Got a unique situation in my house... in the basement, there is a double
gang box sunk into a masonry wall, to control the lighting.
Unfortunately, it was apparently either installed badly or else
installed assuming that the wall would be finished with drywall and not
the thin wood paneling that it was finished with. Eventually I'd like
to redecorate, but until then, the cover plate that doesn't fit flush to
the wall bothers me slightly. Is there a product made to take up this
gap, or is my best hope to knock something together with thin pieces of
hardwood molding?

thanks,

nate

(getting rid of the wiring nastiness, one small project at a time...
just finished wiring the troffers in the one room today, but I still
need to pull new wire to the light at the bottom of the stairs, as
whenever I knock one of the pieces of BX it turns the light off, which I
ASSume is probably not a Good Thing...)

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"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
Got a unique situation in my house... in the basement, there is a double
gang box sunk into a masonry wall, to control the lighting. Unfortunately,
it was apparently either installed badly or else installed assuming that
the wall would be finished with drywall and not the thin wood paneling
that it was finished with. Eventually I'd like to redecorate, but until
then, the cover plate that doesn't fit flush to the wall bothers me
slightly. Is there a product made to take up this gap, or is my best hope
to knock something together with thin pieces of hardwood molding?


If there is a mud ring on a square box in your wall, you can replace it with
a mud ring that has less depth. Also Mulberry makes deep wall plates. You
can order them through an electrical supply company. My father used to use
shallow depth Wiremold boxes to cover an extreme anomaly. I don't think the
real shallow ones are available anymore since they stopped making the 200
series.

Nate Nagel wrote:
Got a unique situation in my house... in the basement, there is a double
gang box sunk into a masonry wall, to control the lighting.
Unfortunately, it was apparently either installed badly or else
installed assuming that the wall would be finished with drywall and not
the thin wood paneling that it was finished with. Eventually I'd like
to redecorate, but until then, the cover plate that doesn't fit flush to
the wall bothers me slightly. Is there a product made to take up this
gap, or is my best hope to knock something together with thin pieces of
hardwood molding?

thanks,

nate

(getting rid of the wiring nastiness, one small project at a time...
just finished wiring the troffers in the one room today, but I still
need to pull new wire to the light at the bottom of the stairs, as
whenever I knock one of the pieces of BX it turns the light off, which I
ASSume is probably not a Good Thing...)


You may have some of the old mercury switches. Bang on the wall or slam
a door and the lights flicker. I had some in a house I owned that was
built in the '50's.
I took one apart and found it contained a glass tube of mercury or I
assume it was mercury. When the switch is moved the ball of mercury
would roll to the contacts and complete the circuit much the same as the
old round thermostats. I believe they were designed that way as 'quiet'
switches.
Kevin

On Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:18:42 -0500, Nate Nagel
wrote:

Got a unique situation in my house... in the basement, there is a double
gang box sunk into a masonry wall, to control the lighting.
Unfortunately, it was apparently either installed badly or else
installed assuming that the wall would be finished with drywall and not
the thin wood paneling that it was finished with. Eventually I'd like
to redecorate, but until then, the cover plate that doesn't fit flush to
the wall bothers me slightly. Is there a product made to take up this
gap, or is my best hope to knock something together with thin pieces of
hardwood molding?

thanks,

I think John's answer was better than mine will be, but here it is
just in case.

They make foam sheets cut to fit around lightswitches, etc, cut to
keep the cold air from leaking into the house, and one or two of them
would probaby fill the gap you have.

In my case, I put a floodlight on the outside above my bed, and the
switch for it on the inside above my bed. I didn't want to turn the
light on or off with my head so I used oen of those big rocker
switches and to further protect it, I used the foam layers to bring
the plate out as far as the rocker part is. Works very well.

P&M

nate