Ding, dong!

I mentioned in this post that I was tired of the brass doorbell that clashed completely with our new door hardware.  Well, while at Home Depot last week (on a completely unrelated wild goose chase of a mission), I decided to drop by the doorbell aisle to see what I could do about it.  In general, there were very few brushed nickel doorbell plates, and I disliked most of them.  That said, I really disliked the rusting brass piece we already had more, so I bit the bullet and picked one.  Now, the funny part (not actually funny in the "haha" sense...more in the "what was I thinking" sense) is that I actually purchased a doorbell converter set because it has the plate I disliked the least. 

Replacing a doorbell faceplate is actually pretty easy.  You'll need a screwdriver or two (depends on the type of screws holding your existing faceplate, as well as the screws on the doorbell itself), as well as a pair of needlenose pliers.  First, remove the existing faceplate and pull the doorbell away from the wall.  Remove the bell from the wires (either unscrew the screws that hold each of the wires to the button mechanism or just pull firmly) and slide the faceplate off the back of the mechanism.  Then, slide the new faceplate on and reattach the wires.  This is when I needed the needlenose plies to curl the ends of the wires.  This helped hold them in place while I tightened the screws.  Then, slide the whole unit back into the wall and screw the new faceplate into the wall. 

Now, this only works if the hole in the old and new faceplates are the same.  If not, you'll have to replace the entire button mechanism.  Having figured out the process as easily as I did, I think I could have replaced the button mechanism as well, but again, I was being pretty picky.  The unit I bought was beyond my comprehension, so I was stuck with the simple faceplate replacement.  While I'm not entirely pleased with the final product, it is SO much better than the brass we started with!