You're probably going to get sick of hearing about outlets before I'm done, but this one was a major victory. Replacing an old outlet is the worst. On this one, the metal box was buried behind drywall and lathe and plaster. To get the thing out I had to cut way too large a hole in the wall. This resulted in a space showing from behind the plate when the finished outlet was assembled. This isn't the first time we've had an outlet with this pathology, but it's the first time with this wallpaper which I would like to keep. In addition to the sizable hole, the combination of drywall, lathe and plaster was too thick for the "ears" on the outlet box to get a grip on the other side. As you can see from the picture I managed to solve all these difficulties and get the outlet level. My new secret tool is a high tech device called a wood chisel. Martha Stewart recommends the wood chisel for making decorative license plates during recreation time in cell block D. I find that it is also handy for lowering the hole for the outlet (yes that does make it bigger) and making room for the box ears to swing out and grab behind the lathe in the wall. In the end, I had to use an oversize plate on the outlet to cover everything, but I think it turned out quite well.
To fully appreciate how important it is to me to have the outlets be level, flush with the wall, and have no holes showing, you had to take a close look at the outlets in our Mukilteo house. I am fully convinced that the outlets in that house were installed by drunken chimpanzees in a hurry to make happy hour at the local bar. My proof of this is that the closest bar to our house was aptly named "The Monkey Trap".* If that's not a smoking gun, I don't know what is. Besides, the quality of installation was reminiscent of blind folded hippos using lefthanded power tools which everyone knows is equivalent to chimpanzees who are just starting to sober up.
*The Monkey Trap was shut down about two years ago for featuring topless waitresses one day a week without a license, but that's another story.
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