Thread: Receptacle serving kitchen counter top

Is a receptacle on the lower wall on the living area side of the kitchen sink counter considered as serving the counter top? It is more than 12" below the top of the counter.

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In order to be considered to serve the countertops the receptacle can be no more than 20" above or 12" below.

No GFI protection is required based on your question.

If the receptacle is not considered as serving the kitchen counter but is within 6' of the sink would it then have to b GFCI protected?

Originally Posted by Gary Mohel

If the receptacle is not considered as serving the kitchen counter but is within 6' of the sink would it then have to b GFCI protected?

Gary

The 6' applies to laundry and bar sinks, not kitchen sinks.

Originally Posted by Gary Mohel

If the receptacle is not considered as serving the kitchen counter but is within 6' of the sink would it then have to b GFCI protected?

Originally Posted by Rick Cantrell

Gary

The 6' applies to laundry and bar sinks, not kitchen sinks.

Back in the 1987 NEC, yes, that 'within 6 feet of the kitchen sink' became the rule, but that changed in the 1996 NEC to all receptacle outlets which serve the countertop.

Gary,

Here is a chart showing GFCI protection for the different NEC editions by year: http://www.constructionlitigationcon..._page-2011.pdf

Here is a chart showing AFCI protection for the different NEC editions by year: http://www.constructionlitigationcon..._page-2011.pdf

Thanks. The NEC logic baffles me but rules are rules. You can have a non GFCI protected receptacle 3 or 4 feet from the kitchen sink and it's OK but not within 6 feet from a utility sink and a garage ceiling receptacle which is 8 feet above the garage floor has to be GFCI protected. Doesn't make much sense to me. Thanks again.

The receptacle in the living room is not in the kitchen. It is in a seperate room. You see this situation most commonly where there is a partial height wall seperating the kitchen from a living/den.

Just because NEC does not require a GFCI is not a reason for a home inspector to flag it as a safety concern. It is a standard line item in my report boilerplate and have to remove it from my report on those homes with full height walls.

Home Inspectors are to there to call out Safety concerns regardless of code. Our job is the one bit of common sense inserted into home building, buying and enjoying process. Warn your clients that when they place the laptop or blender on the counter and it falls into the sink, they would appreciate a GFCI at that location. I tell them a GFCI cost $10. If the builder whins, put it in yourself. When they hear the part costs $10, they give the builder a ration of grief.

Save the planet one GFCI at a time!