Fix a light switch

• Cut off the power supply to the relevant circuit from the consumer unit.
• Unscrew the faceplate, and pull it gently away from the wall.
• Make a note of which terminals the colour-coded cores connect to so you know where to reconnect them on the new faceplate.
• Release the cores and remove the faceplate.
• If the earth core is bare, slide some green-and-yellow insulating sheath over the end so it can be clearly identified in the future.
• Reconnect the cores to the new faceplate. If you have a metal mounting box ensure the earth core is connected to earth terminals in both the switch and the mounting box. With plastic mounting boxes, the earth cable should be connected in a plastic strip connector.
• Screw the faceplate into place.

If the screws were cross-threaded when the faceplate was originally fitted it will be necessary to re-thread the fixing lugs in the mounting box before fitting a new faceplate.

• Cut off the power supply to the relevant circuit from the consumer unit.
• Unscrew the faceplate and using a tool called a re-threader cut a new thread in the fixing lugs situated in the mounting box.
• Screw the new faceplate in position using new screws.

If a wall socket has come loose from the wall, you will need to move the mounting box slightly and screw it to the wall using fresh holes.

• Cut off the power supply to the relevant circuit from the consumer unit.
• Unscrew the faceplate, and pull it gently away from the wall.
• Unscrew the screws fixing the mounting box to the wall to remove the old wall plugs.
• Move the mounting box slightly to one side and mark the position for the new fixing holes.
• Drill the new holes and insert new wall plugs.
• Screw the mounting box to the wall and replace the faceplate.