Vacationing this week with my wife’s family in Virginia and while the house is huge and very nice, built in 1978 and appears to be recently renovated/updated, there is virtually not a single receptacle or switch that is NOT crooked.

What causes this? Carelessness when they installed the wall boxes?

It seems like a trivial thing but it’s all I see and it bugs me!

How crooked are they? Post a pic

Sloppy finish electrical by a low budget electrician.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Sloppy finish electrical by a low budget electrician.

Probably this. The good ones will even align the slots in the face plate screws so that they match.

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
Probably this. The good ones will even align the slots in the face plate screws so that they match.

Probably aligns his grip screws as well!

Should have been done correctly by the electrician, or fixed on the punch list/before final walk though. (by the superintendent or builder)

Easy (but tedious) fix.

Most wood stud walls the "nail on" box is properly aligned, but on "trim out" (when electricians set the receptacle and switches), they often do not align receptacles or switches, they just stick them in and tighten the screws. The guys coming in and doing "switch and plate", may not align, and sometimes the painters knock things out of alignment during the paint.

All of that should be "squared away" during the last phases of finishing the house, but are often missed if a tight "QA" by the builder is not followed. (I was an anal builder, and never let crap like that go)

Remove the wall plate, and if the receptacle/switch screws are not cranked down too tight, use the plate, reversed (the side you see when installed) and used to "position" the receptacle/switch" to the correct/straight alignment, then put the cover back on. (the plate gives the leverage/control to position the receptacle/switch in the box)

Little things like this really gripe a lot of people, and I never understood why a builder would ever let such "obvious" things be left and not be addressed.

Once a homeowner sees such things, they are forever looking for anything else undone/out of place.

Why create an environment like that?


(yeah, I align my grip screws, too!)

Your OCD must be as bad as mine.

Then there is the seam on the lampshade... and the cords are showing...

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house with crooked electrical outlets.

Got a couple outlets that are slightly off in this house, but I knew it when I bought it so I live with it.

It is annoying, though.

All this time I thought I was the only one that aligned grip screws. Yikes, there’s more of us huh?

I watched an electrician install switches and outlets in a business where I worked. He used a 8" level to insure everything was perfect. Took a few seconds per install.

For the few here that know nothing at all about electrical stuff...

The screw holes where receptacles and switches attach are SLOTTED for adjustment.

It simple could not be any easier to put the device straight while installing them. To not do so is... beyond lazy.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
For the few here that know nothing at all about electrical stuff...

The screw holes where receptacles and switches attach are SLOTTED for adjustment.

It simple could not be any easier to put the device straight while installing them. To not do so is... beyond lazy.

....working with one butt cheek.

I just replaced a pair of flaky old switches this morning, and was very conscious of having everything line up properly.

One of the old switches, some of the plastic trim on the side/back of the switch was *broken*, but they installed the thing anyway. Very half-assed.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
I watched an electrician install switches and outlets in a business where I worked. He used a 8" level to insure everything was perfect. Took a few seconds per install.

That's how a professional does it.