Electrical outlet in the kitchen

December 2009, Kislev 5770

The kitchen is one of the areas where a home inspection engineer often finds construction defects.

When a kitchen is designed, the location of the outlets and switches matters. The main consideration is proximity to major appliances such as the refrigerator, oven, and dishwasher, plus a few extra outlets for portable appliances like a food processor, blender, or water dispenser.

The electrical points must also stay clear of other infrastructure, such as gas and water piping, as required by the Electricity Law.

Another key consideration is distance from any open flame. Electrical outlets and phone points should never be installed above the stovetop. The reason is straightforward: if an appliance is plugged in while the stovetop is on, the flame can heat and melt the insulation around its cord. At best that causes a short circuit; at worst, electrocution and a real danger to life.

This defect turned up during a home inspection carried out in Jerusalem. In the apartment shown in the photo, the inspection found an electrical outlet and a telephone outlet installed about 25 cm above the stovetop: a serious safety defect that our home inspection expert identified.

With slightly more careful planning, or a home inspection done at the design stage, the phone outlet could have gone on the side wall below the switches, where the phone sits anyway, and the electrical outlet could have been moved to the left, clear of the stovetop.

Since the resident was never given the electrical plan, there is no way to tell whether the fault lies in the design or in workmanship that departed from it. Either way, under the Sale (Apartments) Law, the developer selling the apartment is responsible for both the design and the execution, so it is on the developer to repair the defect.