2 20 amp countertop small appliance circuits. (I prefer 3 for a modern kitchen.)

A dedicated outlet for the DW & Disposal (switched for disposal)

A dedicated outlet for the MW.

A dedicated outlet for the refrigerator.

A dedicated outlet for the range hood. (NOT off of the lighting circuit.)

A dedicated lighting only circuit. Don't forget undercabinet lighting as well, and where you need it.

Any specialty appliances, like an instant hot water, or under floor heating, also need a dedicated circuit.

In older homes with under a 200 amp panel, it takes upgrading the service drop and panel to properly do a kitchen remodel to current standards. Many people also do a sub panel from the main for a kitchen, simply because it's less clutter in the main from all of the circuits.

Thank you, live_wire_oak! Is an arrangement like this required or simply recommended. In other words, would it be reasonable of me to demand that the contractor does it. We are renovating the kitchen completely, and just installed a new 200 amp panel.

Inneedofkitchen:

Were I your electrical contractor, I would be demanding a change in your attitude. Or perhaps I should be introspective, wondering how I contracted with a customer who had such little faith in my judgement and professionalism and felt the need to tell me how to do my job.

This post was edited by Trebruchet on Wed, Sep 24, 14 at 13:28

I will ignore the Trebruchet bullchet

But for everyone else: we caught the contractor lying on several occasions (and admitting to it) and not going by the code on a few simple things (e.g., not venting a bathroom fan to the outside and telling his worker that the customer does not any better), that I am now second guessing everything. All I want is a safe house for me and my family and for this contractor finish whatever little he has left to do and go away.

We ran a new sub panel for my kitchen addition and the circuits I have are
Double ovens (its a double circuit)
West kitchen (this is outlets only)
East kitchen (outlets only)
Garbage disposal
North kitchen (outlets only)
Refridgerator
East dishwasher
West dishwasher
Kitchen lights

My dad is a journeymen electrician and he helped us do the wiring. Basically, every appliance needs its own circuit, lights should be on a separate circuit and (ideally) each wall on its own circuit. You don't see stove listed because mine is gas. We ran a 220 for electric stove in case I change my mind in the future but we didn't complete the run to the panel, just the wall into the attic.

Hope that helps.

Thank you, Texas Gem! Very helpful.

My contractor ran all the new wiring along the bottom of the joists in the basement - actually dangling several inches below it in places. I made him fasten it, but that's still against code - it should have been run through holes drilled in the vertical sections and run through it, so moving tall items in the basement like ladders or rakes couldn't easily snag on the wiring. Also, a 240V/15A appliance got a 240V/30A breaker instead of the specificed 15 or 20A breaker. Don't assume contractors or electricians always know what they're doing.

Make sure there is a permit for this work. Hope I don't sound condescending but in our area, I've experienced that contractors will try to talk you out of a permit.

One of the best things about my new kitchen is that I can run the microwave, the cooktop, the oven, and the countertop Vitamixer all without a breaker turning off! All are on separate circuits. We have an 80 year old house and we have had a problem with electrical since the very beginning until now. Highly recommend that you make this a priority as you apparently are doing.

The electrical work will have to be inspected, won't it?

The inspector just came yesterday and demanded my contractor put in another outlet behind one of my countertops. I have two on each wall (backsplash area....L-shape 94"x72").

Then I had to have two outlets on the island, incl an outlet for the dishwasher. Then, like others said, new wiring to support the speedcook oven, induction cooktop and wall oven. I think the vent already had an outlet in place.

Good luck! Sorry you're going through this.

You don't mention the oven - I assume that is because you were just mentioning the 120 V circuits.

Our gas range top said the igniters should have their own circuit so we did that.
The Instahot and garbage disposal share a circuit - the air switch switches the power off to one outlet and on to the other so only one is on at a time - which works well since the garbage disposal is only on momentarily.

Microwave and fridge each have their own circuit - in our temporary kitchen during the remodel, we initially had them on the same circuit by mistake - the compressor turning on when the microwave was running flipped the breaker. We added an extension cord to get to an outlet on another circuit for one of them.

I think most of that is code where we are.

Dishwasher, lights and vent hood each have their own. We have 3 circuits for wall outlets though I think 2 is what is required by code.

Catching a contractor lying several times and violating code is considerably different than "feel(ing) like (he) is trying to cut corners." I can only comment on the information provided. Thanks for the more accurate background.

Some cities require that you have an electrical outlet about every 4 feet, they also require that within so many feet of the sink they must be GFI outlets. My understanding is that each of the GFI outlets has to be on a separate circuit. I would definitely pull a permit and get an inspection. I would also report the contractor to the state contractors license board. I would be completely heartless and cold blooded with him because that is the way he is being with you...and you're paying him.

Do you have a permit from the city? I've found the city inspectors to be an invaluable resource. I email them all the time to ask what should be.

I've had SO many subcontractors tell me certain things are or aren't code, checked with the city, and been told something different.

I have also had subcontractors make very serious mistakes, even if they came highly recommended and did parts of their jobs very well and took a lot of pride in their work. As a homeowner, you just have to know what to check for and what to ask for.

One situation that comes to mind is the drywallers had not read the manufacturer's directions on our shower wallboard (DensShield/DensGuard) and had just installed it like any other drywall boards. This meant carefully countersinking all the screws in it. They install wallboard all day, every day, so they really though they knew all there was to it.

But the shower wallboard we used is a relative new kind of material to the market, and the manufacturer specifically stated you should NOT countersink those screws because it punctures the waterproof membrane. So our shower waterproofing was like swiss cheese! The drywallers came out and redid it properly after I sent them the manufacturer's specs.

The inspector will be your friend here, so you'll want to be present when he/she comes to inspect the electrical. Make sure you do have a permit pulled (get one if you don't). You might also call the permit office before the inspection to tell them you have some concerns, in case that'll let the inspector know to be extra careful. If you aren't sure about the inspector, it is probably worth it to find an independent electrician with a good reputation and pay for a second opinion.

I don't know the code, but we ended up with something like 7 circuits in our remodeled kitchen (had been 2 or maybe 3). And there are GFCI outlets every few feet. We were lucky in having 2 panels already, I think because of an earlier addition, so there was room -- barely -- to fit all the new circuits without putting in a new panel.

All the same, the electrical work was one of the most costly components of our budget remodel (as I expected it to be going in). Very worth it to be safe -- and to be able to run both the DW and the MW at the same time, for a change. Good luck to you! It's not a good feeling to have a contractor you don't trust. I hope it works out well for you.

Many, many thanks to all!

If I might add -- in our remodel, we were required to replace all outlets under 52" high with tamper-proof outlets, even in locations where we weren't actually doing any work. Also, each outlet that is required to be GFCI doesn't have to have its own circuit or even be a GFCI outlet -- as long as they are in "series", only the first one has to be. Lastly, how many outlets you need on an island, and where they're required to be located, is a local thing. In California, an island requires only 1 outlet, regardless of length of the island. We put a second outlet on the back of the island, under the overhang, and were required to remove it, because you can't have an outlet under an overhang of more than so many inches (I don't remember how many).