Pro Handyman Blog

It is not normal that we are asked to repair an electric panel. However, in this day and age where there are so many vacant houses, vandals (or previous occupants) seem to steal just about anything that isn’t bolted down.

Problems in the breaker panel are often caught when there is a problem with the power, or when an inspector flags it as a condition of sale. Circuit breakers are removed, and sometimes the bank will want them replaced, and sometimes they just want the opening in the panel to be covered to avoid injury. For this you can buy knock-out plugs. These are available at most home centers, and are plastic covers that snap into the dead front of the panel. However, sometimes the dead front of the panel has also been removed.

The dead front is a metal cover that covers the wiring inside the panel. It usually held in place by some tabs on one side and a screw on the other. It has openings that fit the breakers perfectly and the dead front is not interchangeable with the manufacturer of another panel. If you have a missing dead front, it is probably easiest to buy a complete new box that is identical to your existing box and then remove the dead front from the new box and install it into your old one.