GB boxes?

[PCustoms]

Needed a 2 gang old work box today and wasn't looking forward to the limited, floppy options at the orange box.

Pleasant surprise, they had GB boxes marked down to $0.53/ea. They aren't the heavy duty fiber reinforced nylon, but they also aren't the cheap flimsy blue ones. Grabbed 6 for my electric supply box.

Am I missing something with these, it is grey just a turn off?

 

[CJ7VFR]

It does seem like the gray colored boxes and covers are being sold less and less at all my local big box stores.

13 years ago I used all gray boxes and gray covers along with black receptacles and black switches in my shed when I ran the power to it. I like the look of the gray boxes and covers with black receptacles and black switches.

I wanted to add another light inside the shed over the workbench recently and I had a few gray boxes left over but I didn't have any gray switch covers. So I went to the big box stores near me to get a few and none of them have the gray switch covers or the gray receptacle covers.

I installed another light in my shed recently and I had to use the metal covers from Raco along with a black switch and black receptacle because I could not find any of the gray covers. It looks ok, and it is only a shed, but I really wanted to make things match so it does not look just tossed together. My OCD I guess.

I just noticed that the gray two gang old work boxes by Gardner Bender are also on clearance at my local Home Depot. The ad says they have them in stock but you either have to come to the store and get them or they can deliver them to you. You can't do an online order and then pick them up at the store.

I guess they are getting rid of them for some reason. Here is a picture from the Home Depot website showing what comes up at my local store. The store clearance price is also .53 cents just like at your store.

Jim

 

[PCustoms]

I just noticed that the gray two gang old work boxes by Gardner Bender are also on clearance at my local Home Depot. The ad says they have them in stock but you either have to come to the store and get them or they can deliver them to you. You can't do an online order and then pick them up at the store.

I guess they are getting rid of them for some reason. Here is a picture from the Home Depot website showing what comes up at my local store. The store clearance price is also .53 cents just like at your store.

Jim

Funny the grey ones showed up around here a couple years ago, now they're dumping them. If I needed more I'd buy the case.

Not as nice as the reinforced nylon, but pretty nice. Put 2 into 5/8 drywall Sunday and rock solid

 

[CJ7VFR]

Funny the grey ones showed up around here a couple years ago, now they're dumping them. If I needed more I'd buy the case.

Not as nice as the reinforced nylon, but pretty nice. Put 2 into 5/8 drywall Sunday and rock solid

I tried looking up the gray switch covers online and no one has them. I can find gray ones that are for switches that are in boxes in drywall, like normal inside the house switch covers, but those are too big for the single gang gray boxes when they are just mounted to open stud walls like in my shed. I used all Carlon gray covers and they fit the single gang boxes perfectly.

It's funny that when I bought the gray boxes for my shed build 13 years ago that I didn't buy more gray switch covers to go with them. I figured I had seen that stuff around for years and years and if I needed anymore I could just swing by a big box store and get a couple.

Nope. Not anymore. I got gray boxes with no gray switch covers.

Jim

 

[PCustoms]

Nope. Not anymore. I got gray boxes with no gray covers.

Jim

Huh?

Are your boxes exposed?

 

[CJ7VFR]

Huh?

Are your boxes exposed?

Yes, they are. I didn't use the ones we are talking about in this thread. I used the ones with the two screws on the inside to mount them directly to a stud.

I was agreeing with you about how a lot of the gray colored stuff is going away. I still have some of the boxes I used. I just can't find gray switch covers for them anymore.

Jim

 

[PCustoms]

Yes, they are. I didn't use the ones we are talking about in this thread. I used the ones with the two screws on the inside to mount them directly to a stud.

I was agreeing with you about how a lot of the gray colored stuff is going away. I still have some of the boxes I used. I just can't find gray switch covers for them anymore.

Jim

I've never seen anyone coordinate their box to cover plate colors!

Leviton 1-Gang Gray Duplex Outlet/Receptacle Nylon Midway/Midsize Wall Plate (1-Pack) PJ8-GY R54-00PJ8-0GY - The Home Depot

The Leviton 1-Gang Midway Outlet Wall Plate is a gray finish hardy nylon outlet plate that features sleek and contemporary styling for all spaces, housing 2 outlet openings. Offers matching mounting screws

www.homedepot.com

 

[CJ7VFR]

I've never seen anyone coordinate their box to cover plate colors!

