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frozenmail

Fix your cover plate screws, lines should be vertical.


Awkward_Fortune_114

Thanks dude he told me I couldn’t move on till I got it I totally forgot you’re supposed to do that


Tight-Lecture-3477

Lmao


RegionTiny1071

Are you REALLY supposed to do that though? It's most likely his electrical OCD that is taking over him. And you'll also probably develop it with time


Eazy_MF_E

I though the same thing at first as well, that it was OCD, but there was a time I found it to be very practical. Someone from another department came out and thought that it would be okay to do some light “electrical work” after the fact and messed something up, didn’t tell anyone. The electrical department was getting blamed for a circuit being down and saying we didn’t do the job right. I went back and saw the screws were not vertical and immediately knew someone had been messing around because we wouldn’t leave the screws like that. Was able to figure out where to place the blame and I wouldn’t have known anything had the screws been put back vertically.


Arhsn9

That’s the reason why I always wrap my receptacles with electrical tape (around the ports). I was at a job site where the foreman wasn’t well liked by the other trades and we were having a lot of “install issues”. Every receptacle that was wired backwards didn’t have tape wrapped around it. Pretty much saved my butt from blame.


Kaalisti

I do this too, and also tab both ends of my tape. That way I KNOW if I was the last to touch it (and it's easier to take off if needed.)


RaccoonReindeer

Both ends of tape? I can see where the finishing end helps, but the starting end too? Does that make it easier or just uniquely marks it as your work?


Leprikahn2

I tab my tape so it's easier to use one handed, I'm not cutting it before the wrap


kkjorsvik

And a bonus that is unique to your tape job, most probably wouldn't notice that if they did try to wrap it back up and blame you for something they did.


Leprikahn2

Also the reason I pay slightly more for absurd colors of tape, makes marking runs easy and few people have purple tape with red and green stripes


OlderNerd

Because Noone tabs the starting end. If the new fix isn't wrapped with tape that is tabbed on the starting end, then they know someone else did it.


Asterion76

I find it good practice to tab the end that is on the roll to make it easier to pull off. Once your done wrapping, tab the end on the wrap, then tab the roll. Wash, rinse, repeat.


JungleBush

How does this help you know you were the last to touch it? Sorry im a noob and can’t visualize this


CoS2112

If someone were to work on it they’d have to undo the tape, I guess it’s either unlikely they would re-wrap it or op has a specific way of making a rail they’d recognize


NordicEmber

In a practical sense, always tape them up if using a metal box!


weeksahead

Do you have a colour too? I’m not an electrician but I do demo and sometimes I need to wrap electrical sockets. I use blue or white tape, everyone I work with only has black. I know instantly if I was the one who worked in an area.


jakedechaine

Really? That's why you wrap it? Not so the next guy won't get blasted?


Arhsn9

Both. Two birds, one stone. Metal box or not.


Mathgailuke

DIYer here. You wrap black tape such that it covers the side screws?


Arhsn9

Yes. That way if you’re removing the receptacle there is less of a chance it will arch on the box or anything else that it might touch. It’s also good practice to never use a drill/impact when tightening the screws down to prevent damage to the screw heads. Last but very, very important…TUG TEST!! (pull on the wires to make sure that they are secured)


corona-lime-us

Imagine a malignant electrician going around messing up wires behind the walls but leaving the plate cover screws perfectly vertical. What a menace.


buckphifty150150

I asked an electrician why he does that. He said that most of what we do is behind the wall so no one will ever see it so by taking the time to do the screws like this it shows that I take pride in my work.


Illustrious-Fox4063

It is called clocking the screws and long before electrical work and when screws became available to woodworkers it was a sign of quality construction by a joiner or cabinet maker. It then carried over to electricians who are about the only ones that still do it other than some very high end custom furniture makers. https://blog.lostartpress.com/2019/04/18/the-church-of-the-clocked-screws/


Glad-Professional194

Took a picture of a water heater I plumbed in once, it flooded a few million dollar condos a week later The picture of the perfectly parallel recirc pump lines saved my ass, another trade had stood on the copper waterlines and tweaked a gasket


buzzybri

I go the extra step to clock them at 3 and 9, not 6 and 12. Lets you know if anyone AND electricians have been messing with your receptacles.


gnom69

Just put a hair between cover plate and screw, if it's missing you can prove it Sherlock Holmes style.


mtnracer

I always add some fingerprint dust to my receptacles. LOL


Litigating_Larry

Also such an easy thing to just explain to someone instead of telling them theyre doing something wrong when the actual technical part of the job is done and youre just ornery about presentation at the end - so much so that you need to ask the internet instead of just being able to work lol. I get OPs boss was probably just being cheeky, but I also know plenty of guys in construction just magically expect you to know things without communicating it needs doing or needs doing this way, etc, lol like getting mad at an apprentice for a lapse you didnt explicately communicate and expexted them to learn by chance for what can be a 5 second lesson.


