How to Fix Bad Recessed Outlets 

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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

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.

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!!! *****

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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

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

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. !

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

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

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

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

You are a life saver! Thank you so much for a great video.

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.....

Thanks so much for this handy tutorial! I appreciate your knowledge.

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Thanks a bunch. This was an extremely helpful video.

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

You really explain it professionally. Thank you.

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

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

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

Excellent. Question: what if you have the reverse, an outlet box improperly installed that prevents the plate from lying flat on the drywall but leaves a gap at one or more corners? Thanks!

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

Very helpful! Thanks for taking the time to prepare this!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Thank you so much for this video ! Helps a lot ! What suggestion for outlets that keep popping out when screwed in? We have a gcfi that keeps popping out at top when mounted. Thanks .

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.

helping people years later. thanks for sharing!

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

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

Thank you so much, just what I needed and so easy.

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

Where do you get the shim plate from? Do they come for one electrical box as well?

Thanks for the tips! Great video! You are a life saver!

Thank you...made it look simple and quick.

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.

Great video! Thanks for posting!

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

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

TREMENDOUS! Thank you very much for your help!

Exactly what I needed to see. Thx

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

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

Thank you! Now, I know how to fix my recessed plugins and light switches.

also, any difference in terms of which is best to use? (shims vs metal ring)

Loved it . Thanks for the advice.

Great video. Now I can go fix my plugs/switches!

Great video, Can you please tell me where to get the shims and plate? Thanks

Sweet, pretty helpful for the problem I have. Thanks!

So simple but yet so effective. Wow!!

Amazing simple solution. Thank you

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.

Outstanding video... Thank you

thanks Austin! I had this problem, but I also have a problem with protruding boxes. What do you suggest for a box that is protruding about 1/8 " from the wall? I cant put the standard wall plate over it.

thanks for posting, helped a lot

Thanks for the video, that really helped!

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

That was super helpful, thanks!!!

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

Where do you buy the shimming plates, Menards does not have them? I need to install these plates on both single and double gang receptacles and switches. Links to where to purchase would be great.

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.