Our inspector wouldn't allow the use of mocketts, so we were stuck with only an outlet option and I had to give up my idea of the window going down to the counter. The inspector was actually surprised that it was in issue because he had never heard of someone putting a 9 foot wide window over the sink before!

We did the electrical ourselves and just measured carefully while placing the outlet boxes, giving ourselves an allowance for the cabinets, countertops, and from the other direction allowing for room for the window trim. We then added a little extra, just to be safe. I did place them horizontally to be able to bring the window down as low as possible. Eventually we will add a backsplash and I will try to blend them in a little better at that point.

Hi Aloha.

I knew I would have trouble meeting code in my kitchen layout if I didn't put my outlets horizontally under my windows. Like Westiegirl, we measured carefully during box placement. Unfortunately, my cab maker miscalculated the thickness of my marble when he made my cabs so the boxes ended up being about .5" too low. That's why I have these lovely little ventilation nooks around my unfinished backsplash! (Insert smiley face here? Not.)

Ahh, the "girls" are answering.

Westiegirl. I can see you went up just a tad to ensure you were able to get the outlet in. With about 4" taken with footer and wallboard/trim it already put it up a few inches no matter what kind of outlet goes in.

Hey Breezygirl, I miss seeing you posting. I guess all good things have to come to end as these kitchen are completed. 1/2" grrrr. Since we're DIY that tight of measurements scares me, though we've measured tighter clearances. It's funny the close up makes your window look so high above the counters, but when you are at eye height, they seem perfect. How much space do you have from the bottom of your outlet cover to the top of the window sill. I'd have to add at least 1/2" to it for my comfort but want to set that as the standard. Even at that considering how different countertop thicknesses can be, I'd want to have some leeway for that.

Thought I'd show you what we did just in case this is an option for you (or even something you'd consider). Our windows go all the way to the counter and are 9' wide. I've used it within the past week since the kitchen was completed, and it really has worked out great, allowing me to keep the counter-height windows that I had envisioned since first thinking about the renovation.

We got by with only two outlet sets on this whole long wall...one set on right painted area is clearly show, other set is under the light switches on left painted area. No protest by inspector. There are more around the corner on each adjacent wall under the cabs. Code requires every 4 feet. Center window alone is 5 feet wide. This expanse is a little over 16 feet wide.

Here's a closer pic I took this morning to show you the height above counter.

From counter to sill bottom is 5 3/4". Top of the sill to the bottom of the outlet cover is a about 5 3/16".

If I had known then what I know now, I would have ordered taller windows. When the window guy was here we talked about how the windows would be trimmed. I hadn't thought much about that as we were re-trimming the whole house so nothing to match for these new windows. My brain just couldn't get that far ahead of the process to consider even where to go to look at decent trim. So, to be safe we factored in 3" for trim.

Come trim install time, my sweet carpenter left off the bottom trim piece that would have helped fill that large gap between window and marble. He said usually the area is tiled under, not trimmed. (((sigh))) Bottom line is that if I had researched trim, I would have known there wouldn't be trim under the window sill so I could have had taller windows. Live and learn. I console myself that the windows couldn't have been noticeably taller anyway and that now the tile backsplash (maybe someday I'll get to that) will be featured a little more prominently.

Wha???? I rotated and resized that pic in Photobucket before posting. I'm heading towards an intense dislike of Photobucket. Flickr was my friend.

Breezygirl, thanks for the meausrements and your candid honesty of what you'd change if you could.

Are you talking about an 1-2" at most taller. I noticed that the tops of the windows match up with the larger kitchen windows, which looks perfect together. I have a thread out there now because we are still deciding at what height we want the windows since we have variable heights now in the main living area. If you are only talking 1-2", I have to agree, you never would have noticed the difference. I'm looking at having only a backsplash behind the cooktop, so I won't be able to dress it up with tile like you will be able to.

Yes. I'm only talking 1-1.5". Not enough to make a real difference. Actually, since I have no drywall around those outlets, you can see just how much play I have and how much lower the windows could have been. The 2x4 window framing forces a certain amount of space around the outlet, obviously.

Since YOU will be the one measuring and triple checking the details, I think you could do better than this.

I saw your other thread, but haven't gone back to see what you decided. Miss seeing me post? What a relief. I thought people were sick to death of my decision making process! :) I still have the whopper of tile choices coming soon...

P.S. I think Photobucket has ghosts. When I posted that pic, it was bigger and horizontal despite my correcting it. Now, today, it is smaller and vertical. (insert creepy music here)

hlove & florantha-

I'm considering a counter height window. Do you have an issue with water from the sink splashing,etc? On the counter height thread many have a bump out.
Could you post more pics of where your counter meets the window?
Thanks so much!!