How to Fix Bad Recessed Outlets

Austin shows two ways to fix Bad recessed outlet problems in this simple to follow handyman style tips.
The links below are affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The shim plate was purchased at Home Depot.
Klein Tools 85073INS Insulated Screwdriver Set - amzn.to/46FAXZ6
Klein Tools NCVT1P Voltage Tester - amzn.to/46XnGLa
Electrical Outlet Spacers, 36pcs - amzn.to/3Qs8H6L
Milwaukee 2101-22 M4 1/4 Hex Screwdriver Kit W/2 Bat - amzn.to/3tKtvxr

[@farmhand3724]

7 yrs & the video remains relevant. One of the best recessed outlet fixes available.

[@svseaglobe]

Thank you!

[@marvinostman522]

I have always made my own spacers. An electrician showed my dad and he showed me. Find a piece of 14 gauge Romex and strip off all the insulation so all you have are bare conductors. Take a 16d nail and wrap the wire around it so it looks like a spring. The screw holding the outlet in place slides right in side the coil. Cut off what you need put the screw through it an tighten it to the box. It is copper so if you are using a metallic box the ground path is maintained. Through the rest of the coil in your bag for the next job. Works great and generally there will be wire scraps laying around.

[@ThePainkiller3666]

I use the refrigerator's 1/4" water line (plastic) as spacers, works better than romex, cut them into 5in strips and put them in my misc. case.

[@marvinostman522]

@@ThePainkiller3666 yes they are easier to use but they are nonconductive

[@bobsue3639]

I break off the outlets "ear" tabs and use them as spacer washers.

[@marvinostman522]

@@bobsue3639 I can't swear to it but I think one of the purposes for those ears was to catch the drywall and hold the outlet flush. It works if the cut out is the right size. Most of the time you need more than 4 washers. I've done that and it works good.

[@ozzie1684]

I just cut red wall anchors to length I need .. always works great .but I've done it your way as well

[@EqualsThreeable]

This is the voice of the narrator in your head giving you instructions for a mission.

[@VFA41Hedgehog]

Thank you, Sir! I said to myself, "I bet somebody on KZbin can show me the smart way to get these things flush." You did not disappoint!

[@markostertag1101]

Bob same here!! Haha

[@Extrabitz]

Same. I didn't put the thickness of drywall into the installation of my boxes.

[@misteranderson777]

Fantastic! Who knew they even made shim plates for boxes? Love YouYube and love do it yourself guys like this!

[@Monuments_to_Good_Intentions]

I was about to use washers, but looked up to see if there was a product available. And sure enough.

[@XloMotion]

@@Monuments_to_Good_Intentions same as me 😁

[@philbled]

Here I am learning this really useful skull 7 years later. Thank you!

[@XloMotion]

Posted over 6 years ago and still helping people out! Went to replace a bunch of outlets and switches and most of them are not sitting flush with the wall. Now thanks to you I'll be able to fix them quickly! Thank you!

[@Remrie]

I love the grandure of the over the top echo. Thank you for making this video. Effective, thorough, simple, and funny at the same time

[@petemiller519]

Good video. You can break off the ears from the plugs for a tighter cover plate install when you install them over the metal backing plate. Thumbs up. Cheers from Canada.

[@davidemoore1620]

Thank you, sir. I really appreciate this instruction. I'm still rebuilding from Hurricane Harvey, and I didn't know what depth to set them before putting up the damn drywall. I hate trying to build my house back by myself, but people like you, will to share their time and expertise, has been such a blessing to me. Thank you.

[@bigtaxrefund]

im an avionic technician (electrician for aircraft), and i to wire my church. after the dry wall install, a few outlets were recessed. i was handcrafting shims to use. i didnt know that u can actually buy shims for this purpose. thnx a million. this video was a learning process for me

[@brownhammer3544]

Thank you sir! Straight to the point, no b.s talking, effective and well done.

