Asked on Jan 11, 2019

How to cover up old phone outlet where there is tile already in place?

Colleen Burke
by Colleen Burke

There is an ugly old phone jack outlet that I no longer need and it is an odd shape. There is tile all around the space but I want to plug up this space permanently. Any suggestions to plug up this ugly space without messing up the tile??

  10 answers
  • You can buy a plate that is solid and paint it to match the tile, then place something decorative in front of it.

  • Nmk3 Nmk3 on Jan 11, 2019

    The simplest solution may be to just glue the old cover back in place and paint same color as tile.

    If you have any tile pieces around you may be able to use them to camouflage your hole (after gluing a base in).

    In my old house, I hung a picture on my backsplash where I had removed an ancient wall exhaust fan. It worked for years until we permanently fixed it! Lol!

    • Colleen Burke Colleen Burke on Jan 11, 2019

      Thx so much for the reply. You know, that's part of the problem because it's a big hole. Nothing to screw anything into. And cold air is pouring in. I had put a plate thingie there with a hook to put my keys on, but that kept falling off. Maybe I should work on filling that in first and do whatever later.

      Thx again.

  • Mary Russell Mary Russell on Jan 12, 2019

    looks like a place for at least one screw.Just from what I can see from the picture,I would pack full of insulation,carefully stuffing all cracks;etc,then try putting a blank cover plate over using the one screw and construction cement,hot glue,or some other really good adhesive.Gorilla glue has one that has to be used by wetting the surfaces,that I use to put auto window glass (door) into the tracks.It is the only glue I've found that holds in this situation,so it might work for the cover plate.

  • Alice Alice on Jan 12, 2019

    Air pouring in? insulate! Then find a piece of tile from a tile company. Call around and see if they have a discard pile they will let you go through. If you are lucky to find the right size [or they will cut for you] use silicone adhesive to cover the hole.

  • Ellis Ellis on Jan 12, 2019

    You can buy blank plates that cover these blue wire boxes. Note that there is a screw hole at the bottom, and probably one at the top under the other plate. You can, as others have said, use the bottom hole, and glue the other, top hole part of the plate, in place with silicone caulk.

  • Lisa L Hall Lisa L Hall on Jan 13, 2019

    since you are leaving the existing phone wiring, you should just put a blank faceplate over that spot. You can decorate that faceplate many different ways if you wanted something with a little design.


    It's always best to not cover wiring with anything permanent since you never know if you'll need to get to them, or if you sell your home, if the new homeowner would want those phone wires.

  • Dee Dee on Jan 15, 2019

    If you do not intend to use the phone jack ever, get the foam spray to insulate the area. It will fill up the hole. Then get a tile cut at Lowes or Home depot and glue it in place. You can paint the tile to match or get one that contrasts.

  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Jan 17, 2019

    Get something called Great Stuff. It's spray in insulation and expands a lot! It will fill in the hole and then harden like foam. You can trim it to size and then have something to either glue a blank plate to or piece of tile. šŸ˜Ž

  • Olga De la Secu Olga De la Secu on Jan 09, 2021

    Maybe a little piece of wood or drywall and some texture on top and paint? It is really small. It should not be too difficult

  • Agnes Chrzanowska Agnes Chrzanowska on Jan 31, 2021

    You can use drywall or wood and then use some paint to cover it up