cut, buy, or ream out ur wall plate issue


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Old 02-16-13, 01:26 PM
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cut, buy, or ream out ur wall plate issue

Since so many of the decorator style wall plates seem to have screws too long, what do you do about it?
 
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Old 02-16-13, 02:16 PM
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I get a jar of screws at the supply house.
 
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Old 02-16-13, 03:09 PM
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Or use the threaded holes on your wire strippers to cut the screws off. Removing them from the threaded part straightens out the threads so they will fit properly. Scroll over the pix in this link to see what I am talking about. Amazon.com: Irwin Industrial Tools 2078309 8-Inch Multi Tool Stripper, Cutter and Crimper with ProTouch Grips: Power & Hand Tools
 
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Old 02-16-13, 04:44 PM
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The screws should just screw through the strap. Unless you are using 1" screws you should not have a problem.
 
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Old 02-16-13, 07:14 PM
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I just use appropriate-length screws. If I remember correctly they're #6-32...
 
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Old 02-16-13, 07:55 PM
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What are we missing. Why would you as you put it "ream out" a wall plate because of the length of the screw. Sounds like your real problem is the screw is too short because of the thickness of the wall plate. In that case buy longer screws.
 
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Old 02-17-13, 04:44 AM
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I think he means to ream out the wall so the long screw has a place to go. I haven't put too many cover plates on, but I don't think I have ever had the problem of screws being too long with a cover plate.
 
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Old 02-17-13, 04:33 PM
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Most all of the decorator style wall plate screws I've come across are long enough to try to imbed in the plaster/drywall, etc, by 1/8" or so. Plaster is the biggest issue, since it resists enough to jam the screw. One fix is to "ream out" a hole inside of the threaded hole. But, that's work. I've been cutting the screws using the tool Larry shows. Hoping for a better idea, like shorter screws with white heads.
 
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Old 02-18-13, 03:01 AM
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Buy Decora plate screws. They are short.
 
 

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