texts: How do I unblock an interceptor chamber?

texts:
I have a house built in the UK in 1906, which has an Interceptor Chamber. Having identified it as such, I need to figure out how to unblock it. Water is currently backing up all the way to ground level, very very slowly draining away.

I believe there is a flap to another pipe under the surface of the water, slightly below ground level which I should be opening and trying to unblock, but I'm not really clear what I should be doing. Reading online seems to indicate that it's the U-bend/trap that's blocked so I need to clear that. Mainly, I don't want to do anything that could just cause a blockage somewhere else.

What I remember seeing when it wasn't filled up with water was a 6 inch (diameter) pipe that went down as far as I could see (presumably until it hit the near horizontal waste pipe). Within that, taking up about half of the diameter of the pipe is a flat cap (also called a tea-pot lid I believe). Not really knowing what I was doing I tried plunging down the pipe as best I could with a normal plunger, but don't think it did much as it wouldn't fit properly because the tea pot lid took up much of the room. What should I try next?

tl;dr: See title.


texts: Sharing waste of washing machine with sink

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Is the plumbing below fine?

The part in red comes from behind a brick wall and the height on the exit pipe is at 50 cm, therefore, to avoid having to break the wall and redoing part of the plumbing I would like to share the waste links of the sink and washing machine.


texts: How to repair a piano that was damaged during a move?

texts: We hired professional movers to transport a grand piano across a few states.  However, the movers damaged it (with a forklift?).  What is a good way to repair the damage, where the gouge is quite deep and wide?


texts: What is the purpose of a window well for a window that is above grade?

texts: Recently my neighbour installed window wells around all of his basement windows, but they all sit with the bottom edge about 2 inches above the ground. Do window wells serve a purpose if your window is still above the ground?


texts: What's the best way to recreate exterior wood trim?

texts:
I have some decorative wood pieces on the front of my house that are old and falling apart. I took them down to recreate them anew. Someone suggested I could trace them and cut out new ones in the same style. This seemed like a straightforward suggestion until I started trying to trace them and realized their edges are ragged from age and peeling paint and so forth. How should I go about recreating them? I bought wood already and am ready to go once I determine a good method.

Should I trace onto paper and clean up before transferring to the new wood? Should I use a French curve to make sure the arcs are steady? Etc. Any experience you can offer will be helpful. Thanks!

ETA picture of house. Here I've overexposed it so you can see the wood trim I have been talking about. Does anybody know what the architectural term for this trim is?


texts: Is it ok to have two separate ledger boards

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I'm replacing the 10' x 8' attached deck on my house with a 16' x 16' attached deck. What I'm wondering is if it would be ok if the ledger board from the old deck could be reused and then another ledger board be installed next to the old one?  The old ledger board would be 10'.

Granted, I realize that if the old board has some damage I should replace it and also check for proper flashing, etc. But I'm just wondering if structurally its ok to use two ledger boards next to each other.


texts: Wiring 3 wire well pump to 4 wire supply

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220v pump.

Old pump has 4 wires, RWBG
At the well head the supply has RWBground
Old pump use Green on ground.

New pump is black, black and green

Ok, 2 black supply lines go to Black and Red (Yes they have 240 between them)  But does my green connect to the neutral line (white) or to the bare ground wire.

Old pump is a 38 yr old franklin.

New pump is a Grundfos SQE series.


texts:
Hi I have a new home and the front door is difficult to close.  They have run the doorbell wire along the inside of the upper frame (as seen in the pic) and the door rubs against it.  I’m worried that wire will eventually get worn down and in general it sucks having to lean on the door to close it.  My kids are also have a hard time closing it too, which means the door is occasionally left open.

entire door

The door was not hung squarely as I think you can see in the picture and it looks like I could fix this by shimming or somehow bringing that bottom left corner out just a 1/16th. I have about an eighth to work with at the bottom left and even more in other areas.  I have very limited experience hanging doors and I’m hoping someone can help with a quick fix tip that won’t involve rehanging/reframing the door.  Any help would be appreciated.


texts: I was trying to drill through my stucco wall and hit a very hard surface that the drill would not go through.  I then purchased a titanium drill bit that I was told would drill through steel, which I think is what is behind the stucco.  However, I can't get the drill to make a hole.  How long does it take to drill through steel and am I using the correct drill bit?


texts: What are my options for plugging holes in soffit for security cameras?

texts:
I've recently installed some security cameras, but due to attic access through the soffit, I ended out having to drill some holes away from where the cameras were actually mounted. What are my options for plugging these holes?

One YouTube video I watched, the guy used some low-profile junction box, but I can't seem to find anything of similar size, for under like $10/each.
Can I just cut a piece of wood, route a channel for the cable, and then screw that to my (wooden) soffit? A 4"x4" piece of wood would be plenty large enough to cover the hole and have room for screws left over. Or is there something besides "junction box" that I should be searching for?


texts: Why does my garbage disposal blow "swamp gas" up the other sink?

texts: I have a generic garbage disposal, and if I run it with water it runs fine (it spins fine).  However once it spins through the water and starts spinning "air" something akin to swamp gas (looks like faint smoke, and smells like rotting) starts coming up out of the drain on the other side.  I don't think it's actual "swamp gas" (from the sewer system) coming up through, since there is still water in the P trap.


texts: installing a laminate countertop on uneven cabinets

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I will be installing a laminate countertop on some base cabinets that I've installed.  I leveled the cabinets the best I could with a 4-foot level, but the problem is they are cheap, big-box, stock cabinets, and the tops of the frames and cabinet walls are not all even and flush.  Obviously I want the final countertop surface to be level.  What is the proper way to account for the uneven tops of the base cabinets beneath the countertop?  I was thinking of using L-brackets, starting from the highest point I can find and installing them at the same level on each cabinet.

Thanks for your thoughts.


texts: What size should sistered joists be when repairing a cut joist?

texts:
I need to repair a cut joist in my kitchen floor. I was going to use a header and sister the joists on either side of it. Question: how do I know what thickness of a header I should use? What about the thickness of the sistered joists? The joists are 16" on centre.

Here is a drawing of the problem area
(for context, this is a top-down view of the floor under the kitchen) :

Here is my proposed fix


texts: Outside electric panel, does it require another housing?

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We are upgrading the electric panel.  The current one is attached to the outside of the house. The new one will be in the same place but will be a bigger panel and supports 200 Amps. Do I need to protect the panel in any way from the elements?  Is the metal panel enclosure adequate enough?

Will it benefit from additional protection?


texts: Does a neutral-to-ground voltage of 0.0 indicate a bootleg ground?

texts:
As described here (for example), in a correctly-wired receptacle, there will be a small potential difference between the neutral and ground wires that increases slightly with increasing load. I'm thinking that with a bootleg ground, this voltage will always be 0 no matter how much current is running through the circuit. Is my reasoning correct? If so, is measuring the neutral-to-ground voltage a good way to test for the presence of a bootleg ground?

Backstory: I'm in the middle of buying a house in the US. The home inspector discovered that some of the three-pronged outlets had no ground wire. The listing claimed recent electrical upgrades, so I asked the seller to rewire these. I meant for this to be the starting point of a negotiation, but somewhat to my surprise, he agreed to do it. In the spirit of finding a cloud for every silver lining, I'm concerned this means he's planning to do something  like a bootleg ground to fool me and the inspector into thinking the problem is solved, and I'm trying to come up with a way to test for this without buying a $300 circuit analyzer.

Backstory update: It turns out the guy just replaced all the ungrounded outlets with GFCI boxes. Which is not exactly what I asked for, but good enough.


texts: Grandfather old code during renovations?

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During renovations of a residential house when does new code apply or can grandfather the old code in.

I.e kitchen has awkward layout and not that practical to change.

Context: Kitchen landing spacings on each side of oven


texts:
Bought this house last year. Winter, no static. Two,
 weeks ago, in summer, touching kitchen light switches, doorknobs, now kitchen faucet gives me a static shock. Never happened before, now it's consistent. Electrician came out said light switches. It grounded, put little dangling wire inside box behind 2-3 switches. Still happening. Any BTW maybe not relevant but just before this started my Hvac system stopped working, AC guy checked breaker and the wire was loose. Tightened it up, AC worked fine again. Electrician put in a new breaker after that, just to be safe. Coincidence or related? Thanks!


texts: Adding more floor joists in a crawlspace. Originals are 5' OC and need more support

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I just bought a 1956 ranch house in Portland, OR and am facing an issue. I've gutted the bathroom for a remodel and it's down to the studs. There was a bit of water damage to the subfloor around the shower/tub so I decided to replace the whole thing.

In the process, I discovered the floor joists are approximately 5' on center 4x8 which is certainly not up to modern day code. On top of that is tongue in groove 2x6 decking for the subfloor. The floor is surprisingly sturdy but many people have already suggested that it would be smart to add more joists, especially since I'll be tiling the floor.