[@chaser9363]

while it's a good thought and a quick fix, it would never pass an electrical inspection because the box is recessed too deeply behind the drywall to meet the code, you would actually need what they call an extension ring or what most electricians call a goof ring, where the ring has side and top walls that penetrate into the box surrounding the device preventing electrical contact with the drywall, plaster or tile and not just a flat plaster ring and a none grounded one at that. yes i know that the device that is attached to the p-ring is grounded but in the code, the p-ring itself would have to be intentionally grounded by an approved means and the goof rings are plastic so no grounding is needed. and as for the plastic spacers those thing they are proud of them they are expensive when you can just take a good length piece of insulated 14 AWG wire and coil it up tightly and cut to length and use that as a spacer behind the goof ring.

[@glasshalfempty1984]

Those plastic spacers are super easy to use. In contrast (and I just did this recently), coiling up 14 awg wire to the correct length is a bigger pita. Just wanted to comment on that one very specific thing you said. Nothing else, just that one thing.

[@chaser9363]

@@glasshalfempty1984 don't coil to length. coil more than you need and cut to length. i usually coil enough to get several uses from it. and i've found that if you cut just a little long its seems to work better, yet if it's still too long you can still cut some off. do it a couple of times you'll get the hang of it. plus its always on hand and it's free, you don't have to go to the store to buy it.😎

[@stevenrheeter6005]

@@chaser9363 When I use the spacers they're all the time falling off while I'm trying to get the screw going...ugh...PIA. So I'm gonna try that coiled wire idea. Thanks for the tip. I think those round nose pliers are finally going to come in handy.

[@chaser9363]

@@stevenrheeter6005 i have a klein round shank phillips head screwdriver that has like a 1/4" stud sticking out at the hilt of the handle that you stick the end of the wire in to start wrapping it around the shank to make the coil. but you should be able to do it with just a regular round shank phillips head screwdriver w/o the stud.

[@jonanderson9636]

Reference code section 314.20

[@TheMargo420]

Very clear. Thank you. No jabber, no wild music! Very helpful.

[@Robert8455]

I always align my trim scews with the slot straight up and down because I could not sleep at night knowing they were just twisted to some random angle.

[@bobmalmquist5580]

I had this problem with 2 recepticals in my house. I knew there had to be a quick fix. thanks. I enjoy the videos

[@apebs5423]

Thank you!! We bought a house and some of the outlets are awful! It drives me nuts to look at these outlets popping out and the plates just shatter because they are not on right.. this video made my day! Going to start fixing them one by one with your instructions! thanks!

[@farmhand3724]

Concise and to the point without alot of drug out explanation. I'm stopping by Home Depot on my way home from work today to get supplies to fix my outlets. Thanks for the video!

[@LivonieJoanie]

This is exactly what I needed to know. Our electrician didn't anticipate quarter-inch tile on our kitchen backsplash. Your instructions are so clear. Thanks!

[@nyctoya]

It's really disappointing when you have to fix other people's mess. That's a great idea with the shim. That never crossed my mind.

[@ce2flaco]

Coming behind a low bidder. It's all too common. So many customers only look at the number and never consider the quality or lack of it attached.

[@Diva9000x]

Austin, you are the TRUTH, brother! I was racking my brain trying to figure out why I was having such a hard time replacing sconces in my dining room. After much tribulation (several hours), it dawns on me that the round electrical boxes were too far in the wall and that's why the mounting brackets and fixture plates didn't fit. I went to Home Depot and picked up the longer screws, the shimming plates (2 sets: One metal and one plastic, just in case) and the outlet spacers (also, just in case). I spoke to the electrical guy in HD. He was skeptical of your method, but it worked like a charm! Though you fixed sockets and I lighting fixtures, I still leaned how to correct my problem. After I added the shim plate on the box along with the mounting bracket. I had the new sconce up in 5 minutes! Thanks for your help!

[@generalmaximus53]

Trying to do some DIY project. I put 1/2 in sheet rock over some existing brown wood paneling. Had a huge gap issue with all the outlets in the room. Thanks for showing how it gets done. !

