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Hi there,

Hoping someone on here could help. I have been swapping my standard white plastic plug sockets with flat polished chrome ones. In one of the rooms, the back boxes are fixed to the breeze block of external wall Vs the others which are fit to the stud walls. Basically it means there is no way to fit a deeper back box without chiseling the wall. The components on the back of the face plates on my new chrome flat ones seem to take up slightly more room that the current palstic standard ones and I can't get them to fit on without crushing everything in the back box. My question - is there a brand of face plates that are more accommodating for a busy/narrow back box?

Thanks
 
If the cable(s) to the back box enter from just one side (e.g. top), then it is quite simple to remove the back box, scrape the hole a bit deeper, and refit the box. With a soft breeze block, you don't really need to do any chiselling.
 
Bg Nexus NPC22W series will fit to 25mm boxes but they are not flat. Other option would be to use 10mm spacer.
Ideally of course is to remove 25mm boxes and replace them with 35mm
 
just get the hammer out. if it's a new build, the worst scenario is that it will collapse.

I've heard,a certain scouse,plant operative,is going to be using the old "i was using the bucket of my machine...to deepen a back-box,in a hotel i was working in...."

;););)
 
Is the walls wet plaster or dot and dab?
The stud walls if fast-fix boxes have not been used and are stud cross noggins mat be tricky as the noggin may become loose.
 
On one site I worked on, they had plastered concrete walls in communal areas and cleaner sockets.
The shallow back boxes all had that intumescent putty stuff on the inside.
I was tasked with getting the flat plate sockets to sit flat.
A nightmare.
 
I detest the things - never have liked the look of them yet strangely enough I have them fitted in my front room! I guess I’ve grown in myself and gained some taste!
My favourites are the slim varieties - still need a deeper backbox but they look sweet.
Hamilton hartland slim, quite square and look great whether metal or white moulded
Help with socket face plates to fit a busy/narrow back box BDA0CABF-F4E9-4A9A-AAEB-6A2A3F574664 - EletriciansForums.net
Isn’t that pretty (er) than a flat plate?
 
Must admit I'm not a fan of the flat plate stuff. The one Rpa just posted looks better. Will it scratch though - you see a lot of metal sockets scratched from myopic people trying to fit 13A plugs (plug-tops, etc.) in them.
 
Hey, I’m myopic - Rude!
Must admit I'm not a fan of the flat plate stuff. The one Rpa just posted looks better. Will it scratch though - you see a lot of metal sockets scratched from myopic people trying to fit 13A plugs (plug-tops, etc.) in them.
 

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