Warning: those cheap plastic outlet spacers can crack your drywall

So I was swapping out light switches in my 1920s house last weekend, and the old boxes are set back way too deep. Picked up a pack of those plastic outlet spacers from Home Depot for like 3 bucks. I was stacking two of them behind a switch in the living room, and one of them just snapped right in half. It wasn't even that tight. Now I gotta patch the drywall where the crack went up about 4 inches. My buddy who does electrical work saw it and told me I should use metal spacers instead, they hold up way better under pressure. He showed me the ones he keeps in his truck, $8 for a box of 10 at the supply house. I'm wondering if anyone else has had those plastic ones fail on them too?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark_hernandez1214d ago

You had the same thing happen to my buddy Dave when he was wiring his basement. He stacked two of those plastic spacers behind a switch and one cracked before he even got the screws tight. Then when he tried to wiggle it out, a piece fell behind the drywall and he had to cut a hole to fish it out. He was pissed, said those things are brittle as hell in cold weather especially. He switched to metal ones and hasn't complained since.

bettymurphy13d ago

Did you read that article from a while back about how plastic spacers get brittle when they're stored in cold garages or unheated sheds? @mark_hernandez12's buddy Dave probably had a batch that was already weakened from the temperature swings... I remember a contractor telling me he keeps his spacers in the house overnight in the winter before any job, just to help avoid that cracking issue. Sucks about having to cut a hole though, that's the kind of thing that makes you want to throw a tool across the room.

karenw2310d ago

Get some metal ones from an electrical supply house, they're way better. I've had those plastic spacers shatter on me in cold weather too, it's like they get super brittle. Had to patch a hole just like that last winter. Now I just keep a box of the metal ones in my tool bag, never had one break on me. They cost a bit more but totally worth it to not have to deal with patching drywall again.