Broken socket plate screw hole 29 November 2020 at 6:39PM in In My Home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 8 replies 152 views

DD265

One of the holes for a coaxial socket plate has torn (plaster/plasterboard), so it's loose on the right. The left hole is decent enough. There's no scope to shift it a bit to one side, and there's no box at the back to secure the plate to. Google is telling me how to replace the coaxial cable, or how to secure a box and I can't seem to find the right search terms.



In the other room we got rid of the socket in the same state as there were two on the same wall, so I put a baton in behind it then a piece of wood and then filled it. I could do something similar on a smaller scale here, or just use adhesive and glue it into place on that side?

Alter_ego

You could fit a box and do it properly

Murmansk

https://www.screwfix.com/p/appleby-1-gang-35mm-dry-lining-box/44827?tc=VB1&ds_kid=92700055281954484&ds_rl=1249401&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqo3-BRDoARIsAE5vnaLh84mvaOUjDTqzgoD2LvuxJZjagHruzol84UOBG892RTo6QxiXqGAaAg5YEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

grumbler

Murmansk said:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/appleby-1-gang-35mm-dry-lining-box/44827?tc=VB1&ds_kid=92700055281954484&ds_rl=1249401&gclid=Cj0KCQiAqo3-BRDoARIsAE5vnaLh84mvaOUjDTqzgoD2LvuxJZjagHruzol84UOBG892RTo6QxiXqGAaAg5YEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

As there is a stud right on the left side of the hole, I can see this box fitted only with the clumps at the top and the bottom of the hole. The socket will need to be turned 90 degrees accordingly.

To fix the box in the normal position I can imagine the protruding part of the left clump removed and the remaining part screwed to the stud from inside.

knightstyle

Yes, just remove the plastic tongue on the right and screw sideways into the wood.

grumbler

on the left?

DD265

Alter_ego said:

You could fit a box and do it properly

Heaven forbid anything in this house should be done properly!

I didn't know coaxial cables were typically boxed (I guess now that applies to all sockets!), I'll have a look at the one mentioned. I can't see that securing it top/bottom would be an issue as long as I cut the hole to the correct size.

Jeepers_Creepers

Since it's a coax socket, I guess it doesn't matter that the front plate's fixing screws will be positioned above and below the central aerial socket instead of to the usual sides? In which case the easiest solution would be a dry box installed a quarter-turn as Grumbler says. 

Other solutions with the 'dry' box is to cut off the LH tang (carefully so you don't mess up the box...) and screw through instead as Knight says, or use a wood chisel to remove a chunk out of the timber stud to accommodate that tang. These last 2 sound like a bit of a pain to me. 

Or, since there's apparently a timber stud on the left of that hole (is there?), just fit a standard metal back box ( https://www.screwfix.com/p/appleby-galvanised-steel-knockout-box-1g-25mm/79195 ) by drilling a couple of holes in its LH side and screwing through it into the stud and fixing it tightly against there. Once you have deep-filled in all around the box, it ain't going to move with an aerial plug being inserted. 

(I wouldn't recommend such a one-side fixing for a power socket.)

DD265

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Or, since there's apparently a timber stud on the left of that hole (is there?), just fit a standard metal back box ( https://www.screwfix.com/p/appleby-galvanised-steel-knockout-box-1g-25mm/79195 ) by drilling a couple of holes in its LH side and screwing through it into the stud and fixing it tightly against there. Once you have deep-filled in all around the box, it ain't going to move with an aerial plug being inserted. 

(I wouldn't recommend such a one-side fixing for a power socket.)

Yes there is, so that sounds like an option too thanks