Can a receptacle be placed directly behind a kitchen or bathroom sink? I have always taken that the 24" and 36" are measured from the edge of the basin. Therefore to me the area inside the edges were restricted.

Any thoughts?
Thanks

Joe- the answer is yes to both locations. As a matter of fact the graphic in the '05 code even illustrates it for a kitchen sink. I've always had reservations about locating a receptacle on the wall behind a cooktop above the cooktop but I can't see any restrictions on that either. One could use the inspectors judgment that it would be subject to physical damage (heat) but I guess the inspector could be correct. The other part of the question might be- What would you use it for? That's right there with the restriction on puting a receptacle in a shower (Prohibited by code unless listed for that purpose) I don't even want to know what you'd use a receptacle in a shower for.

Thaks, if you look at the illustration of Figure 210.52 it shows space behind the sink. I came across a sink with about 2" of counter top behind it and a receptacle directly behind the facut. I felt it would be more dangours if someone wanted to use it. Other than a safety factor, I do not see any code that would inhibit it.

We do have a little bit of a safety net here with GFCI protection required for these locations.

I was on another forum where a member wrote in. He was on a job for a guy who had a large rental complex. It seems that this owner wanted a receptacle on the wall directly above each electric range. He couldn't seem to get how a cord would end up in the soup. The electrician was trying to appease this guy because he gave them a lot of work. Never did hear the final outcome.

Ughck! Amperage flavored soup!

I have never in my life seen a receptacle placed directly above an oven range on purpose.

They used to sell elecgric ranges with a NEMA 5-15 receptacle built in.

Code doesn't consider the sink to be countertop space, so I'd tend to think that a receptacle behind the sink, while not prohibited, might not count towards the 24/48" requirement. Kinda splitting hairs there, though.