[@mountainhike100]

Last year when we moved into this new house, I had to do both of your tips for at less 8 of the boxes. They for some reason put a second sheet of sheetrock on the three walls and all the boxes were deep inside. The plates looked so bad, I just had to fix them. So as I was painting I fixed the boxes. Looks good now. You also did a great video, people can follow it and really understand what you are doing. Thank you.

[@FlyingSolo77]

You should check power on all outlets and even wires. You may have multiple circuits in the box. Good video, I didn't know you could do this.

[@svseaglobe]

yes

[@evelyngonzalez8028]

Awesome.... I redid our kitchen back splash and had this problem. Now I can fix it and it will look awesome🙏🏻👍 thank you for sharing

[@svseaglobe]

So Glad it was helpful!

[@JSTRODE07]

Great video good advice. The shaky hands freak the shit out of me as an electrician though. Stay safe.

[@alexandernate]

I have this exact issue and i was on my way to Lowes to buy longer screws and i figured i would check out youtube first. Life Saver! thank you!!! *****

[@james8156]

Awesome!!! I used the plastic extenders for my outside light fuxture to ensure it was flush mounted.

[@svseaglobe]

Thanks!

[@60RBowers]

Thank you! One of my biggest pet peeves when you pay a LOT of money for a new house!

[@charleswilson4598]

I've got one of those recessed plugs and had planned to replace it which I am not looking forward to. The wire is old and very stiff. But now I see there is another way to do this. Thank you

[@svseaglobe]

Glad it helped.

[@buildingsupplyco]

Straight to the point with clear instructions. You're a true pro.

[@jeanlindberg4946]

wow, you just solved my problem of over aggressive sheet rockers who pushed a few outlet boxes back so they were too recessed for the wall plate. thank you very much!

[@lindalowery5353]

Thanks so much for this video. I was about to hire someone to fix my outlets. I can now do it myself. Thank you so much.

[@manchvegasuruguayguy]

Thank You for this!! Never knew they made any type of shims for this problem . Now I can fix some problem outlets I've had for years

[@nonelost1]

I like how you keep the camera nice and close to the outlet so that I can see better. The last video I viewed regarding crooked outlets the camera was too far away. Therefore I "liked", subscribed, and tapped on the notifications"bell"as well.

[@mttexg2120]

You saved me a lot of work. I built an attic room and nailed the boxes into the studs, but forgot to leave them out a bit to pull through the drywall. I thought I'd have to tear them out and redo them. Phew!

[@LFTRnow]

I watched this at 2x and it is perfectly fine at that speed. I learned a lot in 3 minutes. Thanks for no annoying music, and no endless ads or rambling. Just - here's the tools, here are the solutions and why you choose one over the other.

[@samiakuma]

Thanks so much for making helpful videos like this. I installed decorative beadboard and didn't take into account for the gap it would create. Still trying to decide between these shims or the box extender I saw in some other video. Now I know I have a solution for the other outlets in this house that are flexing too much and just slightly recessed for sure.

[@svseaglobe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@gregsievers1743]

This was exactly what I needed to know! Built a new shop and had placed all the boxes based on the stop (for sheet rock) & we placed OSB sheathing which was thicker. So, I now know about "outlet shims".....yeahhhhhh!! Off to fix them.....

[@EmanAish]

Great job. I am a realtor and this issue always shows in the home inspections. Now I know who to get it fixed.

[@edgarherrera1288]

Great job 👏🏼 👍🏼! You’re the man! Greetings to you from Memphis, Tennessee!

[@peacefrog0521]

I’ve used those little yellow plastic spacers even before I found this video. They kind of work to add some “stiffness” but are fiddly. They tend to spin around or fall off when driving the screw. But they work. One other thing, I just noticed you slightly loosened the screws holding the receptacles to the box, then put the cover plate on. What I like to do (I’m not an electrician or expert) is loosen those screws just a tad so they hold but so the receptacles can still be shifted around. Then “dry-fit” the cover plate to align the receptacles and shimmy it around so they are centered and square. Then remove the cover plate, tighten the holding screws, then install the cover plate. Just a method I taught myself. I might go back and try the “shim plate” on an outlet where the 60-year-old box had broken and wouldn’t accept the screw. I replaced the box but whoever cut the drywall cut it too long so the “wings” don’t stand off firmly to the back of the drywall. A 4-inch plate is still too small to correct this. I think if I can find the plate in a single-gang 4-11/16 that might do the trick. (I saw 2-gang plates in this size at Menard’s but I can’t remember if they have single gang in this size). Plastic would be even better if I can find that to avoid the risk of contact with the wire terminal screws.