The old joists abut against the concrete foundation, kind of like a mortise and tennon joint (not sure what it's actually called). The foundation is in good condition and doesn't have any cracks and looks dry. The joists span what looks to be the entire length of the house with 4x4 pier supports every 6' or so.

My question is what's the best way to add new joists to the space between the old ones? I guess I need to make a sill against the concrete for which I can attach the new joists. I can't see myself running new 2x8 joists across the entire length of the house, so I was thinking I could go a few feet past the length of the bathroom, using pier supports along the way with concrete pier blocks beneath, and then block off their ends between the original joists. Is that a structurally sound way to do this?

It sounds like my whole floor will need more reinforcement at some point but like I said, it all seems really sturdy for the time being. There aren't any significant sags or bounciness that I can find.

Here's a short video of a walk through the bathroom if it helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb59H0MT3bo (sorry for a couple f bombs! my dirty rotten mouth)


texts:
I bought this white-only LED strip lights off amazon, and it has a DC jack. However, when I search on the internet, there seems to also be 4-wire cable and 2-wire cable.

I'm asking this because I want to attach a remote and a dimmer to the LED strip light, and the remote dimmer has 2-wire cable.

Can I connect the LED's DC jack to the dimmer? And how do I go from the dimmer to a 110V outlet?


texts: Lights dimming as I add lights or plug anything into any outlet

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I have two 50 amp fuses that bring power from the main shutoff to my garage. When I flip the breaker in the garage all my readings seem to be normal. As I begin to turn just the lights on after I get just 3 or 4 (60 watt simple everyday led light bulbs) turned on the lights begin to dim. (The breaker box has 8 25 amp breakers in it and uses all 8 breakers for the outlets and the lights). If I have only one light on and I attempt to plug in anything into an outlet  the single light I have on will lose over half of its brightness.

No matter which light I have on the above problem seems to occur. Why would it do that?


texts: Cutting out most sink cabinet back panel to access utilities

texts:
I am curious if there is any reason NOT TO cut out most of a sink cabinet back panel to have easy access to utilities (pipes + electrical) vs tedious stencil gauging where to cut exact holes like you would do with drywall.
Does that 1/8" (or so) panel serve any purpose other than cosmetic?
I was thinking to spare myself the trouble of stenciling where the holes are by just cutting out approx. 50% of it in a rectangle and then maybe fill the gap around the perimeter with smart foam or something for draft and rodent protection.
Is there any advantage to taking the extra effort to leave most of it by cutting holes in precise positions?


texts: Awning windows - How much ventilation do they provide?

texts: I am wondering if any of you have any experience with awning windows.  I am looking at a condo with large awning windows on the side (height that almost goes from ceiling to a little higher than the floor).  Actually I don't know how they look like since I've never been there before (still in construction).  I hear it is supposed to open only like 6 inches from the bottom.  My question is will it provide enough air ventilation?  Seems to me like because the awning window has an interesting way of opening up (bottom pushes out), the wind is not able to directly flow inside.  It has to go around.  Will it be enough to ventilate the place if i.e. there is only one window per room that can be opened?  Each room has 3 windows.


texts: Is it ok to use a rotary hammer to make a hole in the sub dirt wall of my basement?

texts: I am considering using a rotary hammer to make a 1" hole in my basement wall. I want the hole to route a pex line entirely underground out to a remote garden hose spigot on the far side of my lawn. I see a full size sewer line going out that way, so why not a small hole for pex?


texts:
What ampacity circuit breaker would I need for an 18 amp electric heater?

Here's a link to the model (IEP-4024), it's North American, 240 volts, 4000 watts, installing it outdoor.


texts: THHN use with Blue Plastic Romex Connector Switch/Outlet Boxes

texts:
I extended my patio, added a pool, and a pool half bath (CMU construction) and now I am getting ready to wire it all together.
I planed to use 4 blue plastic boxes (1x 4 gang, 1x 2 gang, & 2x single boxes) that have Romex connections openings on the back to push Romex through and the "grabber tabs" on the back.  I would like to use THHN with these boxes because I have multiple circuits (ie. 4 gang) and have a GFCI with multiple outlets to wire in.
Questions:
#1.  Given concrete block walls mostly filled with concrete and nothing combustable, can I use THHN through the below described electrical conduit WITHOUT a connector from the end of the pipe (inside the CMU wall) to/through the back of blue box through the Romex pass through opening and still meet code?
Or #2.  Given built CMU walls and stucco formed around the blue plastic boxes and the laid-in conduit is also set in concrete, if I must keep the wires inside a pipe through a connector into the outlet/switch box and CANNOT simply span that very short distance (maybe 1/4 or 1/8 inch) than what type of connector should I use?
Or #3.  Given electrical conduit through the CMU walls to the point of the outlet/switch boxes, can I simply CUT OPEN the back of the blue boxes to more easily accommodate THHN running from the open pipe to the outlet/switches inside the concreted CMU walls?
Further detail to #3:  I have a PVC electrical piece male connector with a flat larger flange that fits inside a coupler.  Considering drilling the appropriate size hole in the blue plastic box and then glueing that male connector on from inside the box to meet up with/connect with the conduit inside the wall....thoughts?  (The conduit doesn't move due to concrete fill)
Or #4.  Given the holes for the blue boxes are in the CMU walls with stucco on, pipe laid in and block cavities filled, should I consider using a different outlet/switch box other than the blue boxes?
The half bath is built on the existing patio with CMU walls, with rebar/pins in some of the block and cavities filled with concrete.  I added electrical conduit to the CMU walls during construction so I could pass wires later and I had holes made in the block & stucco in order to fit the blue plastic remodelers boxes.  Above the new walls I connected electrical conduit from the pipe sticking up and ran that pipe to the point where I plan a good size electrical junction box (maybe 8"x10") that will sit above the patio sub panel.  All main power wires (#8 THHN) and the outlets/lights (min 12 ga) will pass through this junction box and go out to another point through conduit.
I laid in conduit & wire for a home-run to a sub panel on the side of my home for the pool equipment, a small sub panel in my shed in my back yard and a small sub panel on the new patio.  The 1st or main sub has 3 legs of #3 copper to an 80 amp breaker in my main panel for my home ('08 build w/200 amps service).  The 2 smaller subs in the shed and new patio have #8 copper leads and neutral each with a #6 ground wire to their own ground rod.  No heavy equipment only LED lights and ceiling fans.


texts:
Someone told me that pipe insulation is not necessary, rather he said it could cause more problems.
I'm under impression that he's making an excuse because he forgot to put it back.
Any inputs, anyone?
If there is no issues I'd rather have them on hot pipes to keep hot water hot.


texts:
My goal
I want to run a single track light rail all across the entire ceiling (about 38ft) in my family room using one junction.

My problem
I also want the ability to turn off certain light segments, such as; only the light on the left or right side of the room when desired.

My question
Does anyone know of an attachment I can add along the rail to give me this ability ? or maybe someone could point me in the right direction to overcome the issue ? In my imagination, I picture some kind of wireless transmitter and receiver kit I could purchase on ebay or my local hardware store.The receiver would fit and look like a standard track connector does, except, this would, of course; be a two way switch receiver, allowing me to use transmitter(s) to control each receiver along the track rail, turning the lights on and off as I please, but not all of them.

Background details
I live in a condo in the USA with certain restrictions on how much work could be done with and without a licensed and insured electrician, because of those limits, I'm trying to avoid too much cutting, drilling and serious electrical work (aka, anything that requires a month or two of back and forth with management). I already have two 4ft tracks mounted on their own junctions, one in the hallway, the other on the right side of the family room.

I figured it'll be best I just extend the track from the hallway since it's closest, and would look more "natural" given the angles of the track.

I understand that power might be an issue when considering the kind and power requirements of the light bulbs, which currently; are standard halogen, but will likely be replaced with 2700k LEDs.


texts: Double Drywall: Stud is behind Door Frame

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I am planning to hang a second layer of drywall along one side of an 18' hallway for soundproofing purposes (green glue between drywall layers) and I just want to make sure I am doing it correctly as it's my first time working with drywall.

The middle of the hall should be fairly straightforward but I have some concerns about the ends. Attached is a pic of one end of the hall wherein the stud (16" OC, marked with painter's tape) is behind a door frame. I know that, ideally, a sheet of drywall should be screwed onto studs at both ends but this is not possible in this case as the door frame is in the way.

I don't want to leave the sheet just hanging unscrewed on one side and and I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks for reading.
-Reg


texts:
When should I use a tee and when should I use a wye for drainage? Does using a "long sweep" tee alter the situation?

