How to attach to a metal plate with holes?

[Gunna]

Another unusual request for advice...

I am replacing the plastic cover for a ducted vacuum cleaner outlet in a wall (yes, these things still exist).

Unfortunately, the screws of the new cover don't align the with those from the old cover so the plan was to drill new holes in the metal backing plate. However, the backing plate isn't suitable for drilling holes in these locations.

I have marked the photo to show the approximate locations of the new screws.

The backing plate is installed behind the gyprock so my access if very limited. Any suggestions on how to provide a surface to screw the cover into please?

Metal backing plate

[Brad]

Surface mounting block which you can get with 13mm height, Bunnings has a couple of different brands that may fit the screws or may fit with some filler that you can screw into.

Mounting clips are another option if the screw mounts match.

Cutting a metal plate to fit will be the last resort.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Gunna,

It's great to see you've already received some excellent advice from the knowledgeable @Brad.

To add to his wonderful suggestions, you could consider Ramset 1 / 8" x 50mm Round Head Toggle Springs. If the spring toggles fit through those gaps in the plate, they could get you out of a bind. I'm not a great fan of using spring toggles on cover plates, especially when people use them on 240v electrical outlets, but I feel they would be acceptable in this case.

Please let us know how you go or if you have questions.

Mitchell

[pstq]

@Gunna 

Some ideas:

- Can those clip things for the old screw holes move? Maybe they could be moved outwards a bit to match the new plate's screw holes. It looks like there's already a cutout in the main plate where they need to go through, if your red marks are accurate.

- Can you just drill extra holes in the new plate to match the old screw locations?

- Glue pieces of plywood across the old screw holes, then shorten the new screws and screw them into the plywood.

[Gunna]

Thanks for all the suggestions. When I get a chance I will check each option and respond to them all.

[Gunna]

I started going through the options that didn't work for me for one reason or another and it was sounding negative so I'll just explain what I did in the end.

By the way @MitchellMc rest assured that there is no 240V anywhere near this!

Due to limited clearance, I took an old light switch without the cover - 10mm high.

In order to provide clearance for the wires and attachments on the back of the plate that ultimately goes on top of all this, I had to cut out a large section of the switch, trying to leave as much as possible so it didn't fall apart.

The screw holes in the new cover matched existing holes in the light switch. These contained only thin plastic so I added some filler to these holes so that the screws had something to go into.

Screwed the switch into the metal plate (drilled new holes) and then screwed the cover into the holes in the light switch with the filler. Another photo would have been helpful but I wasn't going to take it off again!

Thanks again for the suggestions. I certainly hope this is the end of my story.

[MitchellMc]

I'm happy to hear you worked out a solution @Gunna!

Great work, and many thanks for updating us. Please feel free to let us know anytime you need assistance. We're here to help.

Mitchell