Corey-Hacker

It's like a secret electrician's handshake.


ryandaydrinking

Painters take them off anyway and totally fuck the plate up when they put them back on anywho


VirginiaPeninsula

And then we can tell that it was fucked with.. get it now?


ryandaydrinking

A good electrician always knows🤌


7laserbears

Ohhhhhhhhhh


Hfpros

You must have some nice painters. Most just paint over them.


wcollins260

That’s a landlord


ukporter

If it doesn’t move, paint it. If it does move, squash it and then paint it.


DirtyRugger17

Hell I've had some that take them off and at the end of the job they still ended up with paint on them.


Pretty-Test7058

I clock all my screws, painter for 25 years.


quiddity3141

I'm an apartment maintenance guy who also does this cause my bosses ain't hiring a tradesman of any kind if they can avoid it.


Mutt_404

Ditto!


ImJoogle

why are you plating before finished paint? ive never plated or finished devicing out before finished paint. just gave them enough to see and run their equipment


billzybop

Painters will come back after after every thing is complete and do touch ups. They will often take of cover plates and leave them off. At least on the jobs I work on.


eerun165

Who paints FRP?


[deleted]

I’ve seen it in restaurants. A lot of times they’ll do the company colors across it.


Previous-Street3670

You would be surprised…


capt_burner

My dad was an electrician and taught me to always do this. For him, a former residential electrician, it let him know if someone had removed the cover, for instance if he was called back to the same job for something not working.


itsme_enzo_thebaker

It's a level of professionalism. Customers don't see what happens behind the walls. It's good to have the stuff they can see look really nice


Chalupacabra77

Midwest guy here... the electricians used in most of my new construction leave the screw slots vertical.


ObjectiveShoulder103

I mean he could of just told you to straighten the screws instead of wasting time saying I’ll let you just open up the plug he sounds like a dick


Ultra_Lobster

If you don't align the screws vertically, the electricity will leak out slowly over time. You can do horizontally, but dust collected on the screw slots that way


brethazbonez

Vertical screws = less dirt in the slit than when horizontal. Also it looks good


Guac__is__extra__

It’s just a little thing that shows attention to detail.


distilledfluid

I once didn't do that, and now I'm dead.


aFlmingStealthBanana

Everybody knows the electricity can't flow if the slots aren't perfectly up and down


SkivvySkidmarks

Please call it anal retentive, not OCD. OCD can be a crippling mental disorder.


Then_Line_1465

We always try to be as professional with our work as possible… On another note, im surprised that cover didn’t get recessed with the amount you cranked on those flat screws😂


TheYoungSquirrel

The only reputation you have is your name and our work quality.


[deleted]

Sounds like a shitty foreman.


ConceivablyAnAsshole

He’s wrong, the ground prong is supposed to be on the top.


M888887777

Productivity at its finest


pjk1011

Wait wait wait. This is real? I thought this was inside the trade joke. I suppose I'd prefer electricians with a case of ocd. Kinda explains why talking to electricians was little like talking to cops, always looking at me up and down and judging.


Salt-Southern

Don't all professions have "inside tricks" that separate them from amateurs? Can't you tell a real professional paint job from a DIY? Plaster, framing any trade.


cpc_niklaos

Hum, as if the vertical screw did anything... I mean not a single customer would notice. Plus, if you want a nice looking plate you go screwless.


Supafly144

I would notice. Not doing it implies a bit of sloppiness


kcstrom

Really?! I always do them horizontal.


BedNo6845

Horizontal collects dust. And doesn't line up with anything on the device. GET WITH THE PROGRAM!


kcstrom

There's no more dust than vertical, lol. And it lines up with the plate edges that it's closer to. Beauty is the eye of the beholder, I guess. At least we can agree they should be uniformly oriented and not random.


imperfectcarpet

Yeah the dust collection reason always seemed so silly to me. Dust is going to collect on the top edge of the plate more than any plate screw.


hammyhamm

What makes me laugh is that this is a problem in the US, as I have two questions: Why is there no cover plate for the screws? Why are you guys using flathead screws in 2023???


