Last year we showed a viewer tip on putting washers behind the electrical box outlet mounting bracket to hold the outlet firmly forward when the electrical box had been mounted too deep in the wall. Dwight sent us another way to do it that is actually easier than playing with a pile of washers.
Dwight winds a bare copper wire around a screwdriver shaft to make a spiral. He then cuts this to the length necessary to space the outlet forward flush with the drywall. That really is a quick and easy way to get a solid outlet.
This works well and safely for boxes that are still in contact with the drywall so that, while the drywall may not be flush with the front of the box, there isn?t actually a large gap between the box and the drywall. If the box is too far back though, you would need such a large pile of washers to bring the outlet flush with the wall that the stability of the outlet could be compromised, possibly allowing outlet wire screws to touch the box and cause a short circuit. For this case they make certified electrical box extenders, kind of like a sleeve, that fills in the space.
Remember that all electrical work requires a permit -- some provinces allow homeowners to do their own electrical work and some provinces require liscensed electricians to carry out all such work. Click here for information on the LEGALITY OF DIY ELECTRICAL WORK.