Example (sanitary) tee:

Example wye:

Example long sweep tee:

(Note - a long sweep seems to be equivalent to a wye with an additional 45 bend fitting attached.)


texts: How do I repair/reattach downspout and gutter after snow/ice damage?

texts:
We've had a heavy dose of snow here in the Boston area it has taken a toll on our gutters and downspouts. The downspout at the rear of my house filled with ice and pulled away from the elbow that comes down from the gutter:

Also, ice did some damage to a gutter on a dormer. The dormer seems prone to icicle formation, as it has a thinner roof with no ventilation. During this storm, huge icicles formed and pushed/pulled the right end of the gutter down from the roof line by about 5 inches. Since then most of the ice has melted and the gutter is closer to its original position, but it still hanging down a bit on the right:

So how do I get these things back into place so they'll hold through the next storm? The downspout doesn't seem to be held by anything other than some aluminum straps fastened into the siding. I haven't gone up to look at the gutter, but I believe it is fastened directly into the exposed rafter tails of our roof, some of which may be in bad shape.


texts: I've got one that's doing the ol' dribble for a few minutes after flush.  Ran out to the store today to get new seals with the plan of replacing the inlet seals and scraping out the gunk.  However, it appears you can't buy just seals any more.  Everything is a complete inlet side replacement.  With how cheap they are, no surprise, the seals used to cost nearly that much!  However, other than a couple that listed very specific toilets they say "fit almost all toilets"...  Is this one of those things you just have to buy, try, and throw away if it doesn't fit?  Other than carrying the old parts into the store and trying to look at them for comparison, is there a standard?


texts: What is the best way to remove a broken screw from a deck board?

texts:
I used stainless steel trim screws (3 in x 9 gauge) to rebuild our deck and one of them broke off when I was drilling it in. There was about a 1/4 of an inch left (just the shank, no head) but when I tried to twist it out with locking pliers it broke off and now there is not enough of the shank to grab onto with locking pliers.

Any recommendations as to the best way to extract it at this point? I've thought of cutting a slot with a hacksaw and using a screw driver, using an extractor bit, or using a hole saw and putting in a plug to cover up the hole that would be left.

Thanks!


texts: How can I connect to a drain pipe in the adjacent cabinet space?

texts: The plumbing for this kitchen island was run 6" short of where the cabinet is supposed to go, so now its in the cabinet next to it. What are my options besides moving the island over or demo'ing the concrete slab? There's 4.5" of toekick space underneath the cabinets, is this enough to elbow the waste pipe over into the right cabinet?


texts:
So I took it upon myself to paint some wood endcaps (very small, about 8 inches long) from their sealed wood color to white. I sanded down the wood, wiped with a damp cloth, then applied a coat of white paint/primer mix.

Well, painting isn't my forte and I didn't clean the brush between coats. Bad melee. I used paint thinner to try to clean the brush, as well as hot water - I thought I did a pretty good job, until I went to paint the second coat - now there's small chunks of paint in the finish.

Do I need to sand an start over again, or can this be saved?


texts: Should I replace "backstab" light switches?

texts: I've seen multiple mentions on this site about how bad "backstab" connections are. I recently replaced a switch for a fan with a timer, and the switch had backstab connections instead of screws (the timer has screws). That switch looked identical to all the other fan and light switches in my house, so I'm guessing they have the same type of wiring connection. Should I be worried about this? Do I need to replace them or do anything else to prevent fires? Or is this more important for outlets than switches? ... Should I check my outlets in case they're the same?


texts: Box has 3 sets of wires and I’m trying to convert what was a single gang into a dual gang

texts:
I have 3 sets of wires, each set has one hot & one neutral, coming into the same box. One incoming, two outgoing.
I want power for two switches to control fixture (one for light switch, one for ceiling fan).
Previously this box only had one switch.
How can I accomplish this?


texts:
I am planing to spray-paint some cabinets.

Do I need a full face-mask or not?


texts:
Interior laundry room door leading into garage. Keyed door lock will NOT retract no matter what I do. Can't take door off hinges b/c middle hinge is one of those spring loaded kind that doesn't have a pin. Stopped by a locksmith this morning who said for $125 he would come out and  take a Dremel to cut the back side off the cylinder that holds the latch bolt. this would allow him to retract the latch bolt, open the door, then solve the problem that he thinks has something to do with the strike plate. I didn't follow his explanation totally as he spoke fast and didn't want me to just do it myself. But that is what I want to do and save $125. Or bust the lock (without messing up the door) and just install a new lock for $50 or so. Can anyone suggest how I do either? Note: however if I have him out he could fix a problem with another lock I have. :)

I also can't figure out why I can't pull off the other side of the door knob. Anyone tell me what is holding it on?

Pic below.

Thanks for any suggestions.


texts: I have a double light switch in my living-room that I want to cancel out for the time being

texts:
How would I wire the wires together to keep power on throughout my house?

When it is disconnected I don't have power to my kitchen light, my hall light, my living room, nor back bath or bedroom.

Inside the box where the switches go there are 2 sets of wires coming through the top and 2 sets coming through the bottom, so a total of 4 black 4 white and 4 ground. How do I need to wire the circuit to keep power on without installing new switches?


texts: How can I cheaply refresh parquet in an apartment?

texts:
We've recently rented an apartment with seriously damaged parquet. Since the deal is "take it or leave it", we've decided to "mend" the parquet ourselves.

Dictionary :) Sorry for my bad english, I don't have appropriate translator for some of these stuff, so I'll use these and here's what I think they mean :)
Parquet - wooden floor made of small wooden parts "glued" together
Lacquer - protective coating on the parquet, transparent, (oil based I think)
Emery - rough paper used to "sand" the wood, make it more smooth

The parquet is of relatively cheap kind, the lacquer is completely gone in the middle (leaving the wood exposed and dirty), but there's still some on the edges (about 50% is under lacquer). The proper way to do it is to rent a machine that's removing all of the previous lacquer, flattens the wood further and prepares for a new layer of lacquer. But, we don't want to spend that much money.

Can we just use wooden emery to sand down the parquet that's exposed, and just apply the new layer of lacquer on the whole room? Will the new layer of lacquer stick to the old one or will it fall away when dried? Would it be smart to sand down the previous layer of lacquer just a bit to make it more adhesive to the new layer?

EDIT: The results
First of all, doing sanding by hand is an absolute impossibility - it would take you entire day just to sand out one square meter... So, we purchased the machine for sanding (with circular emery, goes around a cylinder, but with flat bottom) - it's about 30$/40$. But this didn't do the whole trick - because the machine surface is flat, and parquet isn't we couldn't get to the parts that are below the level of neighboring pieces of wood, so we used the drill-mounted-circle-with-emery (or however it's called :)). With all of this, the speed was about 1 square meter per 10/15 minutes. I first thought the lacquer would get hot and sticky and render the emery useless but it really went smooth...(maybe because the existing layer of lacquer was thin, old & worn out).

After that, comes the finishing (lacquer) - we thought about laying out just one layer (to get cheaper) but it just can't be done - the wood "takes in" the lacquer, leaving it dry and not shiny (makes it more difficult to clean afterwards). So, two layers did the trick (with just a "nudge" of sanding in between - it was in the instructions :)), but if you want to get the full effect, 3rd layer would make a difference.

Thanks for the help!


texts: Wallpaper on the ceiling, damage to the drywall, what now?

texts:
About a month ago, I embarked on a mission to paint my half bathroom. Before I could paint, I had to remove the floor-to-ceiling wallpaper AND wallpaper on the ceiling. I successfully removed the wallpaper from the four walls but ran into a bit of trouble with the paper on the ceiling. I scored the ceiling wallpaper with a Paper Tiger and sprayed Zinsser Wallpaper Stripper, but, as you can imagine, the solution didn't absorb upward into the paper. After two weekends of scraping, I've removed half of the wallpaper and scraped several areas of drywall paper off too.
I'm now considering a different approach. Should I put a piece of drywall over the existing drywall? Or should I rip the ceiling drywall off and replace it?
Do you have any recommendations on this approach? Should I consider something else?


texts: Should I frame out my foundation walls before or after I install the subfloor?

texts:
I'm about to start on finishing our basement and I'm going to put down a subfloor of DMX AG along with 5/8" T&G OSB. Should I frame out my perimeter foundation walls before the subfloor or after? If I install them before, the 1/4" DMX gap will allow for any potential moisture to evaporate into the room. If I install the foundation walls after (and on top of) the subfloor, any potential moisture would evaporate between the wall and the foundation. Which is better?

Our house was built in 2016 and is a walkout with no water issues in the 2 years we've been there so far.


texts: High humidity in an unused, air-conditioned, finished basement; dehumidifier?

texts:
I have a partially finished basement that is connected into my house's 2-ton A/C system. The humidity in the space is consistently high during the summer (60%rh and up), and I believe that this cool, moist air being drawn into my HVAC system is making it work harder and inhibiting it's ability to cool/dehumidify the living areas (which are uncomfortable on hot days). I don't really care if the basement is warm, though I do wish to control the humidity so nothing gets ruined and to keep the cave cricket population down.

