How To Look At A House

McGarry and Madsen's home inspection blog for buyers of  

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ELECTRIC RECEPTACLE OUTLETS

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Here’s links to a collection of our blog posts about "ELECTRIC RECEPTACLE OUTLETS":

 • What is the difference between what trips a GFCI (ground fault) receptacle and a circuit breaker?

What causes an arc fault? 

What is the code requirement for GFCI protection for receptacles near a wet bar sink?

What is the requirement for a service receptacle outlet for heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HACR) equipment? 

Why is an opening in the wall around the side of an electrical receptacle outlet a safety defect? 

When was GFCI-protection for kitchen dishwasher receptacle outlet first required? 

What is allowable voltage range at a wall receptacle outlet in a house?

What is a "while-in-use" weatherproof electrical receptacle outlet cover?

When should I replace electric receptacle outlets? 

Does an electric receptacle outlet in a storage shed require GFCI protection?

What are "self-contained" electrical receptacle outlets and switches?

Will a GFCI receptacle that is not grounded still function properly? 

What is the difference between an electrical receptacle, an outlet, and a plug?

Does a washing machine receptacle outlet require GFCI protection?

What is the building code requirement for receptacle outlets at stairs and stair landings?

Can I remove a 240-volt range receptacle and hard-wire the range? 

What is a "backstab" receptacle outlet? 

Why are some electric receptacle outlets upside down (ground slot up) in a house?   

What is the height requirement for an electric receptacle outlet? 

Where are GFCI receptacle outlets required?

When were GFCI receptacle outlets first required?

 Does a home inspector remove receptacle outlet cover plates?

What is the minimum height for an exterior receptacle outlet? 

When was the current receptacle/outlet spacing of 12-feet first required? 

When was the three-slot (grounding) outlet/receptacle first required? 

Why does painting an electric receptacle (outlet) make it unsafe?

Why are electrical outlets and plugs polarized? 

How many electrical receptacle outlets are required in a hallway? 

What problems does having too many electric receptacle outlets on a single circuit cause?  

Is a house required to have outdoor electric receptacle outlets?

How I can tell if a receptacle outlet is tamper resistant?

Why is there a GFCI breaker in the electric panel for the bathroom shower light and exhaust fan?

What is a false ground, bootleg ground, or cheated ground receptacle? 

How can adding wood paneling or a wainscot create an electrical safety hazard?

How far apart should kitchen counter receptacles be spaced?  

How far above a kitchen countertop do electrical outlets have to be?

What is reversed polarity at an outlet/receptacle? Why is it dangerous? 

How high above the floor do electric outlets/receptacles in a garage have to be?

How far apart should electric receptacles be spaced in a bathroom? 

Is an ungrounded electric receptacle outlet dangerous?

My bathroom electric receptacle/outlet is dead and there are no tripped breakers in the electric panel. What's wrong?  

Is there an adapter that can be placed on a two-slot receptacle to make it safe? 

How do the new tamper-resistant electric outlets work?

Why is there no bathroom electric receptacle in this old house?

How can I tell if the electric receptacle outlets are grounded? 

How far apart should the electrical receptacles be placed?

What are the most common problems/defects found with electric receptacle outlets during a home inspection?  

What is the code requirement for receptacle outlets in a closet?

How far apart should electric receptacle outlets be placed in a garage? 

What is the code requirement for receptacle outlets in a foyer? 

• When were receptacle outlets in the crawlspace under a home first required to be GFCI?

• How can I troubleshoot a dead receptacle outlet? 

• Why is the National Electrical Code (NEC) so hard to understand and complicated?

• Does a home inspector check every electrical receptacle outlet in a house?

• What is the minimum number of receptacle outlets required in a house? 

How do I find where the first receptacle outlet in a circuit is located?

• What is an open front plug? 

What is a dead front plug?

• How far away does a receptacle outlet have to be from a sink? 

What is the maximum gap allowed around a receptacle outlet box in a wall?

• What is code for receptacle outlet spacing? 

How many receptacle outlets are required in a bedroom?

• Should the ground slot of a receptacle outlet be on the top or bottom? 

• How long must a wall space be to require a receptacle outlet? 

Do outdoor receptacle outlets need to be covered?

• Do exterior receptacle outlets need to be on a separate circuit? 

What locations are exempt from the tamper resistant receptacle requirement by code?

• Do receptacle outlets have to be grounded? 

Can you plug a surge protector into a two prong outlet?

• What is code for receptacle outlet spacing? 

Do floor receptacle outlets count for code spacing requirements?

• What is code for distance from receptacle outlet to a door? 

How many receptacle outlets should be in a room?

• Do receptacle outlets have to be grounded? 

Are two-prong outlets up to code and legal?

• Does code require receptacle on wall behind door swing? 

What is minimum distance from sink to receptacle outlet?

• What causes excessive voltage drop at a wall receptacle outlet? 

 What can I do about an apartment with only two prong/slot receptacle outlets?

• Why do some receptacle outlets have a T-shaped hole? 

Can a receptacle outlet be installed horizontally face-up by code?

• Can you put a receptacle outlet in a pantry closet? 

How far away does a receptacle outlet have to be from a plug-and-play spa/hot tub per code?

• Does code require an exterior electrical receptacle outlet near the front door of a house? 

How many receptacle outlets per room required by code?

• Does a kitchen island counter require a electrical outlet by code? 

• What is code for bathroom receptacle outlet spacing?

• When did the code change from minimum one receptacle per garage to one receptacle per garage vehicle bay? 

• How many outdoor receptacle outlets are required by code? 

• What is code requirement for receptacle outlets at a porch, deck, or balcony?

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