How to replace powerpoints after plastering?

[poppylee198]

  

We are trying to out our PowerPoints back on after they were removed my plasterers, we have been able to attach one but the others done seem to be lining up well to be screwed in. Any advice appreciated.  

[Jason]

Hi @poppylee198,

Apologies for the slow reply. We weren't able to have a resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert on the site over the weekend due to last-minute leave. 

I first wanted to say to make sure you always proceed with care and make sure the power is off at the switchboard before touching these points. Your safety is the utmost priority and you should engage a licensed electrician if you at all unsure how to proceed safely. 

Typically you'll have a metal frame behind the plasterboard that you screw into. You can see it best in your second image. But perhaps it's been a little bent out of alignment by the plasterers and needs to be realigned. 

Would you consider getting a licensed electrician in and replacing them? Otherwise let me tag some helpful members for their thoughts on addressing the problem: @MikeTNZ, @CSParnell, @EricL.

Jason

[poppylee198]

we were able to replace one where the metal wasn’t bent so believe you must be right that the issue is the others are now not aligned. Any advice on how we can save the call out fee of an electrician (especially when we have no other work we currently need an electrician to complete) would be appreciated! 

thanks so much!

[MitchellMc]

Hi @poppylee198,

You'd need to assess why the screws for the powerpoint are not lining up with those for the mount. Perhaps the plaster has not been trimmed back far enough to expose the mount holes, or the mount might be bent or misaligned.

I am unsure whether mounting an already wired-in powerpoint to its wall bracket is classified as electrical work requiring an electrician. However, I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to conduct this work themselves as you can risk damaging wiring or incorrectly installing the powerpoint. If the powerpoint is not correctly installed, you risk things like a child pulling it from the wall at a later date and being able to access live wiring behind it.

I'd suggest calling a few local electricians, explaining the situation and getting an estimate of the cost over the phone. This might be a job they could do on their way home, and you could get away with a minimal charge.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[MrCraigO]

replace the power points they are already 20-30years old and the new power points come with new screws which fit the metal brackets if you buy a box of ten power points they usually come with a couple of extra long screws if you have some troublesome ones or on tiles etc but the issue is with just grabbing any screw is the screw heads to big and you carnt use the little dress plugs to cover the screws just buy new powerpoints swap all the singles for doubles i'd try to use clipsal or hpm the others are heaps cheaper but you get what you pay for hope this helps

sorry i should mention to turn the power off it can be dicey if the connections are loose and the connection screws are live power really you need a sparky to come change these for you refresh your connections and tighten everything up i bet the plasterers are great at taking them off but not so great putting them back back they would be thinking you would just get new ones 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @MrCraigO. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for adding to the discussion.

Great advice on having an electrician replace the outlet. Any of our members with a similar project might like to utilise our In-Home electrical installation service. You can have your lighting, powerpoints & appliances replaced by a fully licensed electrician.

Another great discussion to read through is DIY electrical and why you should never attempt it.

We look forward to hearing about all your projects and plans around the house and garden. Feel free to reach out anytime you need a hand or have something to share with the community.

Mitchell