What I've tried:

My first inclination was to cover the basement return vent, but the return duct is huge (16inch diameter) and this made me worry that I would drastically change the pressure dynamics of the system and possibly damage the blower motor if I disconnected it. Of the 3 return ducts in the system, it is by far the largest - the others are each only 6 inches (this weirdness confuses me).
I have sealed around the foundation/rim joists with spray foam to prevent outside warm/moist air intrusion, this reduced the humidity somewhat.
I have added two 50-pint dehumidifiers to the basement, one running continuously and another set to go off at high RH.  This seems to work to reduce the RH in the basement, but I don't know if this is helping me cool the house, as it is producing hot air, all day long, that is feeding back into the HVAC return.
Covered the supply vent.  I'm not sure if this does anything, the return will just suck cool floor air down the stairs from the 1st floor.  It makes me feel better about wasted cold air, so there's that.

I have hired 3 different HVAC professionals to help me with this, and the end result is I now know 3 different ways to rip everything out and start from scratch ;)  No hard feelings, I think it's funny.

Any ideas?  Could I safely disconnect the supply and return?

EDIT: A little more info about the duct layout:

the A/C system was added on to an existing forced-air heating system where each (1st floor) room has a single supply vent at floor level, and there is a single return for the whole floor, at floor level in a central hallway.  Supply ducts are 4inches in diameter.  The single 1st floor return is a box with a large grill, and there are two 6 inch ducts coming from that box and entering into the air handler in the basement below.
the basement return is also a box with a large grill, connected to a 16 inch duct that connects directly into the air handler.  It is on a wall at the bottom of the basement stairs.


texts: Could I shut off the refrigerator for awhile?

texts:
I purchased a new refrigerator two days ago and have been running it.  But I need to stop using it for 70 days, and then start it again once I get married. Could this usage pattern cause a breakdown?

So the scenario is:

  turn it on for 2 days --> shut it off for 70 days ---> turn it on and leave it on


texts:
I recently bought a ceiling light from Costco. The Artika - Zane.

The fixture has
2x black (one is thin)
2x white (one is thin)
1x gray (thin)
1x red
1x copper(grounding)

My ceiling only has
1x black
1x white
1x copper

I tried:
- Connecting the whites and gray together as well as the blacks with the red.
- I have also tried without the red and gray connected.

I'm no electrician and don't have any friends with any electrical background.

Please help!


texts: I just got my first router and purchased some Freud bits for it. However, I noticed that a few of them have pitting at the base where the cutter joins the shank. Is this normal for router bits, or is it a defect that I should return them over? I figured it might be part of the balancing process,  but I'm not sure.


texts: Can I Install a 60 AMP Breaker and Outlet with 220 - 240 Volts 63 Amp in My Home?

texts:
I am not an electrician. I am a sysadmin. I am trying to hook up a power-hungry blade server in my home and I am woefully ignorant on the subject. I have researched enough to ask a questions that I believe may be understandable to professionals. I am hoping to get enough information so that I can contact a professional to do the work and waste as little of his or her time as possible.

Here is a picture of my box:

I've read that these things can handle breakers totaling double the amperage of the main fuse. As I understand it, that means that this box can have 200A worth of circuits. By my count this box is at 135. Can this box handle a 60 Amp Breaker?

Furthermore, even if this box can take such a circuit. That's kind of the beginning of the road. According to this document: http://media.community.dell.com/en/dtc/attach/white_paper_c07-443792.pdf

My server should be powered by a 48 Amp Single-Phase (as three-phase is out of the question, according to my wife) Power Distribution Unit, and that the recommended mating receptacle for such a PDU is Hubbell 363R6W 60 Amp.

As far as I've been able to gather, this is the outlet to which they are referring:

https://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?id=11661&gclid=CjwKCAiAk4XUBRB5EiwAHBLUMfHDSBq6p2fD5vwVQ9Vvg2bPGYg-EmMhikH0OYumQXcFSWXHSBtDvhoCnPgQAvD_BwE

So, I guess what I'm wondering is, am I crazy?
Is this even possible to do for $1000 or less?

Please also consider the alternate solution.

Alternately, I could have 2 x 30 Amp breakers with the more common NEMA L6‐30R plugs.

I don't really want two special outlets. I'd prefer to have one. But if running a 60 AMP circuit with the unusual Hubbell 363R6W is preposterous, I suppose that would be the only viable solution.

Thanks again for your consideration. Your input is valued, even if you are just laughing at me for being inexperienced.


texts: How should I rewire a miswired 3-way switch?

texts:
I have a 3 way switch that was wired incorrectly when the switches were replaced with a different color switch.  Is there a methodical way for me to identify which wires represent which piece of the system so I can correct the bad wiring?

Currently if switch 1 is on, switch 2 can turn light on or off.  If switch 1 is off, then switch 2 does nothing.


texts: Replacing a dimmer switch to a normal switch

texts:
I have 4 switches on my switch board. One regular switch and three dimmer switches. I need to swap one of the dimmer switch with the regular switch

I have a dimmer switch which has three wires. one green (connected to copper wire) and two black wires. The regular switch has one red, one black and a copper wire. It would have been easy if it was a like to like wire setup but I have no idea how to replace it. Please help me.

Pictures can be found here : Pictures (first image is the dimmer switch, second picture is the regular switch. I need to swap them. If it's difficult to swap It's okay if I just convert the dimmer to a regular switch)


texts: Can I put plywood over the drywall on the common wall between my house and garage?

texts: My garage is attached to the house.  The wall that is common with the house is finished with drywall.  Can I put plywood over the drywall?


texts: Is it important not to scratch copper wire when removing insulation?

texts: I use a small cutter made for max 14 gauge wires, but I'm bad at removing insulation, it takes me a bit of time to get it right, so I end up cutting and repeating, because I see scratches on copper wire were I cut the insulation. Should I ignore it? How bad are these scratches or marks? These are power works behind sockets.


texts: Can i reuse a water string filter with a backflush and vinegar flush

texts: Water here is very hard. String filter is caked up after 3 weeks.  Thinking backflush and wash with vinegar, reuse one time.  The new filters are 4.5 inch and at replacing every 3 weeks, thats going to get expensive.


texts: I have a few places on 1/2 copper water pipes in my basement that look rusted, right where a strap is. Should I be concerned enough about a leak to replace the line?


texts: How to prevent vermin from entering garage via space under garage door?

texts:
I found mouse or rat dropping in the garage in our 'new' house. I cleaned it up thinking that maybe it was old.

The other day I saw more droppings.

The garage door faces the back alley where our trash cans are. There is about an inch or two of a gap between the floor and the bottom of the garage door.

How do I seal this space to prevent vermin from entering the garage?

Note: the garage door swings up it does not roll up.


texts: How to measure total stair rise with uneven floor?

texts:
My house is antique and I would like the stairs rebuilt because they are too steep. I know the first thing to make the stringers is calculate the total rise. But my problem is the floor where the first stair on the first floor begins is about 1.25" lower than the floor directly under the landing of the second floor.
So, I can't just measure from the second floor to the floor beneath. Would I have to use a long level and run it from the floor at the first step to a point below the second floor landing, mark where it is level below the landing and then take that measurement from the level mark to the second floor landing?
I hope this makes sense, I am attaching a picture of the problem.


texts:
I want to replace my kitchen faucet. Where should I remove it?
At the top (the green arrow) or the bottom (the red arrow)?


texts: Attached garage wall with house - cabinets to the interior?

texts:
We have an attached garage. The entrance to the garage is in an interior hallway. I'd like to break the wall a bit & install interior upper cabinets and countertops on the inside of the hallway. The garage is much lower than the inside hallway and cars in the garage (on the other side of the wall) would NOT lose any parking area/space. I'd like to gain some cabinet storage inside our house. Is this a terrible or doable idea?  If so, what are the main issues to watch out for?
Thanks!!


texts: 220 / 110 acv home voltage stabilization

texts:
I am trying to find an in-line home  power voltage regulator  for my house . I am looking  to put it in after my city meter  , but before my home fuse box . I want to make the city voltage stable . my 110 ac volts will range from 111 to 124 ac line volts . I find this wide range is to hard on my LED lights . I have 6 battery powered backups for computer , tv , and other electronics .
I think if I get a whole house stabilizer to set / adjust it for 110 and 220 ac it might help some problems .

Will this hook up to my 220 house line so I can set my ac volts to 109 or 110 volts ?  Also help with power surges ??


texts: Can I use mylar sheets to keep my roof cool?

texts:
I have a flat concrete roof with brick tiles on it and a thin layer of cement plaster on top of that. The roof gets near constant sunlight during the summer days, and hence it gets very warm, enough that it burns to walk bare footed. The home is built so that roof is the largest exposed surface and any walls are mostly shaded. There is no attic nor any insulation beneath the roof, and adding insulation is not currently feasible. Shading the roof with natural shade is also not feasible.

