bigdog wrote:I inspected a home the other day and the 1/2 bath had no receptacle.
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210.11(3) doesn't list any exceptions where a "bathroom" could be without one. Am I missing something. Could the AHJ allowed this?....or just missed it.
David,
When was the house constructed? Prior to 1975? Prior to GFCI protection being required for bathroom receptacles, no receptacles were "required" in bathrooms.
That is because the code did not want to "require" a receptacle in a location which was known for creating a hazard and many injuries/deaths. Once GFCI protection came out, that protection allowed the code to require receptacles in bathrooms without creating a hazard.
After the 1975 NEC, yes, all bathrooms required receptacles ("bathroom" as defined by the NEC, which included power rooms and half bathrooms).
I inspected a new house in South Florida, Cooper City as I recall, about 20-25 years ago and the electrical inspector happened to be in the house doing their final inspection at the same time I was there doing my inspection - I pointed out to the supt. that the 1/2 bath did not have a receptacle - the supt started bragging that THEY don't need to install a receptacle there because the electrical inspector does not require them to install a receptacle in a 1/2 bath.
I pointed out that the code requires a receptacle in ALL bathrooms and ... (I was just about to say something about inspectors miss things just like we all do) ... the electrical inspector, who had apparently been on the other side of the wall listening to our conversation, stepped into the doorway of the 1/2 bath and said to the supt 'You mean there is NO receptacle in this bathroom?'
The supt said 'No, we never install a receptacle in our half bathrooms because no one ever makes ys do it, so we DO NOT HAVE TO.'
The inspector said 'Oh ... you DO NOT HAVE TO?' To which the supt said 'Nope. Never have and never will.' - That was the wrong thing to say to that electrical inspector.
The electrical inspector then told the supt that he must have just not noticed that there was no receptacle in there, but that a receptacle was REQUIRED in there and that they (the contractor) WILL INSTALL ONE.
The supt was a bit slow on realizing what was going on, so he told the electrical inspector 'No, we don't have to, and we have not installed one in any of the other houses either.' The electrical inspector said 'Oh, how many other houses?' The contractor replied 'About 15 so far.'
The electrical inspector had the last word by saying 'Oh, 15 houses, huh? I guess I will be back on Monday to check for receptacles in ALL THE OTHER HOUSES - your electrical contractor WILL INSTALL receptacles in ALL BATHROOMS in all the other houses over the weekend by MONDAY'.
That made my day right there.
If the supt had not brought up all the other houses, I suspect the electrical inspector would have let them slide - but the supt brought all the other houses into the discussion, the inspector had no choice but to address those other houses the same as the house we were in.
What's that old saying: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln
Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:13 pm