I must start off by saying that I believe in safety. I know it is best to always be safe and not take unnecessary chances....but how much is too much?
I've always joked with those around me that GG is "Mr. Safety" and I can handle it most of the time. He is a very cautious driver, a cautious parker and is always watching out for our safety. But every once in a while it goes over the top.
Because of the recent flood we had in our home, we are painting most of the interior. This means we get to change all of the ugly outlets of times past - you know the yellowed, dirty, yuck color that older homes have? Yeah those. So in my pursuit to find a color that will "match" with the newly chosen wall colors, I discover there is white, old yellow, almond, and then the other more expensive colors and styles. While I'm looking through the choices I discovered a really cool style called the "Masque" wall plate series. This is a series of wallplates that cover up the existing wall plates completely and make it so you don't have to change out the entire outlet. Now this is nice for a number of reasons...first off, it saves you a lot of expense. You only have to buy the cover, not the cover and the outlet or switch. Second it saves you time since you don't have to shut the power off to the existing outlet or switch and then make the changeover. Here's where our safety check came into play the first time. If we have to switch out the outlets and they aren't grounded (yes I know that all outlets really should have grounds and yes I know that that is the safest method) then we will have to find a way to ground them. According to GG this could mean running a ground wire through the house (not sure how this is accomplished) and/or finding another way to properly ground this outlet. My question would be can't you just attach it to the new outlet like the old one was connected. It's worked for the last 40 years in this house hasn't it? Nope - not safe enough.
So sounds easy enough right? Well here's the next safety check. These outlet covers are designed so they can be painted, wallpapered or textured to match the surrounding areas to blend in. Great....I can paint it any color I would want so that it will truly "match". Safety check number two...we might not want to do that because it might not be safe. The paint might not be a good thing to come in contact with the outlet and possible electricity. There was a warning on the cover that stated you should not cover it with metallic wallpaper. Now that makes sense...but paint? Come on. It's what they are designed for! I then casually mentioned that the only way I would be able to use them would be to leave them white because that is the only color they come in (because you PAINT them to match - get it?). I understand his concern but they advertise painting them and they sell them in many places (even Amazon sells them) and they all say you can paint them. Let's trust someone and try it!
Truth be told, I love GG in every way, shape and form, and I even love him when he's being extra "safe". It can be exasperating at times and I do feel like pulling my hair out but all in all it usually turns out fine. Thank for watching out for us dear...we do love you for it.
As a quick update after my original writing of this post...I have figured out that white is really the best looking one so all that discussion for virtually nothing. Go figure!
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