Leviton 1-Gang Gray Duplex Outlet/Receptacle Nylon Midway/Midsize Wall Plate (1-Pack) PJ8-GY R54-00PJ8-0GY - The Home Depot

The Leviton 1-Gang Midway Outlet Wall Plate is a gray finish hardy nylon outlet plate that features sleek and contemporary styling for all spaces, housing 2 outlet openings. Offers matching mounting screws

www.homedepot.com

The gray receptacle covers you posted are the ones (along with the switch covers) that are too big to fit over the single gang boxes properly. I can find plenty of those. I just can't find the switch covers that are made to fit over single gang boxes anymore. The ones made by Carlon are the ones I used and fit perfectly.

And yes, since all the boxes in my shed are screwed to the studs, and they are showing and not covered with any wall material, I thought it would look cool to use gray boxes and gray covers with black receptacles and black switches!

It does actually look pretty good versus using the cheap crappy blue boxes that just get nailed to the studs.

Jim

 

[PCustoms]

The gray covers you posted are the ones that are too big to fit over the boxes properly. I can find those, I just can't find the switch covers that are made to fit over single gang boxes anymore.

And yes, since all the boxes in my shed are screwed to the studs I thought I would look cool to use gray boxes and gray covers with black receptacles and black switches!

It does actually look pretty good versus using the cheap crappy blue boxes that just get nailed to the studs.

Jim

I think the problem is your boxes are meant to be behind drywall...

Have a pic?

 

[CJ7VFR]

I think the problem is your boxes are meant to be behind drywall...

Have a pic?

These are similar to the ones I used, but these are made by a different company. Other than that they look just like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-Smart-Box-1-Gang-Adjustable-Depth-Device-Box-MSB1G/203340257

These can be used either behind drywall or not. The depth can be adjusted for different thicknesses of drywall. I just mounted mine directly to the studs so they are exposed.

I will say they are really sturdy and because of the screws they don't move at all when you plug stuff into the receptacles.

Jim

 

[dave*99]

Smart boxes. I've used many. Always in existing drywall. As in after the drywall is up. I never used one in open exposed walls. The screw bosses and cable clamps eat up a lot of space.

 

[dscheidt]

These are similar to the ones I used, but these are made by a different company. Other than that they look just like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Southwire-Smart-Box-1-Gang-Adjustable-Depth-Device-Box-MSB1G/203340257

These can be used either behind drywall or not. The depth can be adjusted for different thicknesses of drywall. I just mounted mine directly to the studs so they are exposed.

I will say they are really sturdy and because of the screws they don't move at all when you plug stuff into the receptacles.

Jim

they're intended to be concealed, as there's no way to attach conduit to them, and romex has to be protected from damage. Also, the adjustable depth doesn't make much sense in exposed work, but is great for stuff like kitchens and baths, where the finished wall thickness depends on what tile ends up on the wall, and it might not be known when the rough in is done.

 

[CJ7VFR]

they're intended to be concealed, as there's no way to attach conduit to them, and romex has to be protected from damage....

I used the smart boxes with NM-B in the shed. I did not want to use conduit. I protected the NM-B per the NEC codes required when there is no outer wall material covering the open studs.

Jim

 

[CJ7VFR]

Smart boxes. I've used many. Always in existing drywall. As in after the drywall is up. I never used one in open exposed walls. The screw bosses and cable clamps eat up a lot of space.

I used them on the exposed studs in the shed because I liked how they look and they were easy to install with the screws. Plus they are way more sturdy than the blue plastic boxes with the nails to install them. I also like the way they hold/clamp the NM-B in place in the box the same way they hold/clamp the wires when you use these boxes in drywall.

There are several different depth smart boxes available. I used the ones with 22.5 cubic inches of space inside which provided more than enough space for my installation.

I don't know if the smart boxes are intended to be used the way I have used them, but they worked out great, were easy to install, were easy to run wire into and hold the wire in place, were easier to use than handy boxes and they matched the gray covers I used for the switches and receptacles.

Jim

 

[egdede]

I use smart boxes when tile is going up. No worries then about how thick it's all going to end up.