I was researching ways to keep the home cool and came across the idea of painting the roof white to reflect off most of the sunlight. However given that the roof has dirt and flaking plaster, doing a proper paint job would require a lot of effort in cleaning and scraping and so I've put if off till now.

Today however I came across these rolls of mylar sheet, and I am thinking I could lay these down like a carpet on my roof (weighed down by a brick every few feet) and they would do what white paint is supposed to do, with the added benefit that I could remove them during winter, and they seem cheaper upfront.

My question is

would this even work
is this better or would white paint be the better option


texts:
The water line that goes from my boiler, carrying warm water keeps getting pin hole leaks. The line is a standard flexible white plastic insulated pipe, covered in a red mantle.

About a year ago, I discovered the first pinhole leak, spraying water into the mantle. The result was a big pool of water under my floor. A plumber came by and replaced part of the pipe with a new part.

And what do you know... A little while after, a new leak appeared, about 10CM below the original leak. The plumber came back and replaced an even bigger part of the pipe.

Now, again, the same water line is leaking... the leak is just below the replaced part, leaking water into the mantle...

The plumber ensures me it's just a faulty pipe. The problem is that the whole line is not exposed, so it would be very difficult to replace it in its entirety.

The pipe is the same brand as all the other water lines of my water system. Only this one keeps rupturing. What is going on?

Could there be too much pressure on the line? Could it be the water hardness is too high for the line?

I'm really worried about having to tear open everything to fix this thing once and for all.

Please assist.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Why isn't my newly installed Euro lock cylinder working?

texts:
We have just moved into a new apartment and wanted to change the lock cylinder. Taking out the old one was not a problem. But when we put the new cylinder in, the latch won't extend nor retract. Quite sure the size of the new lock is the same as the old one as it fits and everything, so we have no idea what went wrong. We tried the new lock cylinder alone without installation and it turns fine, though there's a tiny glitch in between the movement.
Did we get a faulty lock cylinder or it was something wrong in the installation?

Additional note:
The lock doesn't work well just by itself, I tried again today it kind of worked in the door, but was really hard to turn at some point.
https://youtu.be/y_AClXwbC4s
When I put back the old one, it works fine and smooth.


texts: How long should I wait before applying sealant to pressure treated deck lumber?

texts:
After reading several comments on how long to wait before applying a sealant, the recommendations were from 3 weeks to 2 years, some of the comments were from states other than where I live.

So does anyone know how long one should wait before applying sealant to pressure treated deck lumber in North Central Texas?


texts: Am I allowed to put a wall standard within 18" of a fire sprinkler?

texts: From my understanding, in San Francisco, CA, there is a code requirement that you cannot obstruct an area within 18 inches of a fire sprinkler. What is meant by obstruction? Say, you installed one of these: http://rakks.com/wall-mounted-standards/


texts:
My showerhead arm is rusted through and water is leaking out everywhere. The tube and its thread is through a concrete wall. I have no idea how to repair. I know I'll have to break through the concrete, but not sure if doing so well break the water tube beneath.

Any recommendations before I have to call a plumber?

Update:

I decided to cut through the cement around with a cold chisel to free from the cement a bit.


texts: Will humidity hurt my furniture and paint/fixtures while on vacation? Note: I left a few windows cracked before I left for a week

texts: I am on vacation for a week. I left a couple windows cracked in my 2 bedroom apartment. I also left all the doors inside the apartment open. I thought air flow would be good while I'm gone, but now I'm worried that some rainy days while I'm gone could cause the humidity to go up and down. The tempurature will be between 50 (at night) and 70 during the day, but the humidity will rise and fall quite a bit. Should I be worried about damaging the apartment? I could try to have someone come and close the windows for me but it would be really difficult to do this - so unless it's critical I would rather just leave them. Thanks for any advice.


texts: How does one know if running water is enough to avoid frozen pipes?

texts:
Recent freezes in southern states (Texas) have caused pipes to burst, as the pipes are not insulated for freezing weather.  I believe that running the water can prevent the pipe from freezing.

Is it enough for water to drip one drop per second?
What is the minimum water flow required to avoid freezing?
What is best practice?

Practical, actionable and measurable process is sought.  I have witnessed uninsulated attic pipes burst because of a 3 day freeze in Florida in the 80's.


texts: How serious is a badly kinked suction line on a split system A/C?

texts:
A friend had me remove a section of drywall to see why there was moisture damage at the baseboard height on one wall.
I found the refrigerant line that runs from outside compressor to attic mounted air handler was poorly insulated and dripping in the wall cavity.
Upon close inspection I also found that the larger copper line,the suction line, was nearly flat where a 90 degree turn to the outside was bent into it.
I estimate 10% of the capacity of the line is available due to the severity of this bend.
The A/C is brand new and cooling well.
The Home was built 15 years ago and this is the third AC replacement. The kinked line was done during construction.
I believe this kinked line is the cause of premature failure of the last 2 units and if left unfixed will lead to a third unit failing.
Tell me what can happen to a system over time in a case where the 3/4 suction line is crushed like this.

Edit: the kinked section was cut out and new line put in.
Here us a photo of how bad the kink was.


texts: How do I determine the capacity of my generator when it has a separate starting watts capacity?

texts: I have a Briggs & Stratton Storm Responder generator that is rated at 5500 watts with a 8250 startup watts capacity.  The user manual is a little confusing: it seems to state that I have to take the starting wattage of each appliance into account when I compute the wattage load so I don't exceed the maximum running capacity (5500 watts, in my case).  So what do I do with the "8250"?  How does that factor into the equation?


texts: Can I splice grounding wires together to reach an old outlet that needs a ground?

texts:
I have a two prong outlet in my house and there is a ground wire behind it, not connected. The ground wire ends in a junction box halfway to the breaker box. Only the neutral and hot wire continue from there.

Can I connect another ground wire and continue it to the breaker box?


texts: Angle grinder 4 1/2" diamond blade with 7/8 in. with 5/8 in. insert included -what is the insert for?

texts:
I have a 4 1/2" angle grinder and I bought this blade because I need to cut some concrete bricks for my patio.
With the blade I received a small disk that fits in the hole of the diamond disk and it seems to be some sort of adapter so that the blade can match the size of the arbor.
When I tried to attach the blade that seemed to be the only way to attach it (by using this small disk) but when it did not really work, the blade did not seem to attach firmly to the arbor even after I tightened the screw that was supposed to press both the blade and the adapter (the piece with three small wholes in the picture)
I am talking about the yellow disk labeled "Adapter" below. (I represented this based on what I remember about it, I don't have the tool in front of me)

What am I doing wrong?
Edit: I have checked and indeed if you flip the nut then the nut presses on the disk. If the nut is not flipped the nut pressed on the adapter. The nut in this last mentioned position is used when you have a recessed blade that you use angled for grinding.
The adapter is needed to center the blade on the arbor BUT it has not role in in the tightening mechanism that keeps the blade in place. That it the role of the nut if it is flipped


texts: Sprinkler Anti Siphon valve is leaking from cap

texts:
Tonight after I manually turned on one of my sprinkler zones for few minutes and after it was done I noticed that water was continuously leaking from the underneath the cap of the anti siphon valve. I thought it would stop after a few minutes, but it did not.  When I tried to turn on the sprinkler zone again the water would stop, but after closing it again it would leak again.  So I just went ahead and shut off the valve for the whole sprinkler system until I was able to troubleshoot.

So in my situation do I need to replace the whole anti siphon valve unit or can I just fix the cap part?  In picture see the part circled in red to indicate where the leak is coming from.


texts: I'm going to be building a workbench, so I've been 'screw shopping.'  I need some explanation on the sizing of screws when they are advertised as (example) 6 x 3/4".  I know that 3/4" is the length of the screw, but what does the 6 mean?


texts: What is the labeling scheme on these outlets?

texts: This is in a hotel, where there are obviously many, many circuits to manage. Can we tell what information is encoded in these labels?


texts: How to start investigating the source of this leak in the bathroom

texts:
Today I noticed that the bottom two/three inches of particle board on the side of the sink cabinet in the bathroom are soaked:

I immediately suspected a leak from the sink, but that proved to not be the case:
There are no visible leaks from the sink

The vinyl i put down is completely dry

And the wood underneath the vinyl is also completely dry (although you might be able to see a little bit of mold growing in the bottom left hand corner of the cabinet, possibly from the leak).

One thing I have been hearing over the past 2 weeks or so are noises from the toilet (similar to the noise a toilet makes when it is done filling the tank with water, but the noise will occur 5-10 minutes after the tank is full, and occurs randomly).  The toilet is located to the left of the cabinet and is just out of shot in the first picture.

