My neighbor the electrician made me feel dumb about my outlet spacing

Spent 3 hours last Saturday measuring out outlets in my garage reno and my neighbor Bob (licensed electrician for 20 yrs) walked by and said 'you know code allows for more than one outlet on a 20 amp circuit right?' I was so focused on following some YouTube guide that I forgot the basic rules. Has anyone else had a pro casually drop a truth bomb that made you rethink your whole approach?

3 comments

3 Comments

wood.uma3d ago

Actually, code does require at least one outlet every 12 feet along a wall though.

miles_robinson203d ago

Guess we found the guy who reads code books for fun on weekends. Respect though, the 12 foot rule trips people up all the time because everyone forgets about doorways and corners breaking up that measurement. But yeah, good luck getting 12 feet of wall space in a bathroom without hitting a vanity or toilet. Code enforcement loves watching people fight over that one. Ngl this is exactly the kind of argument that makes me glad I just pay an electrician and let them deal with the headache.

the_sean3d ago

Wait, is that the residential code or commercial? I read somewhere that the 12 foot rule is actually for commercial spaces and residential has different spacing requirements depending on the room. I remember seeing a post from an electrician on another forum saying a lot of people mix those up and end up with too many or too few outlets. Plus there's exceptions for things like kitchens and bathrooms where you need them closer together anyway. It's one of those codes that sounds simple but has like a dozen different conditions once you start checking it.