Outlet in the floor?

[Dan Trachtman]

I am having a house built and will be putting a woodshop in the basement. I plan to have the table saw in the middle of the shop and am on the fence about having an outlet installed in the middle of the woodshop floor or keeping the floor clear. I know I can run a cord to the ceiling but that always seemed like something I would bump into and catch wood on. On the other hand, having an outlet in the middle of the floor makes rolling machines around a little harder. The wire would be buried in the floor, it's just the box that wouldn't. Anyone have a preference?
thanks

[Jamie Buxton]

I am having a house built and will be putting a woodshop in the basement. I plan to have the table saw in the middle of the shop and am on the fence about having an outlet installed in the middle of the woodshop floor or keeping the floor clear. I know I can run a cord to the ceiling but that always seemed like something I would bump into and catch wood on. On the other hand, having an outlet in the middle of the floor makes rolling machines around a little harder. The wire would be buried in the floor, it's just the box that wouldn't. Anyone have a preference?
thanks

Why can't you bury the box in the floor? It happens all the time in wood floors.

For instance http://www.floorboxsystems.com/floor-outlet-box.html

[Von Bickley]

I have a pole building for my shop and I ran a 3/4" conduit under the concrete to provide power to my table saw and receptacles around my outfeed table that is also used as an assembly table.
Mine is stubbed up about 18" next to my outfeed table. Works great and I would highly recommend it.

[Chris Padilla]

You might want something more comfortable than concrete to walk on. Having a wood floor might be nice. Definitely flush any outlets with the floor. They make special boxes for flush mount in a floor.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Outlet buried in floor is going to fill with saw dust. Elevated above floor is better.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

I had a double 30 amp 220v & double 20 amp 110v outlet wired thru conduit in a concrete in my shop. It sits about 6" high on top of the conduit. I have it located under the table saw extension table. Worked out great. This also gives me a outlet to plug a router into that's mounted in the table saw extension table, and also a place to plug in a shop vac I keep stored under the extension table too.
I don't think I would mount it flush in the floor though.

[Jim Falsetti]

I had a double 30 amp 220v & double 20 amp 110v outlet wired thru conduit in a concrete in my shop. It sits about 6" high on top of the conduit. I have it located under the table saw extension table. Worked out great. This also gives me a outlet to plug a router into that's mounted in the table saw extension table, and also a place to plug in a shop vac I keep stored under the extension table too.
I don't think I would mount it flush in the floor though.

I have the exact same floor mounted outlet setup as Joe, with table saw and router. Very pleased. No cords to trip over. it is possible to trip over the outlet when the saw is moved.

[Brian W Smith]

In our old millshop,the only fire we ever had was a smoldering flush,floor mount,elect bx at a TS.The 'ole man built the shop in the late 1940's....the incident was prolly mid 80's.That's when we(I really)made vacuuming/blowing out all elec bxs,routine maint.We stub them up now.Flush fl mounts are even a pain in the rear in non-shop applications.....building inpsectors really don't like them.

[Von Bickley]

Outlet buried in floor is going to fill with saw dust. Elevated above floor is better.

I agree with Bruce. As I stated above, mine is about 18" above the floor, next to the side of my outfeed table, and works great. Never in the way. You could locate it under the outfeed table.

[Matt Marsh]

There are many choices when it comes to listed concrete flush mounted floor receptacle boxes. Just be sure that it is indeed listed for use in a poured concrete floor, and that the wiring method used is also NEC approved for being embedded in concrete. This one is sold by Home Depot.

306063

[Matt Marsh]

I agree with Bruce. As I stated above, mine is about 18" above the floor, next to the side of my outfeed table, and works great. Never in the way. You could locate it under the outfeed table.

You could use this style, which would be much less likely to fill up with sawdust. A quick blast with compressed air would be good routine maintenance. This one also utilizes the child-proof shutters, which should also keep out a lot of the dust.

306064

[Dan Trachtman]

Wow. I am new to woodworking and this is my first post on a woodworking forum. I wasn't sure anyone would even reply. What a fantastic community. I will definitely put it in the floor (concrete at the moment) with the tips offered. Thanks so much for the advice! I will probably have more questions soon :)
Dan

[Jim Andrew]

I hung my plug from the ceiling to the right of the saw, and it is out of the way, but accessible. If I want to move my saw a little, no problem with plug in the wrong place. I rearranged my shop last winter, with the addition of a sliding table saw, and had to redo some wiring, lights, and dust piping. You have to have a really good plan to not want to rearrange your shop in the future.

[Tony Leonard]

That is exactly what I have in my concrete shop floor. I have one for the TS and and one for the jointer and planer. They work great. I have not had any sawdust problems. I hit them with the shop vac once in a while when I clean up. Mine have been in use for 15 years now.

Tony

edit...I was referring to the model that Matt posted.

[Steve Peterson]

Welcome to the Creek Dan,

I think the first one shown by Matt (brass) is designed to sit flush with the floor. That would be much better than Matt's second one (stainless) that looks like it wants to sit above the surface. You to be able to roll tools around and certainly don't want any tripping hazards in your shop.

Steve

[paul cottingham]

Let me chime in and suggest wood on your floors. Much, much easier on knees, legs, hips, and dropped tools. I mention it as you may want to plan your outlet around a slightly raised surface.

[Peter Aeschliman]

One thing to consider... Assuming the table saw will be in the middle of the room, so you will also need to think about dust collection. A hose running across the floor is much more annoying than a cord. So if possible, I would put your ducting under the slab that since you're in the enviable position of starting from scratch.

[Rollie Meyers]

Outlet buried in floor is going to fill with saw dust. Elevated above floor is better.

I have had floor boxes in my shop for 22 years with no issues, elevated means a trip hazard.

[ryan paulsen]

I'm not an electrician, but isn't there a minimum height above the floor for basement outlets? Are there any water concerns in your basement?

[Tom M King]

I would run conduit and set boxes so that covers will be flush with finished floor. You can countersink screw holes, and use flat head screws in the metal covers. With a knockout in the cover, conduit rises can be placed when, and how high you need them. If not in use, a flush, gasketed cover will solve any trip, or dust issues. Conduit is cheap, and will allow pulling wires any time in the future. Check with your inspector first.

http://www.garvinindustries.com/electrical-covers-device-rings/4-square-covers-device-rings/flat-covers/52c6-vt-ss