i have a fireplace in the midde of a room,
it will be a fancy stone type with a hearth and mantle. is this considered wall space?
the wording unbroken has got me confused or more to the point unsure. i think not but want to make sure.
thanx guys,
h20

This is clearly broken wall space, but also a place where following NEC minimum is probably bad design. People put things that use electricity on mantles all the time, eg. clocks or lamps.

-Jon

IMHO this is not wall space period. But if you need power on this fireplace it would be permitted to install electrical wiring in/on the fireplace as long as it was not subject or a temperature that would exceed the rating of the insulation. If you did not install a receptacle on this stand alone fireplace the inspector would be hard pressed to quote a written code violation.

Your question seems to indicate that this is a stand alone fireplace.

If there are 2x4 walls associated with this fireplace, then those walls would be subject to the receptacle rules. If this is a 100%, all four sides, masonry fireplace, then it depends. Are there sections of your fireplace with a dimension of 2 feet? IMO the same rules for a three piece sliding glass door would apply for the fireplace.(with the fireplace part(s) with the mantle being treated as the slider part). Floor mounted receptacle outlets may be the answer.

watersparkfalls,
is this fireplace dividing a wall or is it in the center of the room with all 4 sides exposed in the middle of the room?

If 210.52(A)(2)(1) exempts fireplaces from receptacles when in the wall space (nothing in the wording for mantels) why would you ask for a plug on the fireplace if it were free standing?

this fireplace is in the center, no 2x4 walls at all. i dont want to put one there george just making sure the ahj can't/won't ask for one it doesn't make sense to have one there, granted the home owner hasn't asked for one. but i could chase a wire though for a outlet on the mantle for xmas decorations or lamp like winnie suggested but i'm not inclined to suggest it to homeowner.

I'd pitch a floor box to the homeowner.

They're going to want power there.

They likely don't want the fireplace impacted by a receptacle.

A floor box is going to be much more practical to install than trying to scheme up some brickwork workaround.