In 1604, Sir Edward Coke declared “the house of every one is to him as his Castle.” Time shortens all. The saying is today, “a man's home is his castle”.

Trending today in home “castles” are open floorplans. Very 2021. With expansive great rooms and living rooms. Houzz.com featured designers promote conversation groupings in these ever-large rooms. Clusters of seating to promote conversation. Yes, even in a locked-on-cell-generation.

Mansionsglobal.com writes, “A variety of styles can be used to create spaces with diverse atmospheres for people to enjoy, such as a grouping of smaller lounge chairs in one area and a larger sofa arrangement in another. Tables interspersed among the seats can also change the feeling of a conversation area and add variety to the space.”

The thing is the groupings require electricity. Outlets. One of the biggest complaints homeowners have is that running electrical cords from walls along the floor to the center of the room is dangerous.

Polarized outlets (3-prong) and plugs were introduced in the 1880s. But they weren’t even required by the National Electric Code (NEC) until the 1962 edition.

Remodelistas, particularly of older homes, have relied on floor outlets in the last few decades to achieve the electrical service needed to operate today’s home electronic needs. Many opt for floor outlets due to the especially tall and ornate baseboards found in Victorian residences. True Victorian construction featured hardwood flooring and recessed floor outlets can be installed as part of an approved assembly consisting of a metal box, gasket seal, special receptacle, and moisture-proof metal cover plate.

While floor outlets aren’t required to be GFCI rated, you cannot mount a regular wall outlet on the floor or it will break. Floor outlets come in various styles—some with flip up caps, others with screw in covers. We recommend the latter which require a coin or flathead screwdriver to remove when not in use so as to protect children and adults.

Electrical cords should never be placed under rugs or carpets. It’s a fire hazard.

So instead of burning down the house, call Allstar Electrical for a quote on adding floor outlets to your home. Allstar can determine the best places to position your floor outlets to power up your table and floor lamps, RoboVac, laptop, and phone chargers you need 24/7. And we’ll install the outlets exactly to code. What’s more, we clean up after ourselves. Now that’s amazing.