How to Install a Poke-Through Electrical Floor Outlet

Large living rooms and family rooms face some unique challenges when it comes to wiring. The great rooms that are so popular in "open concept" designs create large expanses of space that are quite some distance from the walls where the electrical outlets are normally installed. What do you do if your room includes a sitting area in the middle? You would like a lamp or two, but you are 10 to 12 feet or more from any wall outlet. Long extension cords running along the floor can be an obvious tripping hazard.

The answer is a floor outlet. Often known in the electrical trades as a poke-through or drop-in, a floor outlet has a specially designed mounting plate that fits virtually flush with the floor surface. The outlet receptacle itself is sometimes flush with the floor level, as well. Or, it can be recessed down below the surface of the floor, with a ​secondary cover plate that covers the receptacle opening when it is not in use.

A variety of commercial products are available to simplify poke-through floor outlet installation. These products can be especially convenient because they usually come with everything you need for a complete in-floor installation, including a special tube-shaped floor box, the outlet receptacle, the wire nut connectors, and even the hole saw required to drill the hole in the floor. Not only can you use them for an electrical outlet, but they also often have adapters that let you use the box to run communications lines, such as a phone line or computer network cable.

Any number of floor box products are also available, some with single receptacles and others accommodating duplex receptacles. Most have flip covers or screw-in covers for protecting the receptacles when they are not in use. Some kits include just the surface cover plate, requiring you to buy a standard electrical box and receptacle separately, while other kits include virtually all the parts necessary.

Safety Considerations

When working with cables and electrical wires, it is vitally important to ensure no power is flowing. Shut off the power at the home's electrical service panel, either by flipping the proper breaker or removing the appropriate fuse.

As with any electrical installation, a good understanding of electrical work is required if you are doing this work yourself. As an alternative, you can install the floor box, then leave the electrical connections to the circuit to a licensed electrician.