Switch Plate Problems People Are Fixing During COVID

Many people are using the COVID shelter-in-place to get projects done around the house. If there was ever a time to get some new projects going or some lingering ones completed, quarantine is sure the time.

You may be looking for a tricky, hard-to-find switch plate which we most likely carry. Check out our many wall plate configurations here. But we also carry tons of electrical devices and a variety of odds and ends like replacement dimmer knobs.

One thing we also sell a lot of are our handy gap-fillers. They sit behind any plates that have gaps between the cover and the wall - an easy fix for an annoying problem. They come in 1-6 gangs in sizes to fit standard and oversized wall plates.

Speaking of oversized plates - they are a fix for another very common problem. If you have too large an opening in your wall around a light switch or outlet, oversized covers - which are slightly bigger than standard size - are an easy solution for covering up that mishap.

Many of our customers have low voltage lighting systems - such as GE or Touch Plate - and can't find the switches or covers in their local hardware store.

Your problem may be a sunken outlet, which is caused when any thicker surface is added to the wall. So, if you've added a plank wall or wainscot and the outlet is sitting back in your outlet cover, use electrical box spacers to lift your electrical device up to meet your plate.

If you've added tile, board and batten or any trim that runs too close to a light switch, we also carry narrow cover plates. The half narrow covers are standard covers with the cutouts shifted to one side and are a great solution anytime a raised surface on your wall runs too close to your electrical box.

Is it finally time to install a Ring doorbell in place of your old intercom system? Some of our best selling plates are these intercom conversion covers for video doorbells. There are a lot of options (sizes and screw spacings) and the plate you'll need for covering up your old speaker and adding a video doorbell will depend entirely on your old intercom box.

These are the most common cover plate issues homeowners are dealing with during coronavirus.

If you are having trouble with which item to order to fix your problems, please email us at orders@kyleswitchplates.com or reach out on our Facebook or Instagram accounts and we'll be happy to help you find what you need. We apologize we're not taking phone calls during COVID-19 as we have a very limited staff to remain compliant with our local regulations.

Uses for Smaller Light Switch Cover Plates

Many of our customers call us regarding tight spaces in which a standard light switch cover just won't fit.

Today, we're sharing how several of them have used small switch plates from our online wall plate store to fix an eye sore or complete a home renovation.

One of the most common problems is tile that runs too close to the electrical box, as two customers describe here:

But switches can also end up too close to door frames, wall trim or other mouldings including high baseboards or board and batten walls that run up too close to electrical boxes.

We've helped several customers fix an unattractive uncovered switch or one covered by a poorly cut cover, and the results have been these 5-Star reviews:

Otherwise, the trim may need to be modified after board and batten has already gone up. which as you can see here, doesn't look very good:

Here, a narrow plate was the perfect fit:

Skinny plates can also work on narrow door frames.

We've even had a customer with a switch between cabinet doors that left too little space after a bathroom remodel:

Other DIY home renovations that raise the surface of your wall and come too close to an electrical box can create an eye sore.

As you can see, narrow switch plates have a lot of great applications and get be a great solution to get you out of a pinch with an obstructions of any kind is blocking your standard cover from going back up.

At Kyle Switch plates we carry over 50 sizes of narrow plates and plates with shifted openings to help you find a good solution. Shop narrow plates or short plates to find a plate that meets your specific needs.