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My house is on a slab with the electrical coming from the ceiling. I thought that using the outlet strips and having them hard wired with the connections being accessible through the fixture would avoid unnecessary holes in the cabinetry. Instead, the contractor lowered the existing backsplash outlets into the bottom cabinets!! I do not understand how this could possibly be code as he insists since there was more wire added behind the wall to extend these outlets to the cabinet interior!! I feel like my expensive cabinets have been trashed and there is a hazard with the outlets being accessible to foreign objects or fingers. Can anyone explain?

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FreeMan
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Greenlady0
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    How about some pictures so we can see what you see. – JACK Oct 02 '22 at 20:59
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    Poor communication all around. Kitchen countertop outlets **are required anywhere NEC applies.** Not just Atlanta, GA. Sounds like you said "Don't want them in the backsplash" and your contractor complied with that directive. Arguably they should have pointed out that the outlets are required, and that moving them from the backsplash meant they were going to be somewhere else. Could be they tried to do that and you insisted? Unclear from here. [Edit]ing in some pictures would be helpful. – Ecnerwal Oct 02 '22 at 22:15
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    photo added I think the contractor misinterpreted code. My understanding is everything you folks mentioned. This makes no sense. – Greenlady0 Oct 04 '22 at 04:05
  • An outlet under the sink is _very common_ for plugging in a garbage disposal and sometimes a dishwasher. These (like all kitchen outlets) need to be GFCI protected, and if there are little fingers that may poke at them, there need to be "child proof" locks on the cabinet doors to protect said little fingers. – FreeMan Oct 04 '22 at 12:55
  • Ok, the outlet on the right could be for your range and the one in the open space for your dishwasher, so those are both ok, but the one in the narrow cabinet on the far left, I cannot for the life of me understand why it would be there! If it were me I would want it moved up to the backsplash. – Glen Yates Oct 04 '22 at 14:51
  • One more thing, what are those wires for under the upper cabinets on either side of the window, undercabinet lighting? If so, I would want those wires moved up to exit the sheetrock directly under the bottom edge of the cabinet, best to do it now while it is easily fixable. – Glen Yates Oct 04 '22 at 14:55

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Code allows receptacles almost anywhere. But normally you have (and I think code requires) receptacles in a kitchen every 4' (certain exceptions around doors, appliances, etc.) in accessible places. I understand that to mean:

  • backsplash (most common)
  • in the countertop (though I don't recommend that because they can get wet too easily)
  • on the end of a base cabinet just below the counter (I have one of those, very convenient)
  • on the bottom (i.e., accessible from underneath) of top cabinets
  • hanging down from the ceiling (unusual, but can work well for islands)

Anything inside a cabinet (top or base) is a problem because you will inevitably put stuff inside the cabinet which will block the receptacle. Plus most cords running from inside the cabinet to the counter will not be long enough as the 4' distance is based on cords being 2 to 3 feet long, and much of that will be used up just getting from the door to the receptacle.

So this all sounds a bit messed up. I'm not worried about the look (not my cabinets...) but I am worried about the functionality.

manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
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    Dishwasher plug ok garbage disposal has hardwire going into cabinet throough metal sleeve. Cook top and wall oven ok. My thoughts of stupidity for small cabinet with outlet. wires on upper cabinets on either side of window for the requested outlet strips!!! – Greenlady0 Oct 05 '22 at 17:07