We have a 7' wide bay window that goes to the counter with a 36" sink centered in the window. We're installing pop-up Mocketts in the two far corners of the bay window. They will be 20+ inches away from a water source.

Caveat: Some municipalities will not accept them as the requisite outlets but we had a county inspector out to our home and he reviewed the specs, talked to the Mockett people, and approved them.

People do this all the time so there must be other ways to meet code...ask your contractor or electrician to get creative/think outside the box. If you also have a bay and the outlet will be at least 12-18" from a water source (check your local codes), then you might be able to sink an outlet in the countertop itself...I don't know.

Hopefully others will chime in!

HTH!

Thanks! I printed out the info from the Mockett website for my contractor. He says the problem is that NJ code (there's that nasty word again!) will only allow 20 amp outlets in the kitchen. These popups are 15 amp.

Any other solutions out there?

The outlet spacing is 4 feet, not two feet. At least in most of the country--perhaps NJ has unique requirements here. More specifically, every point at the back of the counters needs to be within 2' of an outlet.

What many people do is use Plugmold or similar outlet strips between the window and the counter. The "last resort" is a "tombstone"--an outlet box mounted on top of the counter, sticking up like a tombstone. Nobody at all likes them, but inspectors will make you put them in if there isn't another solution.

Kitchen designers and cabinetmakers need to be more aware of receptacle requirements in kitchens, because this is a constant problem. The Code is the Code, and electrical inspectors are quite tired of hearing arguments for why there shouldn't be a receptacle where one is required, but impossible. So it tends to be pretty hard to get an exception just because your KD or cabinetmaker designed something with no place for a receptacle.

(And yes, I think some of the requirements are a bit much.)

Do you have framing between the windows? Here's what we did:

It's been a long night--I've emailed Mockett to see if they provide the pop-up with 20 amp service which would be great for my island. However, I don't think I can use it by my window because of the 11+ inches depth.

I ended up doing a lot of research tonight having googled "receptacles in countertops". I came across several discussions among home inspectors. The linked discussion shows a floor box GFI receptacle and the inspectors think it should pass code. Solarpowered--care to weigh in on this possible solution? Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: inspectors' discussion

I pretty much agree with everything they said on that thread. It looks to me like it would satisfy code. And that it's a very slick solution. And I agree that some Code officials will probably reject it, even though it does appear to conform to code. So you should get approval before trying to use it.

I note that that box, the PUFP-BD, is made by the Lew Electric Fittings Company, and can be purchased from Dale Electric (www.dale-electric.com) for $49.95 each.

There is also a version with a GFCI receptacle in place of the standard receptacle, the PUFP-B. In my opinion, though, the better practice would be to use the one with a standard outlet, and feed it from an upstream GFCI; this would provide more protection if the box were to be flooded.

Looking around, I've discovered there is a new version of this box, the PUFP-CT-BK, that is specifically made for countertops, and has a design that blends in better. (And is more expensive) That version is black; there is apparently also a stainless steel countertop version due in June of this year.

Here is a link that might be useful: PUFP-CT-BK

Thanks solarpowered! I'm glad you think that this may be a solution for me and I will show it to my contractor today.

Kitchen designers and cabinetmakers need to be more aware of receptacle requirements in kitchens, because this is a constant problem. The Code is the Code, and electrical inspectors are quite tired of hearing arguments for why there shouldn't be a receptacle where one is required, but impossible. So it tends to be pretty hard to get an exception just because your KD or cabinetmaker designed something with no place for a receptacle.

Unfortunately, the KD on this project (ME!) is woefully inexperienced about technical issues regarding plumbing and electrical needs. However, I worked with an architect on my previous home's reno plans and caught many similar omissions and errors. If this is the only thing I missed, I'm still $$ ahead on this one :-)