I don't know what to do next to investigate where the leak is coming from.  Do I try and take the cabinet apart?  Should I try and cut into the drywall on the side of the cabinet?  For what it is worth the drywall near the cabinet feels completely dry, but the grout near the baseboard/shoe molding look like it has some water stains.


texts: My Kitchenaid unit (refrigerator on the top, freezer on the bottom) started building up a lot of frost kind of suddenly. I inspected the freezer door gaskets, and they seem to be sealing normally. What would be the next steps?


texts:
I have a granite counter top, and a small granite backsplash that sits on the counter and goes up about 3 inches.  There's about a 1/8" gap between the two that had silicone caulk which I am trying to remove so that I can replace it.

Most of it is out. However the upper side of the gap is almost impossible to get perfect.  Wondering if there is a tool, material, or technique that I could use that I just don't know about.


texts:
I am replacing old fixtures with LED's in a 1994 mobile home. In taking an old fixture down I find 2 black, 2 white and 1 ground.
The new LED has only one of each. There are 3 lights on one line. I wired the LED up as indicated by old wiring and the LED will not work. I put  the old fixture back up and it works fine.
What am I missing?


texts: Was this installed to code and is it still to code?

texts:
In 1995 an electrician who was also a friend of the family helped me out by installing a sub panel in my garage. He tapped the feeder cable directly into the main lugs in the main box and ran them to a shut off switch in the crawl space then out to the panel in the garage. He provided all the hardware and cabling as leftovers from other jobs he'd done (he worked for a major commercial electrical company in the area at the time), so I sure wasn't complaining about anything he provided or any of the work he did.
Knowing what I know now, though, I'm pretty sure this installation doesn't meet current code, and I'm not sure it met code back then, either. Since we're planning a small, 2-bathroom addition for next summer, I'm trying to get myself prepared for the amount of electrical work that will need to be done.
Did this installation meet code in 1995 and does it still meet code today?
The main panel:

This panel is completely full:

We have a gas fired furnace, so 120v/20a to run the blower & electronics.
The main panel hots tap to the sub-panel:

The two smaller wires in front are the taps to the sub-panel. The power was still on to the house - I stood well back with a 2x4 in hand, just in case.
The main panel ground and neutral taps to the sub-panel:

I'm sure someone will yell about the grounds and neutrals all intermingled. This is how I found the box the first time I opened it, and this is how he tapped them in when he added them.
The cable:

The cutoff switch in the crawlspace directly below the main panel and nowhere near the access to the crawlspace:

Yes, that says "Lime Agitator". Did I mention he provided everything for free as leftovers from other jobs?
The location of this cutoff switch is the main thing that I'm questioning the legality of.
The switch sticker:

The inside of the cutoff switch:

The label on a fuse:

Another one the camera wouldn't focus on. I turned the camera upside down to get around the side for the sticker, you're not going crazy. Is this a 30amp fuse (FRS-R-30)?
The panel in the garage:

This panel is now also full.
I know that when we do the addition, we'll have to replace the garage sub-panel with something much larger (I know, minimum 30 spaces, probably 40) than this little QO box.


texts: Can a leak in a drainage pipe cause an increase in water bill?

texts:
I am wondering if something like an intermittently clogged shower drain can cause an increase in water usage. The problem might be that the clog in a drain causes waste water from our showers leak into the floor and not the drainage pipe, causing an increase in water bill.

What I am really wondering is if water, in its return path to the sewer, is somehow calculated by the water company and used to offset the cost of the water that was pumped in.

Does the water company only charge you for the water pumped into your house, with no regard for the water pumped out?


texts: How do I get the stem out of a hose bib to replace the washer?

texts:
I have no idea why this isn't simple, perhaps because every repair project has to have some hitch in it to piss me off.

I have a leaky hose bib in my back yard, so I wanted to take the sucker apart and replace the washer in the valve stem, right?

Well, I took the screw out, the one in the middle of the handle. Then I unscrewed the hex around the stem, but the sucker just won't come loose. It shakes around and wobbles like it should come off, but it just doesn't.

I thought maybe I needed to unscrew the handle out of there once I got the screw and nut off, but wound up just breaking off part of the handle.

So now I am buying a new hose bib anyway to replace the one I broke, but I am still curious, how the heck do I get that sucker off?

For reference, the hose bib is the style pictured here.


texts:
I have recently installed a tanked water heater. I have installed the safety valve that was inside the package, at the cold water inlet.
Something strange happened yesterday. The city cut the water supply for some time, and I noticed my water meter running backward, at very high speed. So it seemed like water was flowing OUT of my house.
I also noticed at a different time that the inox pipe leading to the cold water inlet was actually hot.
So I wonder if I have a problem with my safety valve on my water heater. Here's how it looks:

When I look on the internet, safety group actually look bigger:

Is the device I installed a proper safety group?
Is there a chance that this device does not prevent the water from flowing back from the tank to the cold water circuit?


texts: Can I apply polyurethane to my hardwood floors in sections?

texts: I have a hardwood floor I've recently finished staining. I'd like to apply polyurethane but I don't think I can cordon off the entire area for the duration. Is it alright to apply the sealer in sections?


texts:
I have a 17 years old conventional tankless combi boiler, it has a 'spilling' 3-way and DHW exchanger clogged by limestone.

Should I fix it or I'd do better replacing the whole boiler with a new condensing one?

Replacing with conventional is no-option because now condensing boiler are compulsory (but in very few cases) and also with a condensing unit I can get a tax discount.

UPDATE:
I had it fixed: new heat exchanger and new 3-way valve pivot


texts: We have a Chromalox EDB-20-1 hot water furnace, and it sounds like a flowing stream whenever the water flows through the house

texts:
The pressure is fine (15 psi) and it heats the house fine.  I would think the water needs topping up except for the fact the pressure is optimal.  Any thoughts on what I can check/do?  The sound is startling when it first kicks in and wakes me up in the night.
I should also mention that this is a more recent sound.  The previous 2 winters, it would start with more of a 'bang' sound to the pipes.  Since turning on the system this winter, it's no longer a 'bang', just more like 'whooshing' water.  When turning it on this year, we also discovered that it was not properly wired into the electrical breaker (problem resolved by a certified electrician).


texts: so I moved into a new apartment last month. The water wasn't very hot so we thought it was just because the weather has been getting cold. Turns out the water heater has only been on pilot, so the water wasn't getting hot. Does this mean that the water heater was leaking case because the water was only luke warm? We didn't smell any gas.


texts: what 2017 NEC code talks about knob and tube replacement

texts: Have an insurance job and the home owner wants to redo the 1st floor apartment. The apartment is wired with knob and tube so I recommended it needed to be updated. When pitched to the insurance company they said that would be fine, but I need to let them know where it states knob n tube needs to be replaced. I know rule of thumb is once you work on the circuit it needs to be updated I just cant find any codes to back that up. If anyone can help give me a leg up here it would be appreciated.


texts:
We had a modular home set over a full basement. Steel floor jacks are lined down the center of the basement to support the house weight.
We would like to begin to finish the basement and want to remove some of the jacks.
Can we build load bearing walls and safely remove the jacks?
We have the blueprints that show how much weight each jack is supporting.


texts: Brick drilling in close distance to another hole?

texts: I am about to install a samll kids coat hanger, however it seems I will need to drill another hole about 1 cm from the existing one (brick wall). Is it at all possible or should I look for another location?


texts: My vent is interfering with the installation of a recessed medicine cabinet.  Can I make two turns so I just move over less than a foot?


texts: Can't seem to find solution for vinyl tube to copper tube connection

texts:
Its been 6 months and I can't quite seem to find the parts I need for this.

I Need to attach a 1/2" OD (5/8" ID) tube to a 3/4" Copper Hydronic Baseboard Element. One end the Element is enlarged to connect to another copper pipe.

What I would like to do is find out what tools I need and what parts I need to connect the two together, preferably with quick connect fittings or whatever will not require expensive tools.

I'm using a 6" Baseboard Element to passively cool a large computer system, which appears to be work beautifully, but my current solution is not very good. It currently runs at about 2PSI and 5GPM, the pump is rated to 50PSI - so I'm reasonably certain there shouldn't be any flow problems.

Can you guys help me out? I have not worked much with plumbing, and I can't seem to find barbed reducer that will fit straight up. I also don't have a clue where to look for parts.


texts: What is the intended plan with this basement rough-in plumbing?

texts: I am currently planning out the framing portion of my project and I am trying to figure out what is what with the rough in plumbing you see in the picture.  I don’t have any plumbing experience and plan to hire someone for that part but I want to know what’s what so I frame accordingly.  Anyone know?  Thanks in advance.


texts: Replace G24q-1 (4-pins) with a B22 Bayonet

texts:
Having recently moved house, I've noticed that the majority of the lighting upstairs is running CFLs using a type of connection that I am unfamiliar with (research says it's a G24q-1 cap but see photos below).

