Help please : Creating deeper electric socket back boxes

[sj007 0]

All,

Hopefully somebody will be provide me with some advice with an issue I have.

I'm in the process of replacing all of the electric double gang plug sockets with new ones which are flat plates. Unfortunately when fitting them, due to the wiring etc that sits in the electric back box, the faceplate petrudes by a few milimetres. My solution therefore is to remove the front plate, remove the back box, and grind/sand the baton that it's attached to behind to gain an extra few milimetres, to make the back box sit deeper into the wall.

The issue I have is with the method to grind/sand the wooden baton behind. I was thinking that an angled sanding drum attached to an electric drill might do the trick? I know it'll be a bit fiddly but due to the limited space I'll be working in, it's the best solution I can come up with.....unless of course anybody could kindly provide a better idea??

Thanks in advance for any help offered,

Sanj

[dantheman88 0]

hi not my area of expertise but a dremill or similar tool may be good with a cutting type attachment.

Regards,

Dan

[sj007 0]

Yeh I was thinking that too, I just can't get my head around how I'll exactly use it to sand or cut a thin chunk out of a wooden beam in the wall. I only want to take a piece (the height of a socket and about 3mm deep) out and leave the remainder of the beam intact.

[dantheman88 0]

Try a wood chisel to cut the peice out that may be a better option, you can shave off what ever is needed.

Dan

[Rich 2]

If it was my plug socket, I would head down to my local model shop and ask them the best way to make a stand-off, to go behind the face plate, onto the wall.

My local modelshop does some amazing things with almost any materials, on their laser cutter, so you could by some really nice sheet perspex, and have it cut perfectly, to stick to the back of the faceplate, giving you those few millimetres, zero hassle wrecking the wall, and a unique look to your plugs in any colour you like, and all in minutes rather than days, with zero mess!

Obviously you provide the plastic, but I've bought all sorts of sheet perspex on eBay for various projects, as it comes in loads of colours and thicknesses, and once cut, a dab of super glue to fix it to your plug sockets, and your done :-)