Horizontal Outlets for Dummy DIY Electricians

Horizontal outlet box

We don't think people say it often enough, so we're perfectly happy to repeat it: you're a lot more likely to get useful advice from people who know what they're talking about than from your garden-variety freelancer at a content farm. Think about it: would you rather learn how to wire a house from someone who gets paid to wire houses, or from someone who gets paid to reword content they found somewhere on the internet? We know who we'd prefer... and it probably wouldn't be freelancer Nathan Fisher, who penned "How to Mount Electrical Receptacles Sideways" at HomeSteady.com.

Nate, here with his second attempt to be crafty, went with the rather frightening assumption that you might want to follow this scenario:

"A common example of mounting an electrical receptacle sideways would be over a kitchen sink, between the counter backsplash and a window."

No electrician would ever do that, mainly because no one uses electrical appliances in the sink, plus the faucet would be in the way. But, since that what Fisher thinks might be the application, let's run with that. Here's what Nate says:

"Through some electricians will debate the orientation of the receptacle and the position of its grounds, there is no functional difference."

No, Nathan, that's not what your reference was talking about: the debate was whether the ground hole in a plug should be at the top or the bottom. Dumbass! Nate also "informed" his readers that,

"When mounting an electrical receptacle sideways, you should use a metal electrical box with spring flanges or clips."

Moron, that's (probably) an "old-work" box. Anyway, here's how Nate says to perform this task...

1. Turn off the power.
2. Trace the box outline on the wallboard and cut it out with a keyhole saw.
3. Pull the cable(s) through the holes in the back.
4. Install the box
5. Attach the wires to the receptacle "by connecting the hot wire to the brass screw, the white wire to the silver screw and the bare ground wire to the green screw."
6. Install the receptacle and cover plate, turn on the power, and test the power

We suppose that might work under optimal circumstances, specifically installing a new receptacle in a wall where the other side is unfinished. But Nathan neglected to think the question through, perhaps because he didn't study construction in his psych classes. In new construction, you have two choices: use an electrical box specifically designed for a horizontal orientation, or install blocking between the studs at the proper height and use a standard electrical box nailed to the blocking. Fisher's solution ignores 1) getting the wiring to the proper location and 2) attaching the Romex® to the studs per code.

That comes as no surprise, however, because it's a safe bet that our Dumbass of the Day had never installed an electrical box in his life, horizontal or vertical. Feh.

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