[@svseaglobe]

:-)

[@jackdolphy8965]

Super demonstration of this commonly needed fix!! Thank You 🙏🏾

[@josephpeebles5358]

Excellent..Just what I needed For my shed..Keep up the good work

[@svseaglobe]

Glad I could help

[@paulierox7341]

Just ran into this yesterday with a 4 light switches.. 1 switch was sunken in when i put the face plate on.. and was thinking damn I need a spacer to push it out a little.. Had NO idea these things existed until 6 minutes ago. Thanks

[@GGEvoIX06]

Awesome tutorial! Finishing basement and had a sheetrocker do a shoddy job on a few outlets.

[@barbarabray6583]

Thanks so much! Have several in our house, didn't know until we had a house inspection, now I can change the problem..

[@svseaglobe]

So glad it was helpful.

[@harrythompson6854]

Great way to show how to do things correctly! Thanks !

[@Fireship1]

Sounds like the voice of God. God is a hell of electrician!

[@Barnekkid]

Electricians are the oldest trade.

[@Barnekkid]

@Scott Luther What was the first thing God said when He created the universe?

[@vb6136]

I think it’s more of a priest.

[@alhakisan]

🤣🤣🤣👍🏼

[@Honestandtruth007]

Where GOD come into pictures 😂🤣 here...??

[@theodoreblumberg9022]

Well done, good time length. Good description of what was happening!

[@isaiasguzman942]

You really explain it professionally. Thank you.

[@13mike74]

Video very helpful 👏 👌. Noticed hands pretty shaky hopefully nothing serious like Graves disease 👀😬. I had the same trembling hands and now being treated. All is well🙂 All my best to you

[@svseaglobe]

Have had it for a long time, seems to be fine just frustrating.

[@13mike74]

@Sailing Sea Globe Please consider getting checked for Graves disease. Do a little research on it and you will see it sounds alot worse than it is HOWEVER can put your life in danger if left untreated. 🤝🤛

[@law4nyc]

I just started watching the video and about a minute in I already disagree with something you did but probably this will be the only thing. You should check power on both outlets top and bottom not just one outlet in one spot. I had a big surprise once by not checking both outlets in a double receptacle because they were both on a different circuit, Zapp!

[@svseaglobe]

Normally do sorry I didn't catch that on the video

[@dharr6628]

It took me 7+ years to find this video..thanks

[@svseaglobe]

Nice! it took me 3 years to get to this comment. Sorry about that. :-)

[@jimnypivo]

Thanks, Austin. Your clear and simple video has demystified my longstanding problem with recessed outlets.

[@oknokmaybe5]

Great! Provided the fix for the exact problem I was having. Appreciate you sharing the knowledge.

[@rhoodj]

how to know if the oulets are bad or the on off switch button? I have 4 outlets don't work in my house. sshould I just replace the outlets?

[@steelsunpi]

As an fyi: both Home Depot and Lowe's call them "wall plate spacers"

[@JuliusToltesi]

Thank you :)

[@71160000]

Home improvement stores can call them what they want but they're still mud rings. They're designed to both space and to shrink the wall hole to allow the plate cover to cover the entire cut out in the wall. Normally they fit under the sheetrock with the cutout flush with the outside of the rock. In texas we us ac control tubing cut to size as standoffs so the finished devices are flush for the plate to install correctly. They also sell device levelers to do the same finish.

[@hardeho]

This was helpful, thanks

[@biigdogmadeit]

The M.V.P in the comments!!!

[@javiergiraldez1647]

Excellent! And thanks to show others how to do it. From an Electrician

[@svseaglobe]

Thank you

[@skydvrboy]

I'd never heard of outlet shims. We always just dropped over sized nuts in behind the outlets and ran the screws through them. I learned that trick about 30 years ago from my uncle who was an electrician.

