Rough In Height For Electrical Outlets

As a result heights are often a matter of convention or preference.

Rough in height for electrical outlets. The national electrical code never lists a height requirement. In a new home addition or major remodeling project electrical wiring and boxes are roughed in before the walls and insulated and drywalled. The time to install boxes for electrical fixtures in your new building is after you ve completed the framing and before you cover the walls. Rough in electrical boxes make sure wall switches are located with proper respect to door swing and wall outlets will not conflict with tile cabinents casework or baseboard heating.

Although the national electrical code nec has many very precise regulations for most aspects of residential wiring it does not specify one height for standard wall outlets receptacles or for light switches. Electrical code and box heights. The americans with disabilities act recommends receptacles no lower than 19 to center of receptacle. Add 2x4 blocks to position boxes away from wide window and door trim.

Mark the height from the floor to the center of the boxes usually 48 in. Tradition has the height for most floor line receptacles about 12 to the bottom of the box. The electrical code has few restrictions about the placement of boxes for electrical receptacles and you can set them at virtually any height provided they don t interfere with something else such as baseboard heaters. This seems to be a convenient height for using the plug and won t interfere with the installation of most types of coving materials.

There is no standard height. For switches and 12 in. For outlets or line them up with existing boxes to determine electrical outlet height.