Pro Handyman Blog

Handyman Uses Box Extender For Granite

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Granite makes a dramatic difference in a kitchen. I had some customers that decided not only to install granite countertops, but also to run the granite up the wall to the underside of the wall cabinets, in place of a traditional backsplash. What an incredible difference that made. Everything in the kitchen seemed to magically come together for a jaw-dropping appearance. The only problem they had though, was that the electrical outlets and switches on the wall suddenly were recessed due to the thickness of the granite on the wall. That's when they called their handyman.

The answer to their problem is a box extender. A box extender is made just for these situations. There is no way you could mount an outlet cover over an outlet that now resides almost an inch in the wall. A box extender solves this by extending the junction box out to be flush with the surface...in this case the surface of the granite. It looks like a sleeve that pushes over the existing box, so there is no need to remove the existing box.

You will need to remove the outlet or switch, gently pull it outward, and slide the extender over it. The outlet or switch gets secured to the front of the box extender which gets secured to the front of the old junction box via longer screws. Then an outlet cover or switch cover will easily cover the extender and look perfectly normal as it will sit flush with the granite surface.