ARLINGTONTVBU505-1 Recessed TV Box Wall Plate Kit Paintable 2-Gang, White

Fit well - nice and tight in the wall - would've been nice if it came with a template - hell, any box that needs cutting should come with a template, but take your time, use a level and a straight edge, cut as little as possible and it should hold nicely. The face place fit really nice and covered the cut - it's not a huge face plate so don't make a gigantic cut. You can add the outlet cover at the very end - it doesn't interfere with the cover to the box (the white piece that goes around the whole box - not the two gang face plate for the outlet).

The product itself is great. It works as a 2-gang box (2 receptacle), with one side intended for an electrical outlet, and the other for low voltage, such as coaxial or hdmi inputs. On the bottom of the electric side, there are pieces of plastic that bend out of the way when the wire comes in, but bite into the wire when it tries to go out, thus keeping the wire in place. On top, there is a scored circular punch-out, similar to metal work boxes. You can use this punch-out instead, or in addtion, to accomodate additional wiring going different directions. The former seems to be the intended first-use insert. The low voltage side has no back, so you'll either have to attach the wire to a nearby stud, or just be sure it is attached well to your receptacle, else risk losing it down into the wall. It is solidly built, has all the parts you need (except for the receptacles, of course), and can even be used as a new or old work box (old work box involves using the flaps to pull back against the drywall, while new work boxes are screwed directly into a stud before drywall is installed).The installation was pretty straightforward. I already have walls in place, so I was instructed to cut a 5 1/4" X 6" hole in the drywall for the box to fit in. This leaves about 1/8" on all sides for a little wiggle room to both get the box all the way in there, and to make sure it's level. I used an electrical outlet and a combination coaxial/hdmi receptacle. For the outlet, the hot wire (usually black) goes to the gold screw, the neutral wire (usually white) goes to the silver screw, and the ground wire (usually a bare wire) goes on the green screw. The a/v receptacle I used simply involved plugging the male end of both cables into a double-ended female port of both designs. Be sure to have an electrician complete the wiring if you are unsure of how to complete the job. If you're confident you can do it youself, don't forget to turn off the power. Use a tester. You never know if that one outlet is part of a different circuit than the others. ;) Once it's in and wired up, you simply tighten the 4 screws (2 on each receptacle) into the treads behind them. To install the box, tighten the 4 screws with flaps on the box until you feel solid pressure against the drywall. Be careful not to overtighten, or you may strip out the treads and leave yourself with a loose fit. The receptacle cover installs with 4 screws (notice a pattern here?), and the box trim cover itself also installs with 4 screws. I would advise having the box trim cover in place already, so that when you tighten the flaps, you'll come to perfectly flush. As you would imagine, if you don't you can have it too far in a given direction. The directions also say to do this, but not everyone reads them. ;)To install on a stud, you just use the 1/2" plastic lip on the side of the box as a guide (if you do indeed plan on installing 1/2" drywall) and use the included screws to install in the desired location. I imagine most people would use the flaps, since it's hard to know exactly where you would need an outlet for a tv installation with all of the possible tvs and mounts available.An important note when purchasing receptacles is to be sure to buy the rectangular shaped ones. Just as the picture would indicate, the cover has rectangular holes. if you buy the regular kind (with round holes), you will be left with a sizeable gap, and it will not look good.Another equally important note is to make sure you have enough depth in your wall for the box. This thing is deep. It takes advantage of not only the 3 1/2" of the 2X4, but also the 1/2" of the drywall. If you are using paneling, or somehow have thinner walls, you may be stuck with other boxes, as this thing will stick out into the room, thus defeating the purpose of getting a recessed box.The caveat, of course, comes in the form of receptacle threads that are too small. These are the same basic screws that fit in every other work box around. The screws will still go into them, but with WAY more effort than it should have. It was acting as though I were cross-threading the screws (trying to install a screw at any angle other than the perfect one, resulting in the screw having to eat through the walls of the threads to gain traction...end result is usually a ruined thread or a screw that still sticks way too far out). I had to force all 4 of them in, and despite being as careful as possible, all 4 were stripped out. I even had to use pliers to grab the head of the screws to try to tighten them enough so that I could salvage the installation. Those screws aren't meant to handle that kind pressure...the metal is too soft. If it was just 1 of the 4 threads, I'd think that I HAD cross-threaded them, but all 4 is unlikely. I either got part of a bad batch, or they need to fix how they manufacture this box. Either way, after all that work, I wasn't up to trying to take it all apart and having to hassle with a return. Amazon's good, but I would also run the risk of them assuming I just botched the installation.If the thread problem was fixed, I would give this product 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who wants a quality recessed box for their entertainment needs.Sorry for the length of the review, and for going into too much detail. I just wanted to make sure everyone could make an informed purchase decision. Not everyone starts out knowing every detail about home improvement. :)

