My advise is to stop playing armchair quarterback and let the electrician and contractor work out the best solution with inspector. There is no quicker way of causeing yourself unnessary pain and expense than getting into peeing contests with inspectors. You might make a monkey out the inspector by employeeing a lawyer and an engineer but what will you gain? If it become's nessary to install outlets ask electrician to use commercial models with covers to overcome your concurns about wet feet and such.

Call or email your local building department. Some of them are quire helpful. (Some aren't but it's worth trying.) I have two 16 ft sections--smaller than yours of course--of sliding glass doors and windows in my recent remodel/addition and didn't need it.

I am in the most regulated place possible (a silicon valley town that prides itself on being the "to-codiest"). I did find that my GC was not always correct in his interpretation of the code.

If you have to do it, make sure you get flush inset outlets with covers that are actually FLUSH. They are out there!

Consult the local inspector.

I ran into this several years ago - my inspector said that you need outlets every 6 feet. However the windows are not a wall - thus that rule does not apply.

I have the same issue. I have a window wall that is 14ft long. Since I am replacing the windows, I have to come up to code. I have one of the LEW electric with the 812 cover in the living room already. I will be using these pop up electric outlets closer to the window (PUFP). Neither of these are trip hazards because they are flush to the floor. Also, with the pop up, when you have things plugged in, they are very noticeable. Vacuuming the living room is a breeze with these in the floor rather than having a cord snake down the hallway which is a trip hazard:-)

Good luck!

Nothing worse than an overhyped bureaucrat with an ego.

With that being said, you have 20 feet of glass door? (two 10 foot sliders) The code is not a fan of extension cords at all, thusly they are proposing an outlet there for that reason. Pretty much need to be able to plug in anywhere without an extension cord to make code happy. Maybe a floor outlet further from the door would satisfy all.

You definitely will not be required to place them in front of the operable parts of the sliding door.

Floor outlets generally have a brass or bronze cover, so they are flat. An extension cord is a real tripping hazard.

These things are called "receptacles" and are located in a house as described by section 210.52 of the National Electrical Code.

The NEC does not require receptacles to be placed 6 ft apart; there must be no point along a wall space (see definition of wall space below) that is more than 6 ft from a receptacle so the maximum distance allowed between receptacles along an unbroken wall is 12 ft. The intent is to avoid dangerous extension cords which are considered "temporary" wiring by the NEC.

And a window is considered a wall when it it is low enough to prevent a receptacle from being installed below it.

Here is the NEC rule:

The rule is simple but to get it right you should post a plan of the fixed and operable glass panels and adjacent walls with the relevant dimensions.

These things are not a problem but they are expensive especially if you want them completely flush. Make sure they will be with 18" of the wall.

Thanks for the input. I just wrote a long post in response and Houzz ate it. The back of the house is mostly glass. The room is approx. 51x18, and we have two sets of 10 foot sliders, plus four large fixed panes of floor to ceiling glass flanking the sliders.

With regard to the flush floor receptacles, I still think they pose a tripping hazard. I've seen them in person, and they never look really flush, plus I am concerned they will be slippery when wet. I can see a kid at a pool party running in the room, slipping on one of those things and flying through the glass.

We're meeting with the inspector next week to see what he requires, and if we can find a solution that doesn't involve installing outlets in front of the glass. Glad to know what the NEC says about this. I'll let you know how it all shakes out.

A good installer will make then flush. If you are worried about slipping, you can add a some non-slip strips to the top of the unit.

Floor Outlets

He gets the fact there are floor outlets of that style. What he doesn't like is the fact that they aren't completely flush. They stick up about as much as a transition molding. The only way to do it the way he wants is to use that style of floor outlet and recess it into the flooring. Possibly install it onto the subfloor and have the finished floor surround it. Those non slip strips would do the trick too.

We're on a slab, so I don't think we can install it in the subfloor. This is similar to the look of our space The flooring will be large format tile floors. Putting outlets in the floor -- even if they are flush -- breaks up the minimalist aesthetic.

Tiny bumpout that could accommodate both a wire run from above and the outlet between the window panels. Looks like what is currently there is structural, if there was a little hollow bumpout that could address the electrical requirements that might work? According to the NEC code JDS posted those panels are considered a wall, and since you have a slab, doing floor outlets will be mostly impossible unless conduit and outlet boxes were placed before the pour. I guess they could make cuts into the concrete and patch those areas but that seems an extreme idea.