Domakihub How to Install a Floor Socket: A Clear Guide for Homeowners
Understand exactly what goes into a floor socket installation before calling your electrician.
Reviewed by Domakihub home & decor pros · 2026-06-23 · 5 min read
A floor socket — or floor box — lets you bring power and data connections to the middle of a room without trailing cables across the floor, making it a popular upgrade in open-plan homes, holiday rental living rooms, hotel suites, and office spaces throughout Greece. The video above walks through the actual box wiring and fitting sequence; this guide adds the planning context, the key steps, and the safety rules you need to know before work begins. Because connecting a floor box to your property's ring main or radial circuit involves live mains wiring, this job must be carried out by a licensed electrician (ηλεκτρολόγος) — but understanding the process helps you brief the tradesperson accurately and get a fair quote.
What Is a Floor Socket and Where Is It Used?
A floor socket is a flush-mounted electrical outlet that sits level with — or just slightly proud of — the finished floor surface and is protected by a hinged or screw-down cover plate when not in use. Most units accept standard Schuko plugs (the European two-pin round format used throughout Greece) and optionally include data or USB modules in the same housing.
They are most useful in large open-plan rooms where there is no nearby wall outlet: living rooms with island sofas, hotel bedrooms where lamps sit on bedside tables far from walls, restaurants with table clusters in the centre of the room, and offices where desks are arranged away from the perimeter. In Greek holiday rentals they also reduce the risk of guests tripping over extension leads — a genuine liability concern.
Types of Floor Box and Floor Compatibility
The two main families are adjustable-depth floor boxes for timber or raised-access floors and screed/concrete floor boxes for solid floors set in cement. Timber-floor boxes clip between joists or screw to a sub-frame; concrete boxes are cast directly into the screed during a pour or installed in a routed channel in an existing solid floor. Pop-up floor sockets (the tower that rises when you press a button) are a third option used in kitchens and boardrooms — these require slightly more vertical clearance below the finished floor.
Cover plate materials matter in Greece's climate: stainless steel and brass covers with rubberised seals are recommended in bathrooms or outdoor-adjacent areas, while standard brushed-aluminium covers are fine for indoor living spaces. Check the IP (ingress protection) rating — IP44 minimum is sensible for any floor fitting where cleaning water or spills are possible.
The Installation Process: What Your Electrician Will Do
- 1
Plan the cable route and confirm the circuit capacity
Before any cutting begins, the electrician maps where the supply cable will run from the nearest suitable socket or distribution board to the floor box position. In a timber-floor property this often means lifting a floorboard to thread the cable through a joist cavity; in a solid-floor property it means chasing a channel in the screed or wall. The circuit is checked to confirm it can carry the additional load without tripping the breaker or exceeding the cable rating.
- 2
Cut the floor opening and fit the back box
Using the template supplied with the floor box, the electrician marks and cuts the opening — a jigsaw for timber, an angle grinder or SDS drill with a core bit for concrete or tile. The back box is then set to the correct depth so that the cover plate will sit flush with the finished floor surface. On concrete floors the box is often bedded in mortar or secured with frame fixings; on timber floors it clips or screws to the sub-frame.
- 3
Run and terminate the supply cable
The supply cable (typically 2.5 mm² twin-and-earth for a power socket on a 20 A circuit) is fed through the conduit or chase to the box. Inside the box the electrician strips and connects the conductors: live (brown) to the L terminal, neutral (blue) to N, and the earth (green/yellow) to the earth terminal on both the socket module and the metal box itself. All terminations are made with the circuit dead — confirmed with a voltage tester.
- 4
Install the socket module and cover plate
The wired socket module clips or screws into the box frame. A gasket between the module and the cover plate provides the IP-rated seal. The cover plate is then attached — hinged covers are tested to open and close freely, screw-down covers are checked for flush fit. On adjustable-depth boxes the height is fine-tuned at this stage so there is no lip or recess that could catch a foot or vacuum cleaner.
- 5
Test, certify, and restore the floor finish
With the circuit re-energised, the electrician tests the socket with a plug-in socket tester to confirm correct polarity and functioning earth. In Greece, any new electrical installation or modification must be recorded and, for rental or commercial properties, covered by an updated Υπεύθυνη Δήλωση Εγκαταστάτη (UDE) — the installer's declaration of conformity. Once testing is complete, any disturbed floor tiles, screed, or floorboards are made good.
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FAQ
- Can I install a floor socket myself in Greece?
- Connecting a floor socket to the mains is legally restricted to licensed electricians (αδειούχος ηλεκτρολόγος) in Greece. DIY mains wiring is not only dangerous but also invalidates your home insurance and, for rental properties, your UDE certificate. You can prepare the site — for example clearing furniture or marking where you want the box — but the electrical connection must be done by a professional.
- How much does a floor socket installation typically cost in Greece?
- A single floor socket installed in a timber-floor room with a straightforward cable route typically costs between €80 and €180 in labour, plus the cost of the floor box unit itself (€20–€80 depending on quality and features). A concrete-floor installation requiring chasing or a screed pour adds €50–€120 to the labour cost. Get at least two quotes and confirm whether the price includes making good the floor finish.
- What is the best type of floor socket for a tiled floor in a Greek holiday rental?
- For a tiled floor, a concrete/screed floor box with a stainless-steel cover plate and a minimum IP44 rating is the practical choice. The stainless cover resists cleaning chemicals and foot traffic, the rubber gasket keeps out water during mopping, and the flush profile prevents the cover from cracking tile grout over time. A pop-up socket is an attractive option for kitchen islands but requires at least 95 mm of clear depth below the tile surface, so check this before ordering.