I'm looking to replace these with standard B22 Bayonet caps. However, since I'm unfamiliar with the G24q-1 cap I wanted to make sure that my approach is sound.

Here is the current configuration of what I believe to be a G24q-1

and a closeup of what I believe to be a G24q-1 cap that is currently fitted

and here is the B22 Bayonet cap I have bought that I wish to fit

Now, my question is do I simply remove the existing base and fit the pendant in its place. Ensuring that all wires match up to where they are in the current arrangement (3/7 and 4/8) in the first picture?


texts: Should hardwood floors go all the way to wall under kitchen cabinets?

texts:
I’m putting in hardwood floors and I am at the spot where kitchen cabinets would go. The last strip is going to be narrower than whole flooring boards, and usually I would rip the boards going elsewhere in the room. Should I just leave the last few inches of floor exposed? What is the downside? It’s a second level of the house with joists and osb. I am also leaving some exposed parts around plumbing and central vac pipe. Does this look good?  Thanks!
EDIT: flooring is not floating, it’s nailed down 11/16 thick hardwood.
EDIT #2: Wow, I didn’t realize I was starting a topic that was so controversial! :) I might as well asked what was better PC or Mac. I ended up finishing to the wall with some gap for expansion (though type of hardwood I am using doesn’t really expand). Cabinets are in and it did actually make the leveling them easier. Thanks to all who contributed to this (at times heated) discussion!


texts: Should I turn off my leaking hot water tank in winter?

texts:
Just noticed that the upstairs hot water tank is firing, and there is a bunch of water on the basement floor. (This is a duplex, and no one is living upstairs right now.)

So my first thought was just to turn off the burner and shut off the water going to it... but it's winter (albeit pretty warm today) so then I was afraid the pipes would freeze or something.

So what's the safer option here?


texts: Wiring 2 pull chain operated lights in series

texts: How do I wire 2 pull chain operated lights in series from the same single power source so that both lights are powered and will work independently. There will be no other switch on the line and power source is coming from a nearby power outlet.


texts: Installing an entry door with sidelights

texts:
Anyone have any experience creating a custom size door sidelight?

I would like to install an entry door with one sidelight where I currently have a window. I would like to stay in the same size as the current width of the window opening.

Have you built one? Any pitfalls? Did you custom order cut glass?

Thx!!


texts:
I apologize in advanced for my poor technical lingo.

I have a spare house which is strictly using electricity to power some servers. I'm slowly building out a cluster, but before I move it to a warehouse I want to have everything up and running and profitable.

Right now I use about 2 KW, I have them on various circuits through out the house so it doesn't trip the breaker.

I live in the USA, I think I saw 100 Amp, 50 Amp, and 20 Amp breakers, so theoretically I could run at least 12 KW. If I had an electrician modify the circuit breaker so all the servers ran in the garage, which is 20 feet away from the breaker.

I'm looking at cost efficiency, I don't want anything permanent done, no rewiring the house or anything, just a temporary setup while I build up capacity. The wiring could be laid on the floor instead of the walls & attic. All it needs is standard wall outlets to plug in the servers.

I'm concerned about two things, obviously safety, and cost. I kinda want to do it myself, I'm interested in learning/doing these things, and I have a background in Mech and Software engineering. Preferably I'd watch and learn from an electrician, how much would you estimated it cost for it to be done? Anything I should know about my plan?

I live in a very low cost standard of living state so I imagine it won't be too much.

Thanks!

Additional information:

Each server uses about 1200W continuously. They're running as a generic desktop configurations. they're not standard generic servers for a server farm, so they use a standard 120V supply.

I have taken into consideration HVAC, and plan to use a large fan to push the hot air out the garage door, as a temporary setup. So accounting for the 20% max load rule, I figure I can run 8 rigs.

Also, the electric box on the outside of the house said 100 AMP, the circuit breaker doesn't have any labels, it's a 40 year old house. Nothing else will be running, Dryer, AC, Electric Stove, etc. Also wouldn't the 20 AMP breakers in the garage/kitchen run on the 240V circuit? Wouldn't it be costly to convert it to 120V?

Spacing it in my house to run off each circuit probably is the best cost efficient idea, but I'm not too keen on running 8 Ethernet cables throughout the house as a potential hazard, and moving a monitor through the house for
any maintenance is a pain.

If an electrician did come out and rework a temporary garage setup so I can run 10 KW from the garage, how much is a rough guesstimate for the cost? I'm trying to factor it into my plan before I make any hard decisions.

Thanks guys, you've been very helpful!


texts: How can I create a polycarbonate roof valley?

texts: My roof valley is wider than this. I want light to pass in through. Is the polycarbonate I should use? Can I make a joint somewhere in the middle through the length with polycarbonate.  I need some advice to get this done.


texts: Need suggestions for a removable or mobile fence for a parking spot next to the garage

texts:
Below is the layout of the space that I want to close with a fence. What is not shown in the picture is a large driveway that goes from the street to both the garage and the parking spot that I want to close.
My plan is to fix the front view of my property, the house that is next to me, on the left side is a mirror image of my house. All the houses on the street are the same model and mine is the only one that has no front fence next to the garage. My plan is to keep the parking spot as it is (could use it for storing a small boat or to part an utility trailer) but to mask this with a fence and a gate. The gate will be used for accessing the backyard and  the front side of the fence should be removable so I can get the boat or the trailer out of there.

The brown strip next to the garage is for flowers. The grey square at the end of the far side of the space is a gate and behind that is the backyard and you can guess a patio there

I am looking for a smart idea to close that area and to preserve the accessibility of that space.


texts: The best device to measure instantaneous energy usage

texts:
What is the best way to measure instantaneous energy usage in an electrical circuit? Wattmeter, ammeter, something else?

My use case is as follows: I have a room which I use for short term rental (STR). The guests sometimes leave the room and leave the (1.5 ton) air conditioner etc. running. I want to monitor whether they have done so by attaching a suitable meter to the circuit for that room. (There is a separate circuit for that room). Such a meter would then give measurements for that circuit.

Opinions on what would be most suitable are appreciated. Obvious possibilities are a wattmeter and an ammeter, which seem basically equivalent, since W=VA.

I don't know whether there are reasons to prefer one over the other. If there are, please let me know.

My location is Bombay, India.


texts: A termite insecticide (fipronil) is not to be used indoors, except in wall voids.  If a hole was drilled in a baseboard or wall and the the foam was delivered through the wall, is this considered delivery to a wall void?


texts:
Could anyone provide advice on what would be an effective way of building something similar to the staggered block matrices as shown in the two photos below:

Regarding materials, solid wood would surely be too heavy and expensive. MDF would likely also be too heavy?

Another alternative could be a foam-based product, but I would be concerned about longevity. It could begin to wear and look shabby over time.

To achieve a glossy finish, would a vinyl or some sort be better than paint?


texts:
My attic humidity level is 85% but on the outside when I can my location in the weather app the humidity is 85%. My question is, is it normal the humidity level in my attic same as the humidity level outside? I know that humidity level in the attic should stay around 50%. My main concern is my attic might now have enough airflow that's why humidity is high even its on my attic.
-Thanks


texts:
Where can one order unusually-sized rubber bushings? A washing machine uses a 17mm OD, 4mm ID, 10mm length rubber bushing that is not available locally. I am aware of McMaster but once I select any of the relevant parameters from the faceting menu, all other relevant options disappear. In any case, McMaster does not ship outside the US.
If had to make my own bushing, how might that be done? Would using a drill press result in an accurate bushing? Drill an OD hole, then fill it with silicon, then to put an ID drill upside down in the press and push that into the silicone. Is there a better way?
I realize that this is a borderline OT question, but it seems to be allowed as in fact I did ask a local home contractor and this is related to the repair of a home appliance. Also, this similarly-worded question is on topic, A-B question not withstanding.


texts: My ceiling light won't turn off, how do I wire it up correctly? (UK)

texts:
My living room has two ceiling lights controlled by one (dimmer) switch.  I've removed the old fixture, disconnected the wiring and unfortunately forgot to take a picture of how the black / blue / red / etc wires were wired up before I disconnected.

I tried wiring it up to my new light fitting with what I thought made sense but that resulted in the light remaining on all the time even after attempting to turn it off using the wall switch.  The second ceiling light which I haven't touched doesn't turn on at all.

