*
Does anyone know of a good source for push button light switches. I have found 3 sources with the prices starting around $14 per switch for the standard single switch. Incidentally none of the ones I have found thus far are UL listed.. Any reason why? Not enough sales to pay for the testing? Thanks in advance..
Jon Byrd
Listeners write in about HVAC company consolidation and stains from supply lines and ask questions about Larsen trusses and insulating stucco houses.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
*
Does anyone know of a good source for push button light switches. I have found 3 sources with the prices starting around $14 per switch for the standard single switch. Incidentally none of the ones I have found thus far are UL listed.. Any reason why? Not enough sales to pay for the testing? Thanks in advance..
Jon Byrd
Any updates on this?
Building a presale custom home - "historically appropiate" style. customer wants these.... along with about 1000 other changes... Anyone know anything about these? Where to get them? Are they UL listed as above poster noted? What about the switch covers?
doing a google I find some but does anyone really use theses? Do they sell them at electrical supplies? I'm thinking my electrician doesn't go shopping on the internet... Also have a call into electrician.
Edited 9/8/2005 6:51 am ET by Matt
Matt - They are not used typically except by people doing odd ball restorations. (Makes you feel good right?) I think I saw them in Renovator's Supply. Some of the Old House mags probably have them too. If I have a chance I'll check.
Don K
If you need quantity you should be able to get a better price through your electrical supply house.
If you just need a few: http://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/re_elec_light.htm?GCID=S14464x015&KEYWORD=push%20button%20light%20switches
There are other places that sell as well.
Regardless, make sure that the ones you get are UL approved. When I first started shopping for these several years ago I was suprised that several sources were selling switches that were not UL approved.
One quick update...my previous post hasn;t shown up yet so here's another reply:
Be careful with box fill. Some of these push button switches are rather bulky. Unless they're already installed, consider upping the size of the boxes.
Thanks for the clue on "box fill" - I can see this as potentially being a big issue. House is not yet roughed in.
All:
1) Is "UL listed" the same thing as "UL Approved"?
What is the proper terminology/measurement for "box fill". I'm thinking that it is rated in CU Inches, or maybe it's done in "units"?
2) He said he wants them to go with the the oil rubbed bronze door hardware. OK - so they have oiled bronze switch plate covers.... Guessing that he would want the outlets to match - Do they commonly sell black outlets?
BTW - my Electrician said - yea - OK we do those... YOU (that means me) get them and have them in the house at the time of trim out.
I'm giving the HO a price of $810 for the switches and plates and $412 for the outlets.
TIA
Edited 9/9/2005 6:46 am ET by Matt
"1) Is "UL listed" the same thing as "UL Approved"?"There are several different type of UL "stamps". And if you want to find the difference you can go to UL's web site.Some of the differences have to do with how the equipment is to be used, oem or end user. IE a relay or a toaster.And I believe that there are different catagories depending on if it is tested by the UL, by a independent lab, or in house. And some things like industrial control panels are only practical to be inspected in house."Do they commonly sell black outlets?"Yes, even seen them in the home horro stores.
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/h00134.asp Box fill with the new Ul-listed push-botton switches may not be a problem today, but I remember years ago the inspector adding a penalty to the switches because they were oversized. Your electricial will know. Cliff's articles have helped me out more than he'll ever know...
http://www.ul.com/mark/mark3.html Someone asked me the same question earlier this summer. More info than you could hope for.
With oil-rubbed faceplates, look for brown instead of black outlets and switches. It's a much better match.
Brown are available at most electrical supply houses, Classic Accents even has them on their website.
ditto the brown. we have a few original bronze push button switches left in our 1925 house and the coffee colored outlets to "match".
Particularly when there are a lot of splices and big devices, a box fill can be legal and still be a royal pain to get everything in. A few extra bucks for bigger boxes can more than pay off in time saved.
-- J.S.
From what I have seen, all the places sell the same items, which are from Classic Accents. The new ones are UL approved, and they have 3 and 4 way ones. I've got about 4 installed for about a year now and they seem to work fine. Of course, I have two of my original turn knob 3 ways installed too, and they still work like a champ! Now if I could just find replacement knobs for my other two...
Van Dyke's Restorers has these. They alsdo have a very nice free catalog, for those who don't like to shop on the net.
.
no problem.
Classic Accents, Inc.
Brand new. UL Listed. These are what I use for restoration. And he's got the plates for them as well.
SHGFor every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong.
-H.L. Mencken
Another place to get them is Rejuvenation, which sells custom lighting as well as the faceplates that match. I have 3 way and standard ones in my house (oddball renovation). The 3 way seem better constructed, as a few of the regular ones push in at an angle every now and then. Still work fine though.
