Escutcheon and mounting plate set

A ten-year alarm leaves a clean circle on a ceiling that has been painted around it twice. A new alarm with a smaller base does not cover it, and the ring is the reason a lot of alarms get put back in the same tired position rather than moved to a better one.

Six paintable ABS plates in two diameters, with the fixing pattern of the common alarm bases pre-marked. Takes emulsion straight from the tin.

Fitting and care. Paint them before fitting, not after — painting in place is how alarm vents get blocked. Two coats of emulsion, and let it cure fully so the plate does not tack to the ceiling. Check the fixing pattern of your new alarm against the pre-marked holes before drilling anything. Do not use one to bridge a gap larger than the plate; fill and sand the old hole instead, because a plate that only half covers looks worse than the ring did.