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Electrical Wiring

Outlets located in baseboard- need to replace?

16 years ago

Hi all;

We're rewiring some outlets in our house to be grounded- question: currently some bedrooms have the outlets located in the baseboard, I'm assuming that we'll have to move them into the actual wall? We're located in Philadelphia. If we could keep them where they are it would save time but I doubt its up to code.

Thanks,

Jean

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Comments (6)

Ron Natalie
16 years ago
As far as the NEC is concerned there's no restriction on where on the wall. For required outlets, they can't be more than 5.7' up the wall to count, but they can be right down to (or in) the floor.
bus_driver
16 years ago
To relate the baseboard receptacles to some other recent posts, if the basement or crawlspace permits access under the location, those receptacles are the easiest to supply with new cable. In some old work applications, the baseboard is the easiest location for new receptacles. In compliance with Article 250.130 (C), when doing electrical upgrades, it is easy to get an equipment grounding conductor to baseboard locations that are also accessible from below.
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Since moving the outlets is cost prohibitive, the other option is to do cut outs in the base molding to fit around the outlets. How that is done depends on several things. First, stained or painted base? Either way, the cut outs need to be done before staining or priming/painting. Second, how will the cutouts be done. Simply cutting out to go around the plates will look kinda odd, unless the base molding is a simple rectangular stock. If there is any detail to the top of the molding, some kind of detail needs to be applied to the edges of the cutouts. Could be as simple as a round over or angle routed on the edges. Or a bit more complex with a Roman ogee profile. A third suggestion is to add returns on all the exposed edges made from the base stock. All those ideas will require a lot more work than simply installing the molding as usual. It will have to be cut and altered, primed/stained and finished/painted before installing. It is really nice of the floor guy to include installation, but any of the above means a lot more labor and not what he anticipated. So, discuss how and what would be best for you, and pay the extra labor. It will still be way less than moving the outlets. You might ask if he would prepare the moldings and let you finish, but that would require a second visit, so more labor/time on his part.
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We will use the outlets to plug in laptops when working at the dining table. Our dining room will also function as a home office and homework spot. I work from home a lot and plan to work in the dining room. The main issue is aesthetics... and cost. Does it look better if they are in the baseboard? There is room in the drywall but just barely.. Also, is it really that hard to cut a square out of the baseboard? It will be fingerjointed pine. These are the only two outlets that I want to put in the baseboards in the whole house. How much "extra" should this cost? Is it common to put outlets in the baseboards?
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gribbit
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the replies, keeping them where they are will be a *huge* timesaver as the room has brick wall on 3 sides!
bus_driver
16 years ago
One old house I wired in the 1970's was built about 1900. Built long before electrical power was in that area. It had a minimal electrical system installed about 1935. The walls were plaster over wood lath, the scratch coat was reinforced with horse hair. The baseboards were 8" high. When built, a 3/4" thick board was nailed on the wall studs along the floor line, the plaster applied using the board as a thickness guide at the bottom and then a 3/4" thick baseboard applied. Mounting electrical wall boxes in old plaster and lath is best not attempted at all if it can be avoided. So the receptacle boxes were installed in the baseboard. That meant cutting and installing in 1 1/2" of wood. Not easy at all. But it was the best method for that particular house.
texasredhead
16 years ago
We recently did the wiring on a major remodel including the addition of a second story. The first floor of the home that was saved included receptacles mounted in the baseboard. In our particular situation, we removed the baseboard receptacles and metal boxes and moved them into the walls with remodel plastic boxes. We worked from above through the walls. We did this because we were upgrading to grounded service in the old part of the house in keeping with the major remodel. If you are considering adding a ground to your existing receptacles, the ground line needs to go to the service panel buss bar.
cobraguy
16 years ago
Texas, isn't there a way to tie the new ground to existing copper water pipes that are grounded? I know that's how they did my mother-in-law's house.

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