"EXT" wrote in message
anews.com...
benick wrote:
"EXT" wrote in message
anews.com...
wrote:
A couple of light switches in my house have visible rough edges
in the wall around one or more sides of the switch cover.

What's a good way of covering those up? Someone I know suggested
caulk, but when I imagine the result it doesn't look too good.

One switch is in drywall, the other plaster.

TIA,

S
You don't say what the rough edges actually are. They could be a
number of things. If the hole is oversize and the cover plate
doesn't actually cover the hole leaving a visible gap, you can fill
it. One problem many people find is that drywall compound and/or
spackle doesn't like to stick to the raw gypsum edges and just
falls off. I have found that if you vacuum it dust
free then dab some latex paint on the raw unpapered edges of the
drywall, once the paint is dry, the compound and/or spackle will
stick better and allow you to fill the gap in a better manner. If
the compound falls through
the hole, add a stick, popsickle stick or suitable small piece of
wood tied
to some string and shoved in back of the hole will stop the filler
from pushing through, hold the string untill it stays in place or
tie the end of
the string to something solid for an hour or so.



The "rough" edges around boxes are almost always furred paper from
the Rotozip drywall router used by pro's to do cutouts and even pro's
will mess up a couple....It's easily fixed as I've already
posted...Don't make it more complicated than it is....As far as
fixing a small gap around boxes you could try a little paper joint
tape instead of the all the things you say to try...

I am sorry to make any suggestions that you disapprove of, especially
since you have diagnosed the problem from no details. It could have been a
missalligned outlet hole that was hand cut prior to installing the
sheetrock. But you know best.


I never said I disaproved of your "method" of fixing boxes..How much detail
do you need for fixing a box anyways??? I just passed on knowledge from 22
years of drywall work...I mean , I've only repaired HUNDREDS of them over
the years and regardless of the cause the fix is the same...I just said
furred paper is "almost always" the culprit...Wanna keep playing with
popsickle sticks and string go for it...I'd kinda like to see it
even...LOL....