[@svseaglobe]

:-)

[@rsxen8990]

helping people years later. thanks for sharing!

[@marlawhite3682]

Cool Idea on the metal box ring!!!! Ive used the plastic ones for years

[@svseaglobe]

The large shim plate helps keep it from pushing back into the wall as it holds it against the wall board. As the rockers had cut to much of the sheet rock around the plugs so they sunk into the wall instead of holding against the sheet rock.... thanks for the comment.

[@peacefrog0521]

“Electricians are from Mars, Sheetrockers are from Venus...”

[@SavedByFaithInJesus]

Items you'll need: 1) echo eliminator.

[@neverlookback6886]

🤣🤣🤣

[@billbingham3829]

Unless you want to fix outlets in a gymnasium.

[@duncanvincent9106]

👊🤣🤣🤣

[@trplankowner3323]

He should have shot the video with doing a voice over in mind, then doing the voice over after dumping the live audio. I get the feeling he's more of a get things done kind of guy and less of a make fancy videos guy. Overall though, I appreciate the attention to detail that I've sadly seen neglected in far too many houses while doing home inspections.

[@ramon7969]

Items you'll need 1) lame comment eliminator

[@007MacGregor]

Slick job sparky I like the shims better their quicker , on the other hand the plate extension is nuts accurate

[@sarab949]

Thanks for the video. It seems simple enough to be a DIY job. My house is 169yrs old and the outlets are almost all significantly recessed. Looks like I'm buying a bunch of metal plates lol

[@allpro99]

This just made my Lise a whole lot easier and saved me some money!

[@kathaleenwright7206]

Wow, great video! You just made my life a lot easier. Thanks!!

[@nldcam]

Thank you kindly, means another trip to the store but with quick solution thanks to you.

[@daoudisofiene4588]

Thank you sir for this, I appreciate your work on this channel and I hope you good chance

[@adirondacker007]

Just wondering if you drilled out the screw holes in the plate to avoid conflict with the box threads... that's the only potential pain I see with this fix. I like it! The fix... not pain pain. Sorry if I got the S&M types excited.

[@svseaglobe]

I don't think I did.

[@seandunlap1743]

God giving recessed outlet solution instructions.

[@smitty_1]

Someone may have said this in the comments but I'm not going through them to see but here's an easy and cheaper solution.... Buy a 30" 3/8" PEX faucet riser or supply line for about $3. One of these will make about 58 1/2" spacers when cut with a cheap pair of pex cutters or a sharp razor knife and a smooth surface ( scrap of wood). I put new drywall over every wall wall in my house leaving the the existing lath and plaster up. For About $9 I had more spacers than needed. Another $6 (roughly) at Fastenall for longer screws and I saved about $100 bucks in all.

[@jblo6822]

I usually use small nuts or washers for shims.

[@jdtown6585]

great idea bud. Thx.

[@svseaglobe]

Works

[@tcmixman]

FYI. Those Yellow spacers could also assist in reducing vibration and rattle from outlets in a home theater application; especially if used in conjunction with foam insulation gaskets

[@svseaglobe]

true

[@jimdailey8099]

Thank you so very much, the drywallers even broke a couple of the blue plastic outlet boxes right off the stud, I don't know how to tackle that as of yet but your demonstration at least has me feeling a great sigh of relief knowing that I can somewhat correct their awful work--Jim, Royal Oak, MI.

[@Nsnead09]

+Jim Dailey must be a common thing in Royal Oak - I live here as well and stumbled upon this video. Thankfully fixed my issue!

[@lifeguard1234]

I live in Royal Oak mi too and it’s a nightmare.

[@Doowopsid]

Great job,! Nice job explaining the materials needed, and the video of you actually doing the work

[@mikelittle1715]

Wow, I should have looked this up years ago. Thanks.

[@HWP24-7HUTD]

Thank you! This is exactly the issues I have. Keep them coming.