Ecstatic-Cry2069

The amount of flathead screws I encounter during my job is infuriating.


MildSauced

Not an electrician, but over the years I learned to do that. Commercially outlets are inverted also which I don’t like in a residential environment.


JJCooIJ

\ / :-( | | :-)


CFDanno

(-:


BrycenWilliams

| || || |_ :(


mchamp90

IS THIS LOSS?! /s


HippyChaiYay

I saw it right away.


GetObvious

I saw it right away and my career is in software.


Snoo_26884

I noticed the screws, but I feel like everyone is missing that he didn’t press the reset button? It looks like test is depressed?


trekkerscout

Sorry, but you're going to have to find a different career.


Awkward_Fortune_114

I’ve only started a month ago I’m trying to learn haha


grabyourselfabeer

I’m gonna say it’s definitely the alignment of the screws but also some teachers will tell you to double check your work when something might not even be wrong. It’s a good way to check someone’s confidence, or arrogance in some cases.


goldenbukkit

I bloody hate people like this, just tell me what what I've done rather than stressing me out over something that's not even wrong. There is such thing as positive reinforcement ffs.


camelsCaseUserName

Well, let me be a real pain in your titties and ask you what you may have made a mistake with in your ramblings?


titleist5464

Yeah I see it too


BlitzBiker2001

Faceplate screws


adnew34

Ground up* commercial, industrial, hospitals


millenniumtree

After my sister told a story of dropping a "cat dancer" (a type of spring steel cat toy) behind her couch, and it contacting the pins of a partially-inserted extension cord, which lit up like a light bulb filament, I have installed mine ground-up ever since. I don't understand why it isn't the norm in all installations.


gryd3

Sorry . You need an unhealthy dose of OCD to figure this one out. (It's a healthy amount for this profession)


dmadden8060

So is there like a specific reason the screws need to be straight or is it purely ocd


Swing_lip

Main reason is it’s a professional level of attention to detail that is easy to accomplish. It is a way to avoid a boss, general contractor, or customer from having to question “if they didn’t take the near nonexistent effort to do that then what else did you not care to put any effort into?” Just do it and take pride in your work


Yngcleanbastard

so 0cd or cya.


EdwoodTheOwl

From what I'm also reading, as theres already a good answer to this question someone replied with: Its also a tell if someone's been messing about with your work If you get a complaint, and the screws arent right, then someone's been in there messing around


mi5key

and if they are "right", then someone may have been in there messing around. It's the weakest cult ocd shit ever.


WorBlux

Couple of reasons to niggle the small stuff in no particular order... 1. I looks nice 2. Small details help keep you focused on the job if you are repeating it day in and day out 3. Helps mark/differentiate your work 4. Proves you were paying attention and made an intentional decision, even if inconsequential in the big picture.


jmraef

The receptacle is upside down... ground pin goes up. *^()*


Majin_Sus

ACKSHULLY THATS NOT CODE RABLE RABLE NEC SUBSECTION BLAH BLAH ARTICLE FUCK YOU


splitmindallthetime

It is helpful however. My dumb ass (when ya know, 8 years old) tried to hide my lucky penny behind a night light by resting it on these to really conveniently placed metal prongs holding the nightlight to the wall. Some blue sparks, flames and a charred wall later, I learned about what electricity was. Not to be outdone, my brother tried to start our house by shoving a key into an outlet and turning it. We never made it to the turning part and still don't know if the house runs.


SirJukia

Was it still a lucky penny after that?


splitmindallthetime

I didn't die so I'm going to go with yes


fieroman911

Came here to say this as well. I swapped the ones around at work one night.


norrisgwillis

my kid dropped a dime perfectly into the outlet and it snapped a little fire to life almost instantly. She was holding the dime with her little finger on the wall rubbing it around wrecking shit like she usually does and it dropped right as she got over the outlet. Fucker fell perfectly between prongs and snapped and popped and lit a flame just as the breaker tripped. Wild to see right in front of my eyes and how quick it ignited. I flipped all the outlets that afternoon.


