Any tricks, tips on adding the 2 gang mudring

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brother

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"I have learned, in whatsoever STATE I am, therewi
Well ive done my share of remodles and additions to 'tenant improvements'.

Just looking for some tips, or tricks that i may not have picked up on. Lately i had to do alot of add ons of 2 gang mud rings where the single gang was for the receptacles. They basically wanted a 'quad' instead of a 'duplex'.

I always have to be careful not to cut the (sheetrock) outline of the mudring too big as my normal size faceplate wont cover it as easily. Once in a great a while i would make the mistake and have to use the bigger faceplate. ;)

Any tips on the cutting out the sheetrock to remove the single gang mudring and replace it with the 2 gang mudring?
 
Just be careful. I usually cut to the inside of the box with a compass saw
mintcraftcompasssaw-JLO-033.jpg


then gently cut aound the exterior of the box.
 
brother said:
Well ive done my share of remodles and additions to 'tenant improvements'.

Just looking for some tips, or tricks that i may not have picked up on. Lately i had to do alot of add ons of 2 gang mud rings where the single gang was for the receptacles. They basically wanted a 'quad' instead of a 'duplex'.

I always have to be careful not to cut the (sheetrock) outline of the mudring too big as my normal size faceplate wont cover it as easily. Once in a great a while i would make the mistake and have to use the bigger faceplate. ;)

Any tips on the cutting out the sheetrock to remove the single gang mudring and replace it with the 2 gang mudring?
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make sure it is in the horizontal position they are not too bad as long as they are attatched on 1 side
 
I line up the double gang mud ring and sketch around it with a pencil. Then I stay on the inside of the line and cut on an angle so that my drywall saw follows along the sides of the box (use it as a guide). The cut ends up being bigger on the inside of the drywall but on the outside its the right size so that a normal size double gang cover plate will easily cover it.
 
Use the 2G ring as a template.

SHARP drywall saw and razor knife.

As long as you stay within the box size, the cover plate will cover the hole.....barely.

And.....take the screws all the way out.
 
You could try this: loosen the corner screws, bend the box away from the wall, and working with long needle-nose pliers, remove the old ring, bring it through the hole on the diagonal, insert and install the new one the same way, and pull the box forward again.

Of course, this all depends on how flexible the mounting bracket is. The devices will hold the box in place. Again, you can use needle-nose pliers as fingers. You might need long 6-32's. Worst case, remove the old box completely and install a 2-gang old-work box.
 
220/221 said:
Use the 2G ring as a template.

SHARP drywall saw and razor knife.

As long as you stay within the box size, the cover plate will cover the hole.....barely.

And.....take the screws all the way out.
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These exact points are all that is required. A 2g plate fits fine without any "goofs" with the saw if you cut exactly around the 1900 box.
 
Pictorial example of bolting a 1-gang mud ring over top of an existing 1-gang mud ring as a perfect template to cut around to change to a 2-gang mud ring:

ringchange.jpg
 
There is always Phenoseal caulk, spackle, plaster of Paris, etc for this job as well. :)

I haven't done this in a while but I think the gap created is a 314.21 violation (Thanks Bob.)
 
Once in a while I ponder the creation of new tools, and I have often considered the idea of fashioning a sledge hammer with a 4" x 4" cookie cutter head.
 
Yeah that gap violation should be put into every contract as the responsibility of the sheetrocker, I swear they are the electricians antichrist.......either they use a 15 inch rotozip bit and cut all you wires, use a saw and cut the hole way to big, or bury a bunch of boxes on you like its a "guess where the hidden box is" game. I remember a 2500 sq ft. house we did a few years ago where there were 14 buried boxes throughout the house..........
 
nakulak said:
Once in a while I ponder the creation of new tools, and I have often considered the idea of fashioning a sledge hammer with a 4" x 4" cookie cutter head.
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They have something like that in the UK. It's a bit for an SDS hammer, and you insert the pilot in a pre-drilled 1/4" pilot hole. They call it a "box sinker":

macusqsi868742.jpg
 
mdshunk said:
They have something like that in the UK. It's a bit for an SDS hammer, and you insert the pilot in a pre-drilled 1/4" pilot hole. They call it a "box sinker":
Click to expand...
I wonder how many instances the users of those bits forgot to put their rotary hammer in hammer only mode :rolleyes:
 
iwire said:
Nope they will not as the hole left by the mud ring will be larger then the device.
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Not if you only mkae the hole large enough for the new ring's projection. That was the idea behind pushing the box back and removing it on the diagonal.

(I forgot to mention enlarging the hole, but don't make it any bigger than the ring's projection.)
 
mdshunk said:
They have something like that in the UK. It's a bit for an SDS hammer, and you insert the pilot in a pre-drilled 1/4" pilot hole. They call it a "box sinker":

macusqsi868742.jpg
Click to expand...
Looks like a square hole saw to me. :grin:
 
LarryFine said:
Not if you only mkae the hole large enough for the new ring's projection.
Click to expand...

Larry it won't matter, the 'ears' of the device on a mud ring rest against the mud ring, not the Sheetrock.

If your lucky they might catch an 1/8" of sheet Rock at the top and the bottom hardly enough to support a receptacle (IMO).

Here is one with the drywall cut perfect and you can see how little rock the device ears grab. I think you would be very lucky if you had that much left after reworking it.

Drywall1.jpg
 
I put in a 3/4" rise and tighten it right down to the mudring. Hakuna Matata.

However, the last one I did a couple months back was one of those new-fangled mudrings that actually attached to the stud, then the box mounted to it. I was none too happy, but when finished, you couldn't tell. Thank goodness it was just a switch box and not a receptacle box.
 
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