Can you post a picture? You can put it in the comments section...

I don't understand why no one asked you where you wanted the outlets. Was there a design for the outlets? Many people have them horizontal instead of vertical, or plugmold as Mcarroll said. I would be disappointed enough (and maybe irritated) that I would want them fixed. If I had to pay for it to be fixed, I would, rather than have all that there.

We were told it would be thousands to move the wires to under cabinet outlets. But no one showed us a design for location of outlets and they left the originals where they were and added more

Thousands to move the wires for under cabinet outlets? That seems crazy. I really hope an expert shows up here to weigh in on that.

Thousands= we don't really want to be bothered. Thousand maybe- a few hundred for the undercabinet power strips custom modified to include the two switches, then four hours labor to re run the wires, and of course patch the drywall and paint. What they did is to code, if you wanted something else someone had to specify it.

IMO the under cabinets lights cou;lld have had one swith for all and that could have been anywhere. The plugs are where they are required by code in most places. I think once the stuff for the bar area are in place there will be no big issue

Who provided the design to the electrician? Someone must have designed the kitchen and provided specific plans for all the elements. Under cabinet lighting doesn't just happen - someone specified that.

I think whoever provided the plans is at fault. I had input into the design of my remodel but as a lay person with no remodeling or construction experience there are many aspects that I left to the professionals like placement of switches and outlets. The only special request I made was that I wanted to outlets to be at a higher height than floor level because I was planning to age in place and realized that accessing lower plugs could be difficult if one had any kind of medical issues that limited bending.

I have undercabinet lights in my kitchen as well as a few in cabinet lights as well as under cabinet lights in my office area. They are all controlled by small switches that are mounted almost invisibly under the cabinet areas. They don't resemble normal switches as they are small round buttons that are pushed - or I can control dimming by keeping inger on the my button. I had no idea that anything like this existed and they are there because my professional designer specified that to the electrician.

@Helen the designer must have?

So…not sure how this will end up but I was very clear last summer when we signed the contract we wanted minimal outlets (only even put one on backside of island to hide it), and even chose white backsplash so they would be less noticable. Once we were told they were thousands to do under the cabinets, we were find keeping as is. It is essentially the same kitchen layout as before. I assumed switches for the cabinets went under the cabinets as I have seen before, and the old outletd were status quo. Either way, we just want them modified to be have the most minimal impact.

They also put the main kitchen under cabinet light switch in the corner of the L where myself and my kids can barely reach it. I would have put something on the counter in that corner too, making it even more not accessible. Now i feel like they will never be used because of the location of the switch. Guess I assumed any changes or options would be run by us

I am sorry that you had such a poor experience with your designer as my experience was completely the opposite. She listened and explained why certain choices made sense. It was a complete collaboration.

In fact she was here for a few hours yesterday because I wanted to add some additional stuff to the interior of my cabinets as well as hang a chandelier - so she was supervising the electrician in terms of the best way to hang the chandelier and connect to an outlet; supervise my cabinet maker in terms of where I wanted additional shelving and dealing with my GC who popped in to take a look at grout on my balcony as well as a plank in my wood floor that for some reason had a higher edge - and while he was here he cleaned out the drain in my shower which had become a bit sluggish all of a sudden.

Our local code says that outlets have to be installed such that no point along the wall is more than 24" away from an outlet. This usually means 4' on center spacing of outlets. It also says you have to have one within 24" on center of the edge of the sink.

I'm the general on our kitchen project, so I worked with the electrician on placement of the outlets. We still had a bit of a misunderstanding on placement based on the sink cabinet width but it was easy to correct.

I'm shocked by how many outlets I have in my small kitchen. It's a u-shape so there are corners that drive the 4' distance (it's measured around the corner). Before we ripped out the kitchen, I had 3 outlets all on one circuit, including the fridge. Super not to code.

I think you won't notice the outlets once everything is done and you've put anything at all on the counter.

Nice space!

