Brushed Steel Screwless plate - which Brand?

[Jon Lee]

I have to install roughly 150 points at a large property. The client is style conscious and wants to install Brushed Steel / Chrome / Nickel Flat plate sockets and switches.

Is BG Nexus a good and sturdy brand? Not shoddy quality like LAP which keep falling off / failing. Mainly worked with MK before (Which was initially recommended).

Other option is Heritage Brass but that is just too expensive for the client.

 

[telectrix]

i've installed quite a few BG nexus with no problems. even the usb sockets are reliable.not done any screwless ones though.

 

[Jon Lee]

Thank you... So no complaints.

 

[kingeri]

I wouldn't fancy doing 150 flat plate points! I hope you have deep back boxes.

 

[Jon Lee]

Lol no it’s only 50-60. Rest are pendants etc

 

[telectrix]

I wouldn't fancy doing 150 flat plate points! I hope you have deep back boxes.

and flat walls.

 

[Octopus]

35mm boxes all round then.

 

[Leesparkykent]

I've just fitted over 200 points of BG nexus screwless flat plate on a newbuild. Customer wanted it because of the grey inserts instead of the usual black or white. Found it good to install and also fits on existing 25mm boxes if need be (apart from the USB sockets).

 

[1Justin]

I always warn customers with existing installations against it. Stiff old cables, too may connections jammed inside boxes and wonky walls don't go with any screwless stuff. Also the wall coverage is often smaller, meaning openings round the edges get revealed.
Just about OK on new build provided the plasterers to a neat job and you use nice deep boxes for plenty of cable space. Brand-wise, I'd also avoid Varilight. - They seem particularly flimsy in my experience, with very bendy and thin plastic backplates.

 

[Jon Lee]

Well its a complete rewire ... so hopefully should work.. seems like a crime to suggest Heritage Brass with 4 times the prices ....

 

[Leesparkykent]

Well its a complete rewire ... so hopefully should work.. seems like a crime to suggest Heritage Brass with 4 times the prices ....

Haven't fitted any brass in years!

 

[Lee42]

Fitted plenty of the bg nexus flat plate over the years which had the sector branding.
Not been back to one yet (touch wood)
Mk is always been my usual choice, but for the price u can't go wrong

 

[Des 56]

BG Nexus
BG Chrome with grey inserts

Any type of flat plate (BG included)
Modern Mk accessories

 

[NDG Elecs]

I fitted five customer supplied BG screwless flat plates last Friday. The SOs fitted ok in approx 30mm deep back boxes (25mm plus 5mm of plaster). The FCU was ok too. They also had a double dimmer which was by far the heftiest. Decent quality IMO. And this was on an old install with old walls. Looked ok. She said she paid £65 for a double dimmer, 3xDSSOs and a FCU. Must admit my heart sank when she presented the plates too me! She didn't seem the 'slick and sleek' type to me.
My choice out of preference would be the Schneider flat plate range. Bit pricey but nice gear.

 

[Jon Lee]

Ok all. This is so helpful. I will ask customer to order Schneider 1-2 for comparison. Never done flat plat before. So generally a pain to fit? Do you usually get the finish that the customer must be hoping to get?

 

[Leesparkykent]

Ok all. This is so helpful. I will ask customer to order Schneider 1-2 for comparison. Never done flat plat before. So generally a pain to fit? Do you usually get the finish that the customer must be hoping to get?

Schneider flat plate is around £17 a socket where BG nexus flat plate is around £7.

 

[Octopus]

Ok all. This is so helpful. I will ask customer to order Schneider 1-2 for comparison. Never done flat plat before. So generally a pain to fit? Do you usually get the finish that the customer must be hoping to get?

Why don't you get the products?

 

[NDG Elecs]

Just to expand on Lee's post #16....you can get the Schneider screw-visible flat plate version for around eleven squid. They have a nice foam gasket on the rear and look decent. See pic. Doddle to fit, though sometimes you have to push the top and bottom lugs out of the way.

PS. I just aligned the screws for Dave OCD!!

 

[NDG Elecs]

Ok all. This is so helpful. I will ask customer to order Schneider 1-2 for comparison. Never done flat plat before. So generally a pain to fit? Do you usually get the finish that the customer must be hoping to get?

Finish is as decent as the wall surface to some extent. Generally need deeper back boxes for the screwless defo, although the BG stuff was pretty forgiving. The Schneider screwless are a bit annoying as they have a plastic surround that is a touch prone to movement when fitting. I would say go for either the BG screwless or the Schneider screwy-seeable ones..

 

[Jon Lee]

Ok perfect so I am hearing that BG srewless are not bad quality and for the price they represent good value.....