[@FireAlarm225]

Cool video. Also you should not use a drill while installing the faceplate cover, because it could crack the cover if it gets tightened to much. You should use a screw driver

[@svseaglobe]

True

[@darrellpatton4008]

I've see the shim plates in the box store, but I never knew what they were for, until now.

[@petergalvin677]

Awesome! I knew there had to be a fix for recessed recepticles.

[@Victron007]

So simple. So effective.

[@themoistgreenorganic]

Ha, I just did this yesterday and used nuts 🔩 to get one side flush and worked great. But the plate method uses the wall to assure the outlet doesn’t push in at all. I’m going to try that next time!

[@svseaglobe]

Nice!

[@Ticky66MN]

I really liked the 1st solution you used. Thank you!

[@redsquirrelftw]

I'm drywalling and I realized when I installed my outlet boxes I put them in too deep. I thought the little tabs on the boxes were to give you the right spacing, but turns out if you go by those, they're too deep for 1/2" drywall. Doh. Glad to know those shims exist I will have to check for those next time I'm at HD.

[@curtisbme]

"I thought the little tabs on the boxes were to give you the right spacing" They are. But as you learned, they are also wrong if you actually want the box flush. ;-) No idea why they are this way but maybe the idea is to err on being recessed a little instead of protruding a little. I used a shim (can't recall if it was 1/16th or 1/8th) with this mark when I was using the nail-in kind and double checked with scrap piece of drywall before hamming them in all the way. Most of my boxes I used extension/adjustable ones for a few reasons including the fact I can't stand having outlets being recessed and varied. Note if any got off as bad as his first one (doesn't like any should have), you have to use an extension/oops insert, not the ring he used to start with as that won't pass inspection.

[@jmartin015]

Saw that plate in HD all the time and never knew what they were for. Lol

[@Clarionetist]

I couldn't find a "shim plate" for a single gang box, but I made one out of sheet metal. In my case, I only needed it along the top of the outlet, and drilled 2 holes in the sheet metal to screw it to the wall box. I used a large wall plate to cover it.

[@ttnnaples8060]

Looks best with that metal rim plate. Usually have to find oversized covers to hide all sorts of previous bad work.

[@ivorygilyard2243]

Hi, you did a great job. This information was very helpful and just what I needed. Thank you for posting.

[@rogerstockton8459]

gave me exactly the answer I was looking for. Thanks for your post!!

[@sobedas9167]

This video was very informative and easy to follow. I'm happy that I'm able to now know how to fix my outlets. Thank you! :D

[@georgebush6002]

The plastic spacerss worked for most of my outlets but a couple of the gang boxes were so recessed I replaced them with an old work gang box instead. I don't have any experience with extenders so not sure how well they work, but the new box were cheaper than an extender and very stable.

[@kalijasin]

So simple but yet so effective. Wow!!

[@svseaglobe]

Thanks!

[@machinmchargue4006]

Thanks! You just saved me a ton of troubleshooting and work.

[@Hasan-bc6rr]

Yes sir I enjoyed it and learned from it. Thanks for the clear illustration.

[@tesla4002]

Amazing simple solution. Thank you

[@stevennihipali3607]

I think I honestly like using the metal shim better... or maybe using both at the same time? Just using shims made it looks like there was too much play in the ends. I've got some outlets I'm gonna go buy those metal brackets for now... thank you!

[@svseaglobe]

You're welcome.

[@Patrick57]

Nice job but you should have added a box extender. Helps prevent shorts causing a fire and accidental shocks.

[@vandoo66]

A little bit of 14 awg conductor coiled around a screwdriver and cut to size works well too if you can’t be bothered to go purchase those little spacers.

[@thomaspierro3366]

I use 1/8" inside diameter vinyl tubing, same stuff you hook up to your fish tank air pump. As it compresses it creates the same effect. You can buy it by the roll, cut it to desired length and slide on the screw. The spacers shown will work but they are all one thickness, so its a little over or a little under never exactly right. The tubing is completely adjustable in length.

[@delberth.atcitty9141]

Thank you so much for the video. You made what I thought was impossible, possible.