New bookcases cover receptacles [duplicate]

Question

I’d like to splice into the lines coming into the existing boxes and extend out and under the cases, through the base on which the cases are mounted and put the receptacles in the baseboard at the bottoms of the book cases. Is a concealed box with spliced Romex a code issue?

Answer 1

With some very rare exceptions (there is a type of splice approved for repairs, not always easy to find and I don't know if deliberate extension, as opposed to repairing damage in existing wires, would be permitted with these splices), all connections must be readily accessible. Normally this means requiring nothing more than an ordinary screwdriver to remove a cover plate, and definitely not hidden inside a wall that is blocked by permanently installed (if screwed to the wall, that's permanently installed, even if you plan to remove it when you sell the house) cabinets, bookcases, etc.

You have a few options:

Run a new circuit from the panel

Moderately easy if you have an unfinished basement below with easy access to the panel, etc. Much harder if the level below is finished and/or the panel is on the other side of the house, etc.

Extend an existing accessible circuit - e.g., from a receptacle box that is not going to be blocked

Depending on the layout of the room and location of other receptacles, this might not be that hard. Or it could be just as hard as running a new circuit from the panel.

Extend the existing box so that it is mounted in the back wall of the bookcase

This is easy. You either use an extender like this Arlington from Amazon (generally better to buy electrical stuff from a Home Depot/Lowes/etc. or a local hardware store, but Arlington is legit. and Amazon has great pictures):

This won't get you to the ideal location (baseboard) but is easy to do.

Relocate the box as far as possible under the bookcase, hopefully far enough

This gets a little tricky. If the cables are coming from below then it should be possible to, essentially, use the 12" or so of vertical to go straight out instead:

• Cut a small hole in the wall below the existing box to see if the cable is coming from above, below or the side. If it is coming from below and there are no other cables (e.g., going to other receptacles) going out the top or sides) then:
• Cut a strip of wall from the existing box down to the floor
• Remove the cable(s) from the existing box
• If there are any staples or straps holding the cable(s) to the stud, remove them.
• Bend the cable(s) near the floor to point straight out towards the middle of the room
• If the cable(s) reach all the way to the future bookcase baseboard, great. Keep in mind you should have ~ 6" of wires inside the box. If your existing receptacle box started 12" above the floor then you should have ~ 10" of cable (plus hopefully an existing 6" of unsheathed wires) to work with.

If your bookcase is a typical 12" depth and you recess your baseboards with a toe kick area (standard for kitchen cabinets, not as standard for bookcases, but *very helpful here for wiring purposes) then you should be able to mount a box right behind and attached to the baseboard/toe kick, generally horizontal instead of vertical layout, and it should be just right.

There is actually another advantage to a toe kick area in this setup (besides needing slightly shorter cables) - wire management. Without a toe kick area, any wires, USB adapters, etc. will be in the path of traffic, chairs or other furniture being moved around, etc. A toe kick area conveniently gives a place to keep adapters from being bumped, wires tangled, etc.

Answer 2

The whole problem seems to boil down to the NEC's interpretation of "exposed". Running wire into a bookshelf is nothing like burying it inside a wall. A bookcase is not guaranteed to any level of strength or stationarity, I can imagine several scenarios where the wire would be or become exposed. (Maybe you don't glue a shelf down and lo, a proverbial inspector can flip it up and find Romex there). I didn't know a lot about "exposed" and the sources are all over the place. Here's an interesting take on the UL articulated finger, seeing if one can touch the wire somehow. This may be a grey area.

Have you considered the easier solution yet? That is to just run a power strip from behind the case. This meets all code considerations in the US - the main thing is I can't imagine running any high voltage things consistently on this outlet, I imagine a phone charger or two perhaps. There are power strips with 90 degree heads that can slip underneath anything without a problem. You may need to drill a couple holes to route the cable, but it's not unlike setting up a built-in desk. Most important, I think a receptacle cover would more likely look clumsy on a bookcase compared to a power strip which could be well hidden depending on what you're dealing with.

Answer 3

I think the best way forward is to create j-box access panels in the backs (1/2 thick) of the bookcases. I’ll run romex down the inside of the wall and out through my 6” high bases to the 6” high baseboard. I’ve been creating inbuilts for almost 40 years and it’s been a while since I’ve dealt with any electrical stuff.

Btw these bookcases are 12 1/2 feet high and flank a huge window in a converted church. The ceiling is about 20’ and doing a home run to the panel, for my nearly 70 year old bones would be about 80’ through a 200 year old, 18” crawl space.

Ain’t gonna happen.