Plastic plugs/light switches

[meljones35]

1802 cottage - any ideas on best light switches and plug points to replace 1960's ones currently there?

 

[Feltwell]

Yes - whatever you like the look of. Not many sockets or light switches would have been fitted originally!

Seriously, people seem to be split into 2 broad camps on this:-

- Those who believe that modern white plastic is so unobtrusive that you don't notice it so use that. Go for nice quality such as MK. Alternatively, brushed stainless sounds very modern but actually the good stuff is surprisingly unobtrusive in the right room.

- Those who prefer the look of more "retro" wiring accessories, which in reality means harking back to the days of bakelite etc or looking for bronze / brass / wooden units. Much more expensive, there are some nice suppliers online such as Jim Lawrence.

Say what you like the look of and I'm sure folks can suggest some websites to look at.

By the way - 1960's sockets there now? I trust you're not just replacing the sockets, you are also getting the wiring checked out. If it's not been touched in 50 years then you may well be due a re-wire, get an electrician to go over it for you.

 

[meljones35]

Not just replacing sockets! House is derelict and after two and a half years planning we are just starting from the top down. It has no drains, water, bathroom or kitchen. A blank canvas!

 

[tobydog]

We are big fans of Jim Lawrence and have lined his pockets considerably for most of what you'll find in our house, from door knockers, handles, lights and beds. Having said this, when it comes to plug sockets and switches, we are firmly in the white plastic camp. The idea being that we didn't want to pretend they were something they could never have been. We looked at alternatives but in an old house, you get it wrong, it can look very naff (IMHO).

 

[meljones35]

Thank you for advice.

 

[AMc]

I'm a supporter of good quality white plastic - the brass effect plastic looks terrible after a while (or straight away to my taste) and the more vintage stuff is no more/less in keeping but substantially more expensive - esp. if you're doing a whole house.
Make sure that the range you get covers all the things you need as mismatched white plug sockets/aerial points/phone points/network points draw your eye in a way matching ones don't IMHO.

 

[LadyArowana]

I'm a supporter of good quality white plastic - the brass effect plastic looks terrible after a while (or straight away to my taste) and the more vintage stuff is no more/less in keeping but substantially more expensive - esp. if you're doing a whole house.
Make sure that the range you get covers all the things you need as mismatched white plug sockets/aerial points/phone points/network points draw your eye in a way matching ones don't IMHO.

Vey good point. I remember having these "invisible" ones on my wish list and then hating the sockets that were part of the range and worrying that I would need other fittings that were not available. I went with white plastic, but the range that had little covers to go over the screw holes, builder made me help fitting them as it was not a job for big hands.

 

[AMc]

That's very pretty. I bet it's an absolute pig to fit that well in an actual wall though

 

[Feltwell]

That's very pretty. I bet it's an absolute pig to fit that well in an actual wall though

I agree. Also, I reckon that over time bits of muck will get behind that lovely clear perspex and of course will be impossible to remove without taking the whole fiddly thing apart. All in all, I suspect it is a product which looks nice on the pages of a glossy design magazine but is perhaps not easy to live with!

 

[tobydog]

I imagine that thunder flies would have a field day with that one. It's beyond me how they get behind the glass on picture frames.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Very sensible advice from everyone above - but also do think about the other elements of the room! White plastic is only unobtrusive if you make it so - sockets low down, walls in cream or white-ish shades. Decorate with anything stronger and they stick out like a sore thumb. If you're going to use a lot of brass and antiques in the rooms I think it's nice to match them - if your style is contemporary, keep them that way too. We decided that as there's such marked difference in status between the ground floor reception rooms here and the kitchen basement, which was a servant's area, that the ground floor would be all brass with crystal chandeliers and downstairs Bakelite with Jim Lawrence spotlights.

The socket on the right was white plastic until fairly recently and really jarred with the red wallpaper and blue antique Chinoiserie cabinet - the Jim Lawrence antiqued brass version just disappears.

Here's a cheap Screwfix socket behind lovely Jim Lawrence antiqued brass Regency pineapple lampstand. I hope you can see the discoloration in the switch - these are due for replacement with better ones, but it's a real pain as the back plate is deeper on the quality products, so it's going to mean hacking out, and replastering, and repainting in sections.

It sounds like you have quite a project on your hands! All the very best with it, and do keep posting!

Joce (fellow early 19th C cottage owner)

 

[Feltwell]

Here's a cheap Screwfix socket behind lovely Jim Lawrence antiqued brass Regency pineapple lampstand. I hope you can see the discoloration in the switch - these are due for replacement with better ones, but it's a real pain as the back plate is deeper on the quality products, so it's going to mean hacking out, and replastering, and repainting in sections.

Joce - are you planning to replace it with a "flatplate" type design, as per your Jim Lawrence socket, i.e. it hardly protudes into the room and the faceplate sits almost flush with the wall? All of that style require a slightly deeper back box. The module (which is the workings of the socket, fixed to the back of the faceplate) is about the same depth across most manufacturers- on the flatplate type sockets, because they don't protude into the room the module sits further back within the wall, hence the need for a deeper box. It's nothing to do with the quality of the product.

If you wanted Georgian rope edged, as you have now, I can point you in the direction of better quality ones than the Screwfix items you have now - these will protude into the room by about the same amount and therefore should the fit the same backboxes as you have currently. You can get ones that are solid brass and not so prone to discolouration (your current ones will be brass plated most likely) and that have much less visible plastic than you have on the Screwfix ones.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh! Yes please, I had wanted to match the JL "flatplate" ones that we have in the dining room but in parts of the hallway are sockets on wallpaper. And I don't really want to re-wallpaper, so links to real brass rope edged ones that might look better than these awful Screwfix ones, and could just make use of the current backboxes, would be very welcome indeed.

 

[Feltwell]

PM on it's way.....

 

[Penners]

the Jim Lawrence antiqued brass version just disappears...

...off the edge of the photo!

 

[MdB]

the Jim Lawrence antiqued brass version just disappears...

...off the edge of the photo!

Right click -> View Image works for those with sensible browsers...

 

[JoceAndChris]

I thought Ctrl and - pressed together worked? But yes, I really must make the effort to resize the pics in Photobucket - thanks Mr P!

 

[Nigel Watts]

Vey good point. I remember having these "invisible" ones on my wish list and then hating the sockets that were part of the range and worrying that I would need other fittings that were not available. I went with white plastic, but the range that had little covers to go over the screw holes, builder made me help fitting them as it was not a job for big hands.

These Forbes & Lomax switches are quite expensive but nice quality. I have used them in my drawing room, hall and main bedroom. They are not as bad to fit as they might look. The piece of wallpaper behind the perspex is a separate piece, cut the exact size of the perspex and to match the pattern of the surrounding paper. If the wall is painted you just paint a suitably sized piece of paper instead. The perspex is held in place by the outer ring, which threads onto the toggle. I did not use Forbes & Lomax fittings for my 13 amp sockets.

 

[agbagb]

Car spray paint sticks well to white switches and sockets. I sprayed up some for our kitchen in dark grey for comouflage against slate, cheap but effective.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

We went with these from Jim Lawrence:

http://www.jim-lawrence.co.uk/ProductDetail/5772/2-Gang-Brass-Dolly-Switch-Hammered

Eye-watering on the pocket when doing the whole ground floor, but they have the full range of sockets, blank plates, aerial/satellite sockets etc to match.

I'm so glad we did sell a kidney to buy them - I just hate the white plasttic. It isn't so ubiquitous it disappears, in my opinion.