We used the Classic Accents on a large renovation and had excellent results. Many of the companies that sell push button switches are reselling the classic accents ( they are double the price in the Rejuvanation catalog). Same with switch plates.
Here is their link again. http://www.classicaccents.net/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv+Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=CAI
Wood is Good
Adam Greisz<!----><!----><!---->
<!----><!---->
Edited 9/9/2005 9:58 pm ET by AdamGreisz
Thanks Adam... Those were the ones I used to base my pricing on for the customer.
And thanks to everyone else. I was shocked as to the response I got from you all. I think I may have seen these before (in an old house) but didn't really think anyone actually used them. They are quite pricey compaired to the $1.00 switches and probably $.39 switch plates most electricians iinstall, but we will see how much this guy wants them...
The dimmers and the 3 and 4 ways do not fit together for ganged together operations. You cannot fit two of them in a 2 gang box. One will fit with standard switch. In a 3 way combo you can use one on each end with a standard switch in between.
x= dimmer or 3 way
o= standard switch
works xo doesnt work xx
works xox, xoxox, etc...
We had 6 and 8 switches ganged together. Took me awhile to get switch plates but Classic accents was able to help us out. Also had Cirecast out of San Fransico do some custom forging. http://www.cirecast.com/
They do awesome stuff.
Wood is Good
Adam Greisz<!----><!----><!---->
<!----><!---->
Adam,
A lot of times the reason that you can't gang some things like 3-ways or dimmers is because of the wider plate on the front of the switch.
A lot of times these plates can be trimmed down to gang-mount the switch. Sometimes the front plates even have score lines so they can be flexed and snapped off. Was this a possibility with the push buttons?
By the way, the CA link is now bookmarked. I'm always looking for oil-rubbed bronze and they have a nice inventory.
Thanks, Mongo
Mongo they do have removable tabs (removal of these tabs lowers the wattage allowed), however the actual body of the switch does not allow them to fit together and align themselves for the holes in the switch plates. They will fit in the boxes but you cannot screw the cover plates on. Big house, lots of configurations, much monkeying around and end result we concluded that we could not fit them side by side.
Wood is Good
Adam Greisz<!----><!----><!---->
<!----><!---->
Thanks for that info, I appreciate the follow-up.
coulda sworn that I gave the link for classic accents a while ago.
if you want fixtures, rejuvenation is the best place to go.
if you want switches, go directly to classic accents, who make the switches that rejuvenation sells.
even though I don't feel the love, I'll give you one more piece of advice for your HO. The switchplates from CA are a little too flimsy for good restoration, unlike the original plates that hade a whole different feel and weight to them. So if your HO wants a heavy solid plate, go to ebay and you can usually pick up a decent assortment of old time brass plates. The polish up beautifully on a wheel in about 5 minutes.
And lastly, you can usually gang two switches in a normal box, but you can't do more than 2 without a bigger box. and the switchplate is going to dictate the size, so you can't play with the switch faces to make them fit cause they are still going to move apart to fit into the plate.
OK - thanks. Yea, I think there is one box with 4 switches and a couple with 3.
Here's a link from Rejuvenation for push button switches, they are a great company (their light fixtures are well-made and stunning) and yes people do use these switches -
http://www.rejuvenation.com/typepagePushbutton%20Switches/templates/houseparts_group.html?iqg=3e1962795fd2a497000fba4a40901f92
three of the switches they sell are UL listed, and they also sell switchplates.
Edited 9/10/2005 8:00 pm ET by RickD
I love Rejuvenation. Went to the store in Portland and walked out several thousand dollars poorer. Good packaging, everything arrived at my house unscathed.
Take a close look at their push button switches though, and you'll see they are from Classic Accents (see the logo on the bottom pushbutton). CA sells the single pole for $13, Rejuvenation sells the same one for $20.
really? where is classic accents based? (i will admit I have never actually ordered the switches)
I think area code 734 is Michigan.
I could be wrong, but Rejuvenation's switches sure look like CA's.
Rick,The switches they sell are made by Classic Accents. But if you want to pay more for the same switches.....
Matt,
Just read your question on push button light switches. I am out in Portland, Or. We have a few stores that specialize in old building parts. One big one is Rejuvination Hardware Co. They do a huge business of providing new 'Period' building parts. (Lights, hardware, hinges, u-name it) I have purchased many products for jobs on old homes. They make new yesteryear peices. Great cutom and production products from the turn of the century to 50's and beyond. Almost any theme, they hit it and are a great find if in the future you need anything.
Good luck
http://www.rejuvenation.com has regular, dimmer, three way, and four way switches. Some are UL approved and some are UL listed. They have 14 different finishes of switchplates, too.
The switches start at $20, but the more they cost the more profit you make.