We're having a new house built, and the kitchen backsplash that was just installed is a tumbled stone, which looks great, but isn't a flat surface. As a result, the wall plates for electrical outlets, switches and phone jacks don't sit quite flush. Is there something that can be done about this, to fill the gaps with some sort of caulking or something, or is this just something I have to accept?
Electrical – How to fill gaps in wall plates on an uneven backsplash
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Assuming this is ceramic tile - not glass or stone - and you are going to do the standard mastic installation, if there is only mild damage (for example, a few 4-inch patches ripped off) either just ignore it or use joint compound to fill.
Joint compound is not strong at all. It is pretty crumbly and soft - i.e. it's not plaster, even though builders nowadays use it to skim-coat walls for texture (you can easily gouge it with your fingernail on such installs). So if there are large areas of damage, I would cut out the sections of drywall and replace them. This is not difficult, because although you should still mud-and-tape the joints, you don't need to sand much since you'll be covering it with tile.
Final comment - I wish, on my installation, that we had added 1/4" hardiboard over the sheetrock (with const. adhesive and screws) to stiffen the wall. My wall has the garage door in it, so the wall gets flexed and the grout cracks. Just FYI.
(Adding Fein Multimaster picture, see comment below)
There is a reason that painted surfaces are generally not used for backsplashes, and you have discovered it.
The standard approach to both counter and backsplash is to have an impervious surface and a seal between them. This is virtually impossible with paint. Occassionaly you will find heavily sealed wood (clear epoxy, marine varnish, etc.) used for either the counter or the backsplash, but they need constant monitoring and repair if scratched or chipped.
You should consider using tile or metal as a backsplash (as suggested by hortstu in his comment). It should also be sealed to the countertop at the base (clear silicone at the bottom edge of the tile/metal).
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Best Answer
There are insulating gaskets for switches and outlets like these
They would help seal against air leaks, but they might not visually fill the gaps at the edge of a switch plate.
There are also deep beveled switch plates, such as those found here. You could custom grind these down with a dremel-type tool to fit the highs and lows of the surface, but that would be a pretty time consuming task.
While you probably could caulk the gaps, you should be careful to avoid getting any into the box and wiring itself. Also, caulking will make removal of the cover plate a bit more difficult.