Yup - I chickened out as some peeps didn't like the plugmold. I have more plugs than I will ever need. Sparky did not rip out the sheet rock to install the plug mold but I wasn't there when he did it. I remember one problem - the cold air return caused a problem and to meet code, we had to bridge across on this one - This one is visible if you are a kid or sitting low. I ended up with 3 wall outlets. In retrospect, I might have kept the one in the corner and nuked the other 2. If I had gone with an air switch for my GD, I would have skipped the outlet and switch. The one in my bake zone also has a light switch with it - so I put a plug in there also - It is nice having the UCL switch in 2 locations, but might have nuked both. The corner one has the coffee pot plugged into it and DH leaves it plugged in all of the time. Some GWers don't like the pigtails hanging down - so if you know where your permanent items will live, you could put a few wall mount plugs in place. We used WireMold - it looks more like a power strip than the commercial plug mold. The GC mounted an angled piece of wood at the back edge and the plug mold is mounted at ~45 degrees. Plug mold is in the back - LEDs in front - we had to move them back a bit to decrease shadows

Yes, that's what davidandkasie was talking about. The box extender just screws into the old box after the granite is on, thereby extending the surface out to the front of the granite. It's definitely a DIY project with a caveat - TURN THE POWER TO THE OUTLET OFF BEFORE you work on it. If you are unsure which circuit breaker it's connected to, plug a lamp into it and when the lamp goes out you know you have the right one (plug the lamp into both sockets of the outlet to make sure). Then unscrew the top and bottom screws on the actual outlet before the granite goes on, pull it out a bit and wrap a piece of electrical tape completely around the sides so that it covers the screws you will see there. This protects you and the installers against a shock since you will probably want to turn the power back on before the granite goes in. After the granite is installed, slip the extender over the outlet and screw it into the box. Then screw the outlet onto the extender with the same two screws, then the switchplate goes on. Get a 1" (or 1 1/4" if available) extender. It's okay if the extender is a little short of the surface, but obviously it's not okay if it extends past the granite.

Thanks so much! I think (all fingers crossed), we may have a solution - but if you think not, PLEASE post! Todds: we have about 4-1/4-in. from front of engineered stone to the wall behind - so about 3-in. from back of stone to wall. I think the pic below is a blue retrofit box, and it's about 2-7/8-in. deep. It has the dog ears that may be tightened to grab onto the stone. (At Lowe's suggestion, I also bought a bigger one just for the longer screws). Markw: We are replacing countertop, not installing new, so the box was there before. We removed the box so I could take it to Lowe's and hardware store to try to find something without the protruding pieces. In both cases, I was told that our old box was no longer made (it's about 30 yrs old), and that the new boxes are a bit larger. I did find metal ones with no protruding edges, but the blue plastic one seems to be the keeper (I hope). It won't be a problem for the installer to cut a bigger hole - it was just those protruding pieces that fell within the 1-1/4-in. depth of the stone that caused problems. Circuspeanut: We don't have drywall immediately behind the stone, but rather 4-inches away on the outside wall of the house. But I think I see what you mean about attaching the outlet to box, and the box is held on to the stone by the dog ear flaps? Brickeyee: I bought a box extender, but I think it won't be needed with blue retrofit box? You're no doubt right about the installer. He's been installing countertops for 8 years, often with a 4-in. backsplash, but none of the photos on his website show any electrical outlet cutouts in the backsplash. I definitely selected him because he was much less money that others, and believe me, I sweated that decision. But there was no vendor whom I could afford. Thanks so much, all -- thankfully, my stupidity in things mechanical does not extend to all areas of my life!

"Isn't is proximity to the water that dictates placement and GFI, etc?" All kitchen counter outlets must be GFCI protected. Other outlets within 6 feet (IIRC) of water sources ALSO must be GFCI protected under the most recent code (that may not even be in effect in our area). The only thing the NEC prohibits is receptacles face up in counters. There are other restrictions about them being to high above the counter, or below the counter in the cabinet face if the counter overhang is large. Two separate 20 amp circuits are required, and they can only have limited things on them besides the kitchen counter receptacles. This post was edited by brickeyee on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 15:34