Columbia Gorge Stoneworks

 

 
   

Installing stone switchplates is very straight forward and easy, just be careful not to over tighten the mounting screws!  If your switches and receptacles were mounted correctly to begin with all that is needed is to remove the old covers and screw on your new stone switchplates with the color coordinated screws.  When running the screws in hold the screwdriver by the shaft as in the photo so you can better feel when the screw starts to tighten up.  If you upgraded to magnetic switchplates just set them in place after removing the old switchplates and you are done.  The magnets hold well enough that they will never come off inadvertently but they will never put any stress on the switchplate.

 
                    

 
 

Wiring for the phone jacks.

These three photos show the wiring of a phone jack.  The far left photo is for a single phone line and the other two photos are for the same jack wired for a second line.  The red and green wires are for line 1 or the sole line if that is what you have.  The yellow and black wires are for line 2.  If you plugged a single line phone into the two line jack it would work fine on the line or phone number using the red and green wires.  You could replace the red with the yellow and the green with the black wires if that was the pair you wanted to use for a single phone line or line 1.

To wire the jack strip the outside sheathing back about 1 inch exposing the two pair of wires.  Insert the wires as shown and close the cap until it snaps closed.  If you want to remove the wires just unsnap the cap and pull them out.  The engineering says that this jack can be reused up to 30 times.  The wiring for it is:

 

Red or positive for line 1 to the blue slot in the jack.

Green or common for line 1 to the blue/white slot in the jack.

 

Yellow or positive for line 2 to the orange slot in the jack.

Black or common for line 2 to the orange/white slot in the jack.

 

 

Here are the installation instructions that we send with every order.

 

Installing stone switchplates is completely different than installing plastic ones.  When installing stone switchplates it is very important that the receptacle or switch is correctly installed prior to the installation of the switchplate.  The switch or receptacle must be mounted so there is no movement in the unit itself and it must be at the correct plane to the wall so that when the switch or receptacle is used very little load is transferred to the plate.  If the plate doesn’t naturally sit flat against the wall remove it and adjust the switch or receptacle until it does.  It is also a good idea to check the fit between the plates and the receptacle or switch before mounting to make sure there are no conflicts.  The screws should just hold the plates in place with no tension on the plates.  The screws should not be tightened any more than you can with your thumb nail.  Any more tension than this and you could break your stone switchplate.

 

Note to contractors /electricians:  Do not try to pull the switch or receptacle into the switchplate with the screws as is commonly done with plastic switchplates.  This will break stone switchplates. 

 
Adapting magnets to dimmers with aluminum frames.

 

Since the aluminum frames of dimmer switches are not magnetic steel shims that we make need to be installed behind them for our screwless switchplates to work.  To install them simply remove your old switchplate, remove one of the screws that hold the switch in place, slide the shim behind the switch frame as shown in the photo below, and then screw the screw back in.  Once secure do the other end and you are ready to put your new switchplate in place. 

 
Instructions for mounting magnetic phone or cable plates.

 

With phone or cable plates there is no steel for the magnets to attract to so you will have to glue the extra magnets that we provide above and below the electrical box.  This is a simple process as is shown in the photos below.  First lay a piece of thin plastic such as Saran Wrap or such over the plate.  The plastic is so that you don't glue the plate to the wall, only the magnets.  Next put the four magnets in place over the ones that come glued to the plate, making sure that they do not protrude above the bottom of the plate.  Test fit the plate against the wall to make sure it lays flat against the wall.  Once you are happy with the fit apply a few strips of tape to the plate.  It is a good idea to test taping the plate in place before involving any glue.  Make sure that the tape used will hold and doesn't leave any adhesive on the stone when pulled off.  I have found 3M's blue painters tape is the best. 

Now you are ready to apply some glue to the magnets.  The best glue to use is epoxy, generally the longer the cure the better it will bond.  I used a gap filling or gel super glue for the photos.  This works ok but epoxy is by far the best glue to use.  Once the epoxy is mixed up apply about twice as much to the magnets as I show in the second photo. 

 

    

 

Now that you have glue on the magnets tape the plate tightly to the wall. 

 

Once you are sure that the glue has fully cured, don't get impatient, gently remove the plate.  The magnets hold really well so you may need to gently use a razor blade to pry the plate up enough to get a grip on it.  Now attach either the cable or phone line to the jack, put the plate in place, and you are done.