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
The easiest thing to do is to get a larger switch cover, they come in various sizes--Normal, Mid-Size, and Jumbo.
Wayne
If the visible flaws are small (1/8" or so) just fill with drywall compound and then paint. If the areas are larger you may have to cut out the bad area between two studs and attach a new piece of drywall in that area. Fill and tape the joints and then paint.
If you want it to look right there is no quick way to fix it.
G.S.
I assume that you mean the hole in the wall extends beyond the edge of the switch plate....just pack in some spackle, let it ooze behind the back of the opening a tad for traction and mold it a little to keep it off the switch. Some use joint compound, but I've never tried it. You can do it in two steps if you have trouble getting the front edge smooth.
Remove cover , sand rough edges with 180 grit sand paper , replace cover to see if any gaps are visible , remove cover , fill any gaps with One Time spackle , let spackle dry , sand any spackle , touch up paint , let dry , replace cover....Good luck....
That "One Time" spackle is worth it's weight in gold; consitently easy to use and consistently exceptional results.
Jon
They also make larger switch plates that will cover.
True but SWMBO will never allow a couple of covers that don't match EXACTLY which means replacing them ALL ..Much cheaper to patch a couple of boxes....LOL....
a. bigger cover plate
b. sheetrock mud, sanding, and painting.
c. don't worry about it.
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.
oversize/deeper cover, or if it is real bad, use a box extender and feather a lump of mud over the bad parts.
-- aem sends...
To do it right, spackle/sand/spackle/sand/inspect. And then you need to prime the area and paint the entire wall. A lot of work. Possibly make a paper mat backing outlining the existing plate cover and glue into place. The thin mat adds a small border to the switch plate which should look good until the next renovation. Personally I like the "buy a larger cover plate" idea.
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...
On 2/2/2009 5:00 PM Phisherman spake thus:
You don't necessarily need to repaint the entire wall. I just finished a wall-patching job for a friend. I just painted the areas I patched (after priming) with some leftover paint they had from the last time the room was painted (about 15 years ago). It looks fine, and they're happy.
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.
On 2/2/2009 5:58 PM EXT spake thus:
Heh; those rough edges "from the Rotozip drywall router used by pro's [sic] to do cutouts" could just as easily be rough plaster (not drywall) edges created long before anyone who built houses ever heard of a "Rotozip". We just can't tell from what the O.P. told us.
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....
"Jon Danniken" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:
Had never heard of it. Have to look for it when I go by a paint or hardware store. In general, Borg rules around here :-(
HD has it around here as does most paint and hardware stores...If you don't see it in the drywall stuff , check the paint section near the woodfiller , ect...
That's the problem: hole is slightly oversized.
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