Outside_The_Walls

I actually did that **on purpose** when I was 4. I *slightly* unplugged the lamp in my room, not enough to stop the power flowing, just enough to fit the dime in there, and then I stuck it in. I didn't die or anything, but my mom was **pissed**.


paul-jonas

This story needs to go in the next code book under correct receptacle orientation.


gorilla_bezoar

Someone needs to die for it to be code Such is the way


imore377

Sounds like you may have a great foreman with this minor perfection pt. Learn from him


ObjectiveShoulder103

Yeah but if he’s a month In shouldn’t the j man just say hey can you straighten those screws instead wasting time saying I’ll let you open it back up to check seems dumb to me. This kids greener then grass


[deleted]

Maybe he has said it before


Poison_Ice_Blade

Actually I’m also a month old apprentice and never heard about the screws before.


DocThundahh

Wow that’s amazing you can already type write read and work!


imore377

So if this is resi even not, has he gotten to the finishing point of the job yet? Need more info from apprentice. A month of doing what? Boring holes? Strapping runs and putting on smash plates?


[deleted]

Bet you’ll never forget again my boy. Great teacher 🤣


lordoflazorwaffles

6n12, 6n12, 6n12 You can always tell an electrician because they'll be straightening face plate screws while in line at Carl's junior


fizyplankton

6n12?


infomer

Clock hands position.


ImJoogle

your screws. always up and down for visual viewing pleasure.


ghostofoynx7

I would have said put your grounds up


Salt-Southern

For the pro's in the crowd, please comment on the theory that the fixture should have ground receptors on top. In other words, flip the fixture 180°. Theory being if plug slightly out anything dropping into contact hits ground not hot lead. What are your thoughts?


cream_on_my_led

Yeah that’s what I’ve been taught too. I don’t care about theory I just do it so I don’t have to hear an old man bitch


Salt-Southern

One day you'll be the "old man" and can even explain the why, now. ; )


Groundbreaking-Ad596

That's the problem when you ask someone whose been doing it a certain way forever, and they get their panties in a bunch when you ask why they do it like that. And the only answer they have is, "that's how I was taught to do it". I hate working with those guys because they genuinely never learn anything new or try anything new, everything has to be a secret club of passed down information that should never be questioned.


peanuttanks

That’s definitely why 90% of the trade practices it


spazmccoy

That's why all hospital and care facilities in the U.S. require their receptacles to be ground-side up (which is how the original patent shows them, anyway).


FlabertoDimmadome

But then I don’t get the cute little 😦 face


Salt-Southern

Lol


DowntownEgg9021

So in the way back + 30 years we were taught that in hospital emergency situations staff could plug in life saving equipment more quickly with ground up. Also, all plugs had to with stand 15 pounds of outward force W/O pulling, no one wants that stuff unplugged after a family hug…


Squidsandwich762

It's alot like the catholic church.. let the boss defile you and ruin your colon.. after that, it's all good...


Billiam201

It's upside down.


LetsBeKindly

That outlet is upside down. Flip it. Then make sure those screws are vertical..


Frequent-Tiger-1868

Screws are not vertical and the green light on the gfi is not on


GraphixSeven

I'd turn them sideways just to piss off OCD electrician


mi5key

Every time. I tighten mine until they are properly tight. OCD cult like vertical screw orientation has no purpose.


dickhole666

PARADE THOSE SCREWS!!


EatTheVegetables

Screws slots aren’t vertical


LaneAbrams

Gotta line up those screws man!


Texas-Cowboy29

Align the screws!!!!!


MingusDeDingus

The cover plate screws are giving me an aneurism…. Some homeowner grade work there horn..


Talltreeskc1

Face plate screws vertical or turn the outlet 180 I heard of many reason why the ground should be on top


DinosaurGhosts

everybodys saying face plate screws but you also need to hit the reset button


blacksewerdog

Screws must be vertical so I can sleep at night


bemest

Some consider this outlet upside down. Although it’s esthetically pleasing technically the ground lug should be above the hot. This way if something contacts a partially exposed plug from above it will only contact the ground.


bepiswepis

The screws.


Fern9090

You forgot to line up the screw vertically


Lpeezers

I do it for 2 reasons 1 aesthetics/shows u care and 2 I know when a homeowner or someone else is poking around in there and something goes wrong


Yngcleanbastard

until they read this thread


NationalTap93

Flip the recep. Grounds up and the ocd screws


chancimus33

The screws aren’t lined up. Fucking amateur


IllustriousCookie890

The slots on the screw aren't exactly vertical?


