How to hide a surface-mounted electrical panel
Surface-mounted electrical panels protrude awkwardly from walls, making them a hazard where people bump their hands or appliances against them. Homeowners looking to conceal them struggle to figure out how to build and hinge a custom door over the box safely.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Leaving the electrical box uncovered since it is hard to see
- 2Being careful not to hit hands or appliances on it
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
r/homeowners1 person · September 2026
“I always hit my hand or an appliance on it.”source ↗
Blacknight841 · r/homeowners · 2 upvotes
r/HomeMaintenance1 person · September 2026
“Looking for ideas on how to close this up. Thinking of a door, but it sure what hinges to use and type of door”source ↗
frankr_14 · r/HomeMaintenance · 1 upvotes
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to cover an old outdoor electrical box and hide exposed wire
- 3New kitchen cabinets covered an electrical outlet
- 3Why does touching my breaker panel turn my electric dryer back on?
- 2How to build a closet around exposed ductwork
- 2How to cover exposed AC and utility lines on a wall
- 3How to fix a gap behind an outlet faceplate