I think the outlets are fine. Not sure why you wouldn’t want an outlet on a bar. Where do you plug in your blender for the umbrella cocktails, or your warming plate if you want to use it for serving. Outlets are much to handy to not want any, just sayin’

@nskeca I'm really sorry. Your designer just hasn't come through for you. A responsible desginer would have heard your requests and specified under-counter outlets and switches. And he/she would have helped you negotiate this with the contractor, because it really doesn't cost that much more. Is it a small thing? Maybe. But it was something you wanted, and it was something you reasonably could have had, and the experts you trusted and paid did not help you. That sucks.

@Kate we just want to keep one outlet, not two, on the bar.

Provided one of those outlets is at the end of a run, you should be able to remove it easily enough back to the previous outlet. Not sure how yours were wired and im also not an electrician.

My husband just moved our outlets to underneath the cabinets. It required a permit. It wasn't hard for him to do. Here, your outlets must be no higher than 20" from the countertop. We are having a marble slab backsplash installed and we wanted a clean look without outlets.

An electrician wanted $800 to do the work. We couldn't get him scheduled in time, so my husband did the work.

Both outlets are required. One would not meet code. If you had a cabinet seller, and not a kitchen designer, you likely didnt get any electrical or lighting plans.

I would also have the four gang switch replaced with one that has the same rocker style as the new ones in your kitchen.

It sure sounds like from your comments it will be worth it to you for the cost to move outlets ("receptacles" and "switches" are both types of "outlets"). Lesson learned for the next project.

While you're moving them, please vertically align the beverage center outlets with something, either the other kitchen outlets or the 4-gang switches. The cabinet lighting switches in both the bev/main are a little odd, as you have to approach a cabinet and lean over the counter to turn them on. If not hidden, really they should either be associated with other switch locations or at the end of counter runs.

To remove the 2nd receptacle, as others said any counter over 4 feet requires 2 receptacles. You can inquire about moving one to the side of the cabinet base, which may present other customized issues with the drawers.

But, but, but, it surely doesn't cost "thousands" to install undercabinet lighting! Here is one undercabinet light (wireless) for under $20 . Granted it was 10 years ago, but we added undercabinet lighting to our existing kitchen cabinets (wired). I purchased the lights at home depot and had an electrician come out. I'm sure it didn't even take him more than a few hours (?).

I wonder how many items you compromised on because your contractor over-quoted you just because he/she/they didn't want to bother doing it?

https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Cabinet-Counter-Dimmable-Activated/dp/B09NRJ37KX/ref=asc_df_B09NRJ37KX/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=563646982923&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9587892630724655989&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031293&hvtargid=pla-1596990333576&psc=1

@Mrs. S i believe it was the cost of moving the wires that was thousands, not the actual lights (given not a new build). We just wanted the outlets to be disguised/minimized, and the job was done without any discussion. And unfortunately, no responses as of yet to our email about it.

I still do not understand. I'm telling you that it took our electrician a few hours to install about 8 or so of those lights into our already existing cabinetry, using wires from our already existing outlets, already installed in the wall at similar locations around the kitchen.

Where do you live where pulling wires through a wall from an outlet to a cabinet a foot or two away costs thousands of dollars? I live in a HCOLA, and I know it wouldn't cost that. Your wires are already there, nearby.

I want to defer, and someone who knows what electricians charge (given the pandemic) and given any other circumstances related to your buildout, might dictate. I'm just saying that in my experience, with hiring electricians here and there to move things, that it wouldn't cost thousands.

I think it looks fine. Once you have things on the counter, you won't notice the outlets. I would think you'd want to plug in a blender for drinks and maybe hot-plates, etc. I would like having the additional outlets.

Jane

Update: contractor charging us $150/hour for his 2 electricians (one is a helper, but they charge for 2 ’electricians’) to return and put the 3 sets of switches/outlets into 2 switches/outlets switches. Contractor says the wires were roughed in for 2 weeks and its our fault for not noticing them until installed, though he never spoke to us about location/options. Also says undermount lighting looks industrial and not a great idea. At least it will look a little cleaner.