Based on reading other posts similar to this I've clearly gone wrong by neglecting to use the wire for the switch as well as the wires for the next ceiling light.  Knowing this I've reviewed diagrams online and I think I know what to do but there is one wire which is throwing me off which has prompted this post - the blue wire (labeled 3):

Here is what I think each wire is and how they should be connected, please correct me if I'm wrong:

Wire 1:  Live
Wire 2:  Switch-live
Wire 3:  I'm guessing neutral?
Wire 4:  Live
Wire 5:  Live
Wire 6:  Earth coming from A, B and C
Wire 7:  Neutral?
Wire 8:  Live

So based on some assumptions (I haven't tried this yet as I'm a bit paranoid) I think the correct way to wire this is as follows:

Connect 1, 4, 5 and 8 together
Use wire 2 to connect to the 'live' wire of the new light fitting.
Connect 3 and 7 together and use it to connect to the 'neutral' wire from the new light fitting.
Then of-course connect the earth wires all together.

I've also used the second ceiling light (which I haven't disconnected yet) as a guide to work out how I should connect these wires up, here is a pic of the wiring of that second ceiling light:

Please do let me know if I've got this wrong.  All the diagrams I've seen online don't have a blue wire coming out from either A, B or C.

What's also confusing is I've read online that black for neutral is the old colour style and that neutral blue is the new colour style - yet I have both blue and black which I think are both neutral based on how the second ceiling light is wired up?

Also, wire 2 I've assumed is switch-live based on the red sleeve covering the yellow wire but what's confusing me is I've read online that a switch-live is normally a neutral wire that's been turned into a live wire (and then given a sleeve to indicate this) but based on how the second ceiling light is wired yellow appears to be live already?  Is it standard practice to simply use a live wire and give it a sleeve to indicate that it's the live wire coming from the switch?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

PS:  I intend on using these wire connectors from Screwfix to do the above:  https://www.screwfix.com/p/ideal-2-port-lever-wire-connectors-pack-of-40/3526g


texts: How to remove a tub drain with no spokes?

texts: I attempted to use my tub drain removal wrench to remove a bath tub drain. Unfortunately the spokes of the drain broke and the drain flange cracked. Not being terribly skilled at plumbing I am now unsure of how to remove this tub drain. How do you remove a tub drain with no spokes and therefore no removal wrench?


texts:
I am about to plumb a toilet and the condense pipe of a combi boiler into an existing internal waste pipe (the waste pipe currently comes out of the ground 2ft).
I was just going to renew the waste pipe, fit a no-return valve to the condense pipe, add 2 straps to connect the toilet and condense, and then cap off the top of the waste pipe.

Someone told me that I should ventilate the top of the waste pipe but that seems crazy to me.

Am I doing this wrong?
Should I be ventilating the waste pipe?
What about the smell?


texts: Replacing bathroom exhaust fan without ground

texts:
I'm replacing a bathroom exhaust fan. The previous fan is probably about 30 years old and was not grounded. In fact, the wiring in the bathroom does not have ground. The fan will be mounted to a steel stud in the ceiling. Are steel studs grounded or do I need to worry about the stud potentially holding a charge?

The bathroom is in a steel frame high-rise, if that matters.


texts: Diagnosing doorbell transformer voltage drop

texts:
UPDATE: The plot thickens. I measured 2.5V at the door even with the wires completely disconnected from the transformer. So, the transformer is contributing to the voltage difference but not solely. What an adventure!

I'm going to call an electrician and will update this post when I learn more.

I have a doorbell transformer in my basement, about ~30 feet from my front door. The wiring in the walls may be longer than that, but I'd be surprised if it were significantly longer. I don't know much about the wiring. There's no chime box and there's only one doorbell in the house, but it's possible that there may have been other configurations in the past.

I attempted to install a Nest Hello video doorbell today and failed because I couldn't get the voltage at the door to measure more than ~12V using my multimeter.

Initially, I had a 16V 10VA transformer. At the transformer, I was able to measure ~19V and at the door, ~11V. I bought a new, 24V 20VA transformer. At the transformer, I measured ~29V and at the door, ~12V.

I tried restripping the wires on both ends for cleaner connections to minimal benefit, and now I'm out of ideas. I'm also puzzled by why the transformers have a slight difference in voltage at the door but not proportional to their difference in voltage stepdown.

Any ideas? I'd love to be able to fix this myself (or hire someone if that's what it takes), but I'm not going to open up the walls.


texts: My direct spark ignition furnace sparks but will not always light the burner?

texts:
I seem to have a working spark ignitor although I can not see it when installed.  When installed outside of the furnace for testing it sparks when it should when the gas valves clicks open.  I can always (so far) light the the gas burner with a BBQ lighter when the gas valve clicks open.  However, about one time out of ten when the thermostat calls for heat the furnace will try to ignite but fail and must be reset,  After reset the furnace will ignite about one out of three time.  After not lighting on a cold night I resort to the BBQ lighter when I hear the gas valve click in it's sequence and the main burner lights every time.

I've checked all the obvious items like the flame sensor and ignitor device itself and all the safety air switches and condenser switch; clogged filter and exhaust.  The blower motor and purge motor.

The unit runs fine when it runs.  The frequency of not lighting seems to be increasing.  I hesitate to call an expert as the problem is intermittent.

Is there a possibility the furnace control board is not providing a strong enough spark?  Could the spark gap on the ignitor (brand new) be too large/small?  The gas outlets from the manifold pipe seem all clear and I vacuumned the burners.  As I said when it works it works fine...

I ran a separate ground wire from the main gas supply pipe to the ignitor mount to assure (?) a good ground.

The present gap for the spark to jump is about 1/8".  I'm old and do not hear well so I don't know if the spark "cracks" or not; I'd say the spark when tested, is about the same as on our gas range burners.

Thanks for any help.  Unit is a Rheem RGRA-09EZANJ 90 plus upflow Classic about 15 years old; since our home was new.  I'm a long time home builder.  The installer is long retired.  This is our first problem.  There is a electronic air cleaner and power humidifier and a/c.


texts: Is it a problem to have gaps in the drywall hidden by molding?

texts: We recently had someone repairing the stairs in our home. During the process of removing the old stairs they created these gaps in the drywall (see images), however, they never filled them and simply covered them with molding. Is this an issue we should try and fix or is this normal?


texts: Attempting to shut off the water to the toilet, however, after turning the knob clockwise all the way, the water still runs. The water stops when I place a plastic bottle under the float ball, however, to replace the components I know I need to shut the water off at the toilet shut-off valve. Should my next step be to shut off the main water shut-off valve into the home?


texts: Vinyl Tile Crackling Noise When Walking On It

texts:
I recently installed standard self-adhesive vinyl tile in a section of my basement.  I cleaned the painted concrete and the surface was generally flat but it isn't perfectly smooth.  There were some small pock-marks and generally a little roughness to the surface.

When I walk on the tile now, it makes a bit of a crackling noise. I assume this is from small sections of the adhesive backing pressing down fully onto the floor and then lifting up it again.  Is there a simple method to fix this?

I see that some sites recommend you use a roller to push the tile down.  I didn't use one originally but I did shuffle my feet across the tiles to help assure they were pressed down fully.  Would a roller help?  It's been a few days since I installed it, so is it to late to try this?


texts: How can I repair damaged gloss of hardwood floor due to spilled scented oil?

texts: I spilled scented oil on my glossy hardwood floor and left it unattended for a few hours. After I cleaned up the spill, the spot had turned white. I researched online and found that applying a mixture of baking soda + linseed oil should take care of it. It definitely did bring the color back to brown but the spot has lost its glossiness. How can I restore the gloss?


texts: Why did my light string turn off after a short while with GU24 to E26 to socket outlet adapters?

texts:
I'm new to this website and (as you will see), I have no electrical knowledge. My wife and I recently moved and hung string lights in our back patio (bought from Costco; 24 watt per string). We do not have an outlet in the back patio, so I intended to use an E26 to outlet adapter. Problem is when we went to install the adapter, the socket is actually a GU24. So here was my "solution":

I bought a GU24 to E26 adapter and installed it. Then, I installed the outlet adapter to the E26 adapter (I know this sounds hairy). The string lights turned on, but shut off after approximately 20 seconds.

Any diagnostic impressions or troubleshooting ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!


texts: Replace MR16 downlight bathroom help please!

texts:
Hi everyone
Please help. I cannot find a way to replace the MR16/GU5.3 bulb in my bathroom downlight.  There are no tabs to release the bulb.  I have pulled down the entire assembly but the bulb cannot be released from behind as it is restricted by a ring built in to the assembly. So I cannot seem to release it while it is in position and I cannot release it by removing the assembly from the ceiling.  I dont think it is a sucker type either.  Any ideas? Thanks


texts: How can I connect a 120V washer to a 240V circuit?

texts:
So we got a new washing machine to go in a house built in the late 50s. When the appliance installer came to deliver the appliance, we ran into a snag with connecting the washer...the washer appears to have a standard 120 volt connector, but the plug on the wall for the washer appears to be a 240 volt/20 amp plug.

The appliance delivery didn't know what to do with the crazy