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Continuing Education Use the following learning objectives to focus your study while reading this month’s ARCHITECTURAL RECORD / AIA Continuing Education article. Learning Objective: After reading this article, you will be able to: 1. interpret how poke-thru devices and floor boxes—and their use on various surfaces— will be impacted by the new standards for scrub water exclusion testing. 2. plan wire/cable management systems that contribute to a building's sustainability. 3. incorporate wire/cable management systems in open-plan spaces to allow for flexibility, aesthetic preferences, and future technology.

Poke-thru devices and floor boxes set in concrete are among the most useful and flexible wire and cable management systems for large, open-plan spaces. Both can be used to provide direct feeds of power and communications, or they can be used in conjunction with modular office furniture.

The design community should be aware of new standards that will affect the use of poke-thru devices and floor boxes. Beginning in June, 2003, new standards under UL514A will require that the power compartments of floor boxes and poke-thru devices meet a test for scrub water exclusion on carpet surfaces. These standards are designed to ensure that water does not enter power outlets during routine maintenance, such as wet mopping and carpet shampooing.

Before discussing these new standards and their impacts, an overview of poke-thru devices and floor boxes is in order.

Poke-Thru Devices

Poke-thru devices provide capacity and flexibility to meet the demands of open plan spaces without compromising workplace aesthetics. They bring power, voice, and data precisely where it is needed without impacting the fire rating of the slab. As a result, poke-thru devices are an excellent choice for new construction and retrofit applications.

Design considerations

Poke-thru devices are installed in holes that have been core-drilled through concrete floors. The only limitations are the presence of major structural components such as beams, and the rare instances where there is no available space for access from the floor below. The UL fire resistance directory details the standard for poke-thru penetrations as a “minimum of 2 ft. on-center and not more than 1 insert per 65 sq. ft. of floor area in each span.”

Poke-thru devices offer maximum design flexibility for open office space. Moreover, they can also be used for partitioned and modular offices, as well as specialized spaces, such as reception areas, conference rooms, and training centers. The placement of activations is not constrained by partitions or by the grid pattern of an infloor wire and cable management system. Among commonly installed wire and cable management systems, poke-thru devices typically have low initial installation cost.

The desire for improved aesthetics has resulted in systems that offer flush and recessed activations that are very nearly invisible, yet accommodate more receptacles and communications ports than older, low-capacity fittings.

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