Wall Socket Covers?

sponsoredwalk

I'm just wondering about the plug sockets on the walls of houses & the
white covers. When you're changing the plug on something like an iron or
a tv it's simple, just put the blue & brown wires in the right places on the
new plug and presto, but the walls look a bit different. Is replacing them the
same deal, like you just turn off the electricity in the fuse box, unscrew the
wall covering & put the new one on with the wires connected back to the
same place? Is it a more serious job than that?

Also, one of the covers has become a bit loose and the wall behind it is a bit
cracked, and another plug has a hole in the wall behind it, is it possible to
get the white covers that are bigger, i.e. have a bigger area to cover up
the hole in the wall? Is there an alternative way to fix this?

Thanks a lot for your time :cool:

slimjimmc

sponsoredwalk wrote: »

I'm just wondering about the plug sockets on the walls of houses & the
white covers. When you're changing the plug on something like an iron or
a tv it's simple, just put the blue & brown wires in the right places on the
new plug and presto, but the walls look a bit different. Is replacing them the
same deal, like you just turn off the electricity in the fuse box, unscrew the
wall covering & put the new one on with the wires connected back to the
same place? Is it a more serious job than that?

In principle, it can be as simple as you described but even the simplest mistake could have really serious consequences such as fire or electrocution.

Working with electricity is an extremely serious thing so I strongly recommend you leave the task to someone competent.

sponsoredwalk wrote: »

Also, one of the covers has become a bit loose and the wall behind it is a bit
cracked, and another plug has a hole in the wall behind it, is it possible to
get the white covers that are bigger, i.e. have a bigger area to cover up
the hole in the wall? Is there an alternative way to fix this?

Thanks a lot for your time :cool:

It sounds like the wall box (the bit inside the wall) is loose and consequently the socket is moving too. The only solution is to power off, open the socket and secure the box.

No, you can't get bigger "wall covering" to hide holes in the plaster but you may be able to get wall protectors which are like a plastic photo frame that fits around the socket. I've only ever seen them on light switches and I doubt they actually exist for power sockets. You should not use them to cover holes in the plaster, you should fix the plasterwork instead. Again this might involve turning off the power and taking off the socket face and filling the damage with normal wall filler.

Again I suggest you leave this to a competent person.

Buford T Justice

I agree with Slim, judging by what you have written in your post, you have little knowledge of electrics. With the greatest of respect OP, this needs to be dealt with by someone competent in electrics.