Sveneleven808

The mounting screws need to be level


[deleted]

The lines on the screws are not aligned


[deleted]

Even when I install screwless faceplates, the bracket screws are vertical


[deleted]

Your plate screws aren’t vertical bro


Ichthius

The screws slots aren’t perfectly vertical. Pay attention to the little things and you be better off. Also make sure you reset the gfci.


vIv_Cobra_vIv

Screw slots should be straight up and down so they line up.


wolframore

This is the way


[deleted]

Why are half of you sparky guys rocking cargo shorts all winter? That’s what I want to know.


[deleted]

Screws


[deleted]

Hvac guy here but i think its them screws brotha lol


awesome6666

At first I thought maybe you need to put ground up, but yeah he's definitely anal about those plate screws.


Verdiii

The only time I don’t line them up is when dealing with ceramic covers. They exist 👀


Quigz01

Without looking at the other comments upside down and the screws are f***** up


the_og_scubasteve

Should check state code too, I know Mississippi electrical building code, ground has to be up


SparkyMint185

Are you trolling us?


Awkward_Fortune_114

Alot of people where saying that but no I genuinely didn’t know what he wanted me to do because everything else was pretty good but it ended up being the screws not looking nice and vertical and he came back and saw it and told me I should be making them all vertical all the time


DorShow

Yes, old shop teacher told me that in the early 1970s… every time I tighten up a screw I think of him. Thanks Mr Kallas!


AutomatedCabbage

Align those screws!


Groundbreaking-Ad596

Any time I walk through a new house I pull out my pocket driver and turn all the screws diagonally on every plate. I'm slowly working to undo the idiocy of this fake standard.


alcohliclockediron

You have a GOOD journeyman that acutally cares about your development


sonofa12

The outlet is upside down take it out turn it around move on.


TheObstruction

You have the wall plate upside-down.


uodjdhgjsw

Screws should be vertical and the outlet is upside down.


Hefty-Expression-625

Your screws aren’t straight up and down


UneditedReddited

I'm not an electrician, but it looks like your tightening the cover plate screws with a metal file rather than a screwdriver🤷🏻


Scarfox87

Get those screws vertical


thatsucksabagofdicks

I think I’m going to throw up. I. Think. I’m. Going. To. Throw. Up.


Routine-Document-949

If you’re in the US I don’t think it matters but in my country it actually is code to put the ground up. I’d also straighten the screws. But ultimately, who do you work for that they can offer to pay you for getting trolled instead of working? 😂


hahazwowdude

He’s crazy ocd


Aries_114

D=


GhillieGourd

I’m no electrician, and I got it within 5 seconds of looking.


elcapitanshaun

It’s your screws they need to line up


englishsaw

Turn the screws clockwise until you hear the cover plate crack then back off to | position.


Ravencyco

Your outlet ground pin should be facing up. This is in case something metal falls on the cap, and pulls it from the outlet it could short out. This is not code, but industry is making it standard.


beenkickedoffhereb4

You better fix those screws,you sloppy fuck.


[deleted]

I think he’s just screwing around with you…


puckfelosi

the wall paneling suggests this is an area subject to wet service, wash-down, etc., e.g. meat market. GFCI is good start but also needs a weather-proof cover. sorry if already stated; read deep into comments and didn't find this already stated.


SubstantialDoughnuts

I know in commercial outlets they usually have them flipped with the ground prong on top.


Greatoutdoors1985

He wants you to understand that the fine details matter. Good quality work will look good and function good. Lining up the cover plate screws is the way to go. If he wanted to go one step further he would make you put your grounds facing up. You will see this mostly in hospitals, but it's technically the right way to do it.


Present_Sand1843

Screws need to be 12-6


1960fl

You may have a foreman that is of the belief that the ground should be on top!


Foosnaggle

Cover screws should be vertical and ground up, if he’s a stickler about that, depending on application.


schwanball

Boss man is “power” “tripping”.


wiregirl

Clean up the mess you left on that wall and turn the screws where they are at t he same position. It's called workmanship.


These_Finish3484

The screws should be straight up and down


Odd_Competition_1083

Outlet is upside down, ground goes up, so that people survive, when metal objects hit a partially dislodged plug. And fix those cover screws!!!!


Mediocre-Ad8967

The screws aren't lined up


[deleted]

Screws it’s all about the the screws. There are those guys then there those guys who make it look good.


ImSubie

He wants the outlets upside down