socket / switch "trim"

[JimK]

A relative has just had a smart euro-style kitchen installed (by friends etc not a "fully fitted" deal)

One snag - the plasterer has not done a fantastic job around sockets and switches where he has skimmed over the rough area where tiles were.

The unsightly areas are small say 5-10mm around one or all sides of the faceplates of sockets/switches etc but they do attract the eye and spoil the otherwise pretty good "clean" finish of the rest.... so....

Can anyone suggest ideas of how to mitigate this?

Spose worst case scenario - remove all sockets etc and fill/skim again, sand down and repaint....sigh..

Are there any kinds of "bezel" or other trim that could be fixed behind the faceplates to cover the marks?

Cheers JimK

[John]

Yes - but they will look awful.

Do the job properly and tidy up the plaster - and perhaps fit nice new sockets.

[Bob Minchin]

There used to be plates sold to protect wallpaper around switches. These were transparent but no doubt could be coloured. Similar things could be made from acrylic, polycarbonate, metal or wood. An easy DIY job surely?

Bob

[Tim W]

JimK wibbled on Sunday 20 December 2009 09:42

Turn *off* the power (important, don't try to skip) to the affected accessories, verify, unscrew the plate, lift about 1cm or more. No need to de-wire. Run a little polyfilla round and tidy up. Paint and replace fittings when dry.

If you need the power back, do the painting, then screw back bar the last

2mm or so, switch on.

The plates will be sloppy but safe enough and won't get glued onto the wall. Turn off power[1] and tighten the next day. Turn on power.

[1] If for some reason, there's a fault in the making due to a chafed wire, better to be away from it when it goes bang. Extremely unlikely but a simple extra step to be slightly safer.

If you are good with the polyfilla, you might be able to bypass the sanding stage. Sometimes a wipe with a damp cloth when the polyfilla is partly/mostly gone off can blend it in without the need to sand.

HTH

Tim

[Matt A]

I made some metal ones for a kitchen in a house I rented out as the tiling fit around the sockets wasn't great (probably a bad job done by the original builders). Still the "finger plate" things looked much better.

[The Medway Handyman]

The new 'lightweight' fillers are superb for this sort of job, sanding not always necessary, really quick to dry.