We hired contractors to install our kitchen cabinets and they made a mess of the countertop cabinet cutouts for the outlets. We expected them to pull the electric box into the cabinet and mount on the back wall but they just cut holes and mounted the cabinets over the outlets. They also mounted the cabinets too far off the counters so now they need to be lowered 3/4 of an inch, which means the holes will need to be made bigger. I reached out to the cabinet company about replacing the backs of the cabinets and since this wasn’t an option, they recommended just adding a skin panel to the back. I’m trying to figure out what to do to remedy this situation. Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Replies
Good golly miss Molly…..
Today this is another post where “contractor” and “blew it” turned up!
Sorry this happened to you but would add that associating contractor with what they did to your cabs is a misnomer. These hacking nimrods don’t deserve the title you’ve granted them.
These outlets are located within the cabs?
There used to be “idiot” outlet plates that were oversized……if you can find them and they cover enough, that might work.
I’ve never done any kitchens with convenience outlets inside the cab’s back panel, except above a range for the micro. If they won’t show until you open the door, then I guess a panel matched trim would be ok. Who’s going to install those?
My husband can install them just looking for easy hacks or solutions. We’ll need to patch the hole so that the electrical box can be mounted then covered with a plate but didn’t know if there were easy hacks to do so.
Try finding an over-size outlet cover that'll hide it. Or if you're handy, make one.
If your cupboards are like ours, one would never notice the screw-up because there's the older stock in the back that seldom moves.
yes the issue is the hole is now too big for the actual electric box to mount to anything. I guess will need to figure out a way to patch the hole? The point of the cabinets is to hold our appliances so wanted a nice finish as the door will be open when they’re in use.
Thanks,
My daughter has a couple cabs on counter for your stated purpose.
Brain fade as they’re 500 miles away. Gives a nice clean look when not in use.
You can leave the existing box in place and get electrical box extensions to bring the outlet out to the proper place, as long as there's enough slack in the wire (there should be. Its not moving very far). Then just use an oversize plate as was already recommended.
This what I'm talking abouthttps://www.lowes.com/pd/CANTEX-SINGLE-GANG-PVC-BOX-EXTENDER/5001724999