The Brass Tab on a Switched Outlet
Matching the broken hot-side tab when replacing a half-switched receptacle.
Let the Cover Plate Align a Multi-Gang Switch Box
Three switches never line up by eye. Back the screws off until each one is snug rather than tight, fit the cover plate to push them into position, then take it off — snug is loose enough to move and tight enough to stay put.
crooked light switches, switch plate won't sit flat, switches not straight, straighten switches behind a wall plate
Warning: This means loosening devices in a live-capable box. Switch the breaker off at the panel and confirm the circuit is dead with a voltage tester before the screwdriver goes anywhere near a device screw — a loosened switch can rotate far enough to bring a terminal into contact with the box or with the device beside it.
The Problem
A three-gang box goes in, all three switches get screwed down tight, and then the cover plate goes on and every one of them is a degree or two out — one leaning left, one sitting proud, the gaps around the toggles uneven. Fixing it by eye means loosening one, guessing, retightening, holding the plate up again, and finding you've pushed the neighbour out of true.
The switches aren't fighting you. Device screws pass through slots rather than holes, so there's play by design, and tightening each switch on its own locks in whatever angle it happened to be sitting at.
The Technique
Let the plate do the aligning, because the plate is the only thing that knows where the switches should be.
- Turn the breaker off and confirm the circuit is dead.
- Back each switch's mounting screws off until the device is snug rather than tight — it should shift when pushed but not flop about under its own weight. That's the whole setting the technique depends on.
- Fit the cover plate over all three. Its openings are cut to the exact spacing, so as it seats it pushes each switch into the position it needs to be in.
- Take the plate back off. Because the switches were snug rather than loose, they hold the position the plate just gave them instead of sagging out of it.
- Tighten the mounting screws down properly, then fit the cover plate for good.
The switches end up aligned to the plate rather than to your eye, which is the standard they're actually judged against.
Pro tip: Getting step 2 right is the whole trick, and it's a feel rather than a number. Too tight and the plate can't move the switch at all; too loose and the device drops out of alignment the moment the plate comes off — which is the failure that makes people conclude this doesn't work.
Safety note: Leave the breaker off until the cover plate is on for good. Devices sitting loose in a box with the power restored is the situation this technique creates, and it's worth the extra trip to the panel to avoid it.
Electrical, plumbing, and structural work may be regulated where you live — check local code before you start, and note that a permit may be required. More in our disclaimer.
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