beyond that. While one outlet may meet code in this case, you may very well want 2, spaced out for better access and so you can plug more stuff in.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

The windows are 6 feet wide and with the countertops installed there is less than 3 inches from the bottom of the window to the counter. You cant have upward facing outlets on the counter. When I had an inspector walk thru with me talking about the outlets he seemed to have no issue with my placement of them except that one was too far from the sink. I think it is unlikely that they will insist aI have an outlet in the middle of the window run. But, if they require that I will figure out how to satisfy the requirements of the inspection. As for the counter space to the left of the sink, there is enough electricity to power a moon shot. separate circuit for all appliances including microwave plus a 20 amp circuit n that wall for additional outlets and one on the window wall.

 

[dstig1]

Code is pretty inflexible about many things including this...but the local inspector has final say. There is no way a 6' gap between outlets at a kitchen countertop would meet code spacing (I laid out most of the rules above)...BUT...if the inspector is OK with it, and he will sign off on it, you are done. You may also find you do not like having fewer outlets, but I don't know how you could come up with one in the middle of the window without making it pretty awful. (If the window sills were 4-6" higher, that would give you space, but water...bridge...under.) If you double up and put 2 duplex outlets in those spots (like it appears you may have done), that will help with the outlet count at least, even if it doesn't meet the spacing requirement.

One other possibility is strip outlets like these below that you might be able to fit into the wall space, but it may be hard to use them without much room for fingers to grab plugs easily so close to the countertop:

Amazon.com

Maybe keep that in the back of your head if the inspector changes his tune once he sees it all done. That is just one version, but there are others.

Kitchens have probably the highest/densest plug-in loads in the house so they want to make sure you aren't tripping breakers and have ready plug access everywhere you might need it. As a result, they have a lot of electric requirements these days. Microwaves require dedicated 20A circuits if you make a space/cubby for them. Dishwashers will need their own 20A. The fridge may need its own 15 or 20 too. Range/oven/cooktops are their own 220V issue of course. And countertops require 2 separate 20A circuits. A lot of people alternate the 2 circuits so if you plug in 2 things next to each other, they are on different circuits. In my case I used one circuit for the wall counters and one for the island, but our island is huge and laid out much differently than most. It has worked well for us.

Like you have said many times in your videos, this is one of those things where inexperience can catch you off-guard. Hopefully you can find a solution that works for you and the inspector.

 

[gary49]

Code is pretty inflexible about many things including this...but the local inspector has final say. There is no way a 6' gap between outlets at a kitchen countertop would meet code spacing (I laid out most of the rules above)...BUT...if the inspector is OK with it, and he will sign off on it, you are done. You may also find you do not like having fewer outlets, but I don't know how you could come up with one in the middle of the window without making it pretty awful. (If the window sills were 4-6" higher, that would give you space, but water...bridge...under.) If you double up and put 2 duplex outlets in those spots (like it appears you may have done), that will help with the outlet count at least, even if it doesn't meet the spacing requirement.

One other possibility is strip outlets like these below that you might be able to fit into the wall space, but it may be hard to use them without much room for fingers to grab plugs easily so close to the countertop:

Amazon.com

Maybe keep that in the back of your head if the inspector changes his tune once he sees it all done. That is just one version, but there are others.

Kitchens have probably the highest/densest plug-in loads in the house so they want to make sure you aren't tripping breakers and have ready plug access everywhere you might need it. As a result, they have a lot of electric requirements these days. Microwaves require dedicated 20A circuits if you make a space/cubby for them. Dishwashers will need their own 20A. The fridge may need its own 15 or 20 too. Range/oven/cooktops are their own 220V issue of course. And countertops require 2 separate 20A circuits. A lot of people alternate the 2 circuits so if you plug in 2 things next to each other, they are on different circuits. In my case I used one circuit for the wall counters and one for the island, but our island is huge and laid out much differently than most. It has worked well for us.

Like you have said many times in your videos, this is one of those things where inexperience can catch you off-guard. Hopefully you can find a solution that works for you and the inspector.

I think Dave is right here. I’ll have to admit to not having looked at your video, but the inspectors are typically pretty tight on the spacing specs. The inspector may have not noticed everything when he signed off on what you were planning. The plugmold will be a good way of fixing the problem if, as I anticipate, the issue arises.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I can fit a single gang box under the window for inspection. Unnecessary amount of outlets though. My wife is a minimalist. Nothing gets left on the counter except fruit and vegetables. We may put a knife block up because we currently use a wall magnet and there isn’t much wall to work with. In the future I will build a large worktable in the kitchen that will have no outlets. I know an island requires outlets but I had an island the size of a grand piano in my last house, with a sink, and the only outlet was for the wine fridge. I never missed having an outlet. We use a microwave regularly. Mostly to reheat coffee or leftovers. We use a toaster. I have a blender that I use occasionally and put back in a cabinet as soon as I am done. I had a Bosch mixer that I used for bread and pizza dough in our last house. Always put it away when I was done. It was as strong as the large Quisenart mixers but smaller footprint. I loaded the pantry with outlets to accommodate recharging of vacuum and powering dehydrator or any other thing that she takes a fancy to, but most of them will never have something plugged in to them

 

[ovrszd]

I was able to find another 8 20 amp switches at Lowe’s today so that’ll hold me over for a couple days while I order some. There are no 15 amp outlets in the house at all. There is one 15 amp circuit that does all of my smokes and I have three lights on that as well, so that i have a clue if there’s a problem with the circuit

I'm currently wiring my Son's shop w/kitchen, full bath, laundry room, single bedroom. Cheap 15A switches and outlets aggravate me.....

 

[WoodChuckDad]

Ovrszd, I hear you on those 15 amp switches. I noticed a difference when I was looking at them at the store and I used one in the house for a lighted switch and removed it because I just didn’t like it.

I put together the toilet water line yesterday. Camouflaged it fairly well to hide the pex feed and make it match the bathroom. I have never sweated a pipe before. Only burned myself 4 times. I hope it holds when I pressurize it.

 

[Gator6x4]

Ovrszd, I hear you on those 15 amp switches. I noticed a difference when I was looking at them at the store and I used one in the house for a lighted switch and removed it because I just didn’t like it.

I put together the toilet water line yesterday. Camouflaged it fairly well to hide the pex feed and make it match the bathroom. I have never sweated a pipe before. Only burned myself 4 times. I hope it holds when I pressurize it.

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If you see Brasso on sale buy a couple cans. The copper pipe will discolor. The Army taught me to hate exposed copper pipes. When state side, we had to shine the copper pipes in the latrine with Brasso everyday. Tents didn't have indoor plumbing.

 

[ovrszd]

Ovrszd, I hear you on those 15 amp switches. I noticed a difference when I was looking at them at the store and I used one in the house for a lighted switch and removed it because I just didn’t like it.

I put together the toilet water line yesterday. Camouflaged it fairly well to hide the pex feed and make it match the bathroom. I have never sweated a pipe before. Only burned myself 4 times. I hope it holds when I pressurize it.

View attachment 788663
View attachment 788664

Nice work!!!

 

[WoodChuckDad]

If you see Brasso on sale buy a couple cans. The copper pipe will discolor. The Army taught me to hate exposed copper pipes. When state side, we had to shine the copper pipes in the latrine with Brasso everyday. Tents didn't have indoor plumbing.

Nah, Jefanna is all about the patina of aged copper. She was even looking up ways to artificially age it. I said tonleave it alone and it will discolor fast enough.