IMO, the mechanical design of the "designer" switches I've seen is not as sturdy as that of high-quality "specification grade" conventional toggle switches. I don't think they'll last as long, yet they cost at least as much.

I haven't dismantled one (yet!), but internally, I'd guess that "designer" switches are roughly equal in construction quality to a typical 50 cent bulk-pack big-box-store switch.

Buy them if you like the look, but don't expect 30 year durability from them.

davidr: what we really need (due to arthritis and limited hand strength) is the rocker type switches; they're easier to use and you can actually use the side of your hand instead of your fingers. That we know. What we don't know is how that translates to switches and wall plates and all of that. Can we get a high quality ROCKER style switch? And if so, how do we describe that in our specifications? Is there a brand we can look for? We can't just write "give us the good ones".

I'm tired of replacing wall receptacles here in our Big National Builder tract house where we've suffered for 18 years with shoddy quality. I'll take all the specific advice you can give me.

There are residential, commercial and industrial rated designer devices but you'll likely have to special order commercial or industrial.

Leviton resi grade single pole switch #5611
commercial grade #5691

dim4fun: thanks much for the model nos.

davidr: let me know if you dismantle one to check out its innards.

Pinktoes, we have both Leviton and Lutron in our home. The Leviton rocker switches date back pre 1990 and I'm sure they were installed when the house was built in 1984. They are good switches and use a screw on face plate. We have not had any problem with them. I added about 10 dimmers 5 years ago and they are Lutron and came with the clip on face plates. There is a base face plate that screws into the outlet/switch/receptacle and then the top plate clips into this base. They're very tight and we have had zero problems with them. We've been very pleased with the Lutron switches. Both have been good products and in our kitchen remodel, I'm adding a few more Lutrons because of availability and price to me. I would not have have any reservation about using the Levitons either. Clearly they cost more than standard switches and plates and you have to decide their value to you. I do not believe you have to go to commercial grade.

lwim: thanks so much for the feedback on your long experience with these two brands. Having priced the commercial rocker style switches (leviton now offers theirs in standard residential and in commercial/spec grade) there's no way we can upgrade all our switches and receptacles. Now you've convinced me it's not necessary.

We are considering upgrading them in just a few heavy-use areas--especially the receptacles. They're what we've had the most trouble with in our current 18-year old house. I'm skeptical about whether we'll actually get the commercial ones in selected areas even if we specify them, so it may be a waste of time and money to even try that.

Thanks again. Its been a real help.

pinktoes

I just went through this myself - picking the switch and outlet types and finding wall plates. It was a lot harder than I thought.

We selected the rocker/deigner/decora style for several reasons. One is what you mentioned - easier to operate switches with the back of your hand. Another was that painted wall plates for regular style outlets tend to get get dirty and knicked up - the desginer style has a larger outlet face with a very narrow surrounding plate that can minimize that. The last reason is that I am integrating Insteon remote control switches and controllers into my plan - and the controllers are designer style - so for conformity reasons we kept everything the same.

Once we picked the switch and outlet style - then came the real challenge. DW wants the wall plates to match the wall color - so they have to be painted. The pastic plates - screwed or screwless - can be painted but you will need to sand each plate to prep it. With over 250 wall plates in my house - that wasn't going to work for me.

I found posts that described the TayMac Masque plastic wall plates that can be painted - but they are between 2 to 3 dollars each AND they no longer carry a 4 gang switch plate, and I need a bunch of these. In the end, I decided to use Mulberry Pricness Size Designer Wall metal plates which come in 1, 2,3,4,5 and 6 gang. I am using the Wrinkled plate, which can be painted without sanding. See http://www.mulberrymetal.com/home.htm. Your eelctrical supplier should have access to these and they are quite reasonable and look nice painted. I had them in my last home and they are very durable - but they do have visible screws.

As far as switches, the Pass & Symour Spec grade designer switches were recommended on other GW posts and by electricians and lighting designers I talked to. It turns our that the local suplly company that I bought the wall plates carries the P&S switches - so I bought these. I think the other brands are fine - as long as you use spec grade. I would also avoid the Home Depot bulk switches since I found out - through other posts - that the quality is not that great.

Hope this helps.

sniffdog: thanks a lot! Wow--your task sure got complicated, but its good to know about all the decorator plates.

We're doubling the number of receptacles required by code, so we just doubled our expense. I want switches and receptacles that can't be push-wired ("back-stabbed") because the electricians say that's much faster but a major factor in failure down the road.

Jumping from leviton decora residential switch to leviton commercial switch goes from about $1.50 each to $7.00 each. That's a bunch. Similar in receptacles. (At wholesalers.) Similar in Pass & Seymour. I don't think we're gonna be able to handle that.

Thinking about just specifying commercial/spec grade (esp. for receptacles) in our higher use locations in the house. But I'm not sure we'll end up getting them--the electrician would have to be awfully honest. GC won't be there to inspect every wiring device as it comes out of the bag and neither will we.

pinktoes

check out www.aplussuply.com and click on the Pass & Seymoure link. They carry many of the P&S parts and they are not too costly. I wound up buying my P&S parts from a local supplier but the prices on the site were close.

sniffdog: Thanks. That's where I found the prices. Hope the electrical sub gets a way better price. That might bring the actual dollars within range, which will work. But the price differential, I'm guessing, will still be pretty big.

We're trying to build a good house, not a showy one. It'd be cheaper to build a showy one, for sure.