putting an outlet in a ceramic tile floor

Posted by Toller on December 2, 2005, 12:34 am

> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

>> Yes, a floor outlet cannot be just in the floor facing up.

> No but there are recessed fittings that have them facing upwards.

>> There are housings made for that type of application that sit on
>> top of the floor.

> Yes, a much better solution for this situation although the whole thing
> may
> not be such a great idea depending how close to the door we're talking.
> If
> it's where people come in with dripping shoes, coats, and umbrellas, and
> maybe snow/slush it's a very bad idea. GFI a must of course. I wonder
> why
> the outlet can't be conventionally mounted in one of the walls.
> Presumably
> he has access to a basement or crawlspace underneath if he's proposing a
> floor outlet.

She wants it in the corner which has the open stairway to the basement on
both sides, so there is no wall to put it into. It could be put into the
side of the stairs, but the box is thicker than the stair material so it
would look awful, and getting the cable to it would be a challenge. There
is a table over where it would go, so it is reasonably well protected on the
floor. There is acess to the floor from below.
She suggested putting it down below, actually in the top of the basement
wall and running a cord through the stairs, but the floor joists make
anything but a surface box impossible, and that would be hideous. Putting
it below the floor joists woud probably be possible, but then it would be a
good 6' from where she wants it.

All in all, it is not a good place for an outlet.

Posted by louie on December 2, 2005, 9:23 am

There are lower profile boxes available that might fit within your
narrow wall, though I'm not sure about code for one of those.

Posted by RicodJour on December 2, 2005, 10:22 am

Toller wrote:

> She wants it in the corner which has the open stairway to the basement on
> both sides, so there is no wall to put it into. It could be put into the
> side of the stairs, but the box is thicker than the stair material so it
> would look awful, and getting the cable to it would be a challenge. There
> is a table over where it would go, so it is reasonably well protected on the
> floor. There is acess to the floor from below.
> She suggested putting it down below, actually in the top of the basement
> wall and running a cord through the stairs, but the floor joists make
> anything but a surface box impossible, and that would be hideous. Putting
> it below the floor joists woud probably be possible, but then it would be a
> good 6' from where she wants it.
> All in all, it is not a good place for an outlet.

Even open stairways have railings. Can you run the wiring inside a
routed channel in one of the spindles?

I personally think that a floor outlet would look pretty hideous under
an open table next to an open stairway.

Is this whole thing for a table lamp? How about having a hanging
fixture instead?

R

Posted by mm on December 2, 2005, 1:19 pm

>She wants it in the corner which has the open stairway to the basement on
>both sides, so there is no wall to put it into. It could be put into the
>side of the stairs, but the box is thicker than the stair material so it
>would look awful, and getting the cable to it would be a challenge. There
>is a table over where it would go, so it is reasonably well protected on the
>floor. There is acess to the floor from below.
>She suggested putting it down below, actually in the top of the basement
>wall and running a cord through the stairs, but the floor joists make
>anything but a surface box impossible, and that would be hideous. Putting
>it below the floor joists woud probably be possible, but then it would be a
>good 6' from where she wants it.
>All in all, it is not a good place for an outlet.

I can't really visualize this yet, so I apologize if I'm insulting
you, but what about near where you want to mount it now, but on the
side of the floor. If there are stairs, there must be a visible floor
side. Between the top and the bottom, the floor of the first floor
and the ceiling of the basement.

Or what about on its side inside the floor, accessed from the floor
side, with just a hole in the tile to run the wire through. That way
you won't have to cut a rectangle, just drill one hole. And any
water that goes through will land on the bottom of the inside of the
floor, in front of the receptacle, if you put the recpt. back from the
hole a bit. You could even run the wire through the hole and connect
the plug to the wire after it comes out the other side., to enable a
smaller hole. [other ideas] If this seems unsafe, you could line the
hole with a plastic tube glued in place, or a rubber grommet, with the
top side cut off, glued in place.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

Posted by on December 5, 2005, 5:26 pm

wrote:

>>She wants it in the corner which has the open stairway to the basement on
>>both sides, so there is no wall to put it into. It could be put into the
>>side of the stairs, but the box is thicker than the stair material so it
>>would look awful, and getting the cable to it would be a challenge. There
>>is a table over where it would go, so it is reasonably well protected on the
>>floor. There is acess to the floor from below.
>>She suggested putting it down below, actually in the top of the basement
>>wall and running a cord through the stairs, but the floor joists make
>>anything but a surface box impossible, and that would be hideous. Putting
>>it below the floor joists woud probably be possible, but then it would be a
>>good 6' from where she wants it.
>>All in all, it is not a good place for an outlet.

>I can't really visualize this yet, so I apologize if I'm insulting
>you, but what about near where you want to mount it now, but on the
>side of the floor. If there are stairs, there must be a visible floor
>side. Between the top and the bottom, the floor of the first floor
>and the ceiling of the basement.
>Or what about on its side inside the floor, accessed from the floor
>side, with just a hole in the tile to run the wire through. That way
>you won't have to cut a rectangle, just drill one hole. And any
>water that goes through will land on the bottom of the inside of the
>floor, in front of the receptacle, if you put the recpt. back from the
>hole a bit. You could even run the wire through the hole and connect
>the plug to the wire after it comes out the other side., to enable a
>smaller hole. [other ideas] If this seems unsafe, you could line the
>hole with a plastic tube glued in place, or a rubber grommet, with the
>top side cut off, glued in place.
>Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
>me know if you have posted also.

I can not visualize this either, but look into WIREMOLD. It can be
mounted right on the wall surface and the channel can go down thru a
tiny hole in the floor under it (about a 5/8" hole), which would be
much easier to drill thru the tile, or cut into the baseboard. At the
underside you can run romex as normal. Go to your local building
center and ask to look at Wiremold.

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