This box allows you to mount with just the tabs, or by screwing into a stud diagonally from the front. This means you can very securely mount the box in old construction. As others have noted, the Decora faceplate included is not a standard size (though the openings in it are), so be careful not to break or lose it, since a normal double gang faceplate won't fit in this box without extra modification.Box is plate is recessed further than the similar Leviton plate, and this one doesn't come with an outlet built in. Frankly, I consider that an advantage, since it allows you to use whatever outlet you want.Only thing I would change about this box is the plastic plugs it comes with aren't really sufficient to block the holes, it would be great if it came with some nice plastic knockouts that fully sealed it. I wound up buying a big pack of knockout inserts meant for automotive work, and found some in there that worked well for these boxes.

Hello:I normally do not review items on Amazon, but just wanted to let people know about a few issues:1. the box is as deep as a 2x4 stud, meaning with a 5/8 drywall, the mount sits flush to the drywall. Well at first read, this sounds ok, but the issue is that since the gang box is so deep causing the flushness of the box, the Arlington box sits on a slight angle, meaning that the side for the cable management is recessed further back than the outlet side of the box.the face plate installs fine, the face plate will be flush with the wall but the box it self will have a slightly angle; again the outlet side will be flush, but the cable management side will be recessed back.There are no gaps and at it looks fine, as it was meant to do this.Ultimately everything fit. Remember to move the insulation from behind the box, if not the box will not sit flush at all; the box will stick out from the wall.Besides this its a great box and I like the recessed look of it; well the box is hidden behind my TV, but it is a decent box and the cheapest out there, I just wished it would sit flush on both sides.This item does not come with an outlet (receptacle); I bought a "Pass & Seymour In wall Surge Protector" which suppresses electrical surges and has an alarm function. Cheapest place is to find them on EBay at around 15.00 shipped.Any questions please let me know.P.S. Please pardon any grammar and/or spelling mistakes :)If i could do it again, I would buy a single Arlington Box recessed outlet box and then I would buy 2 cable bypass management adaptor such as DataComm 45-0001-WH 1-Gang Recessed Low Voltage Cable Plate (White) http://www.amazon.com/DataComm-45-0001-WH-1-Gang-Recessed-Voltage/dp/B00193U3O0/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1453232582&sr=8-9&keywords=in+wall+cable+management to install a few inches from this box to minimize the size of the drywall you have to cut and patching in the future if the box is removed.

Very nice unit. Looks good on the wall and quality seems good. I wish it would have came with both top and bottom wire connectors, but you only get one. There is a knock out for a 2nd one, but you have to purchase it separately. One problem I did come across was that the receptacle mounting screw hole stripped when I threaded the screw in. After looking closer at it,I noticed the screw had stripped as well after taking it out. What had happened is that when they assembled it, the metal ground lug overlaps the receptacle mounting screw hole and it was not quite on centre with the hole. When I threaded the screw in, the metal overlapping the hole stripped the screw, which in turn stripped the plastic thread in the receptacle mounting hole. They should put a metal thread insert in the hole and this may have been avoided. Like the unit, but be careful with the receptacle mounting hole plastic threads.

The only thing that it did not have was the grounding piece in these boxes. Other then that very happy witht the product. Easy to install.

it's more difficult than the ones I have used in the past

Good quality, very useful. Just note that this is NOT CSA approved, so if you are in Canada this will not pass the national electric code. It does not have a ground wire screw.

Love using these products. Arlington makes a great product. However as being Canadian they require a grounding clip. I ordered this model not checking to see if its the Canadian version. It is not. I will make it work. Buyer be warned to make sure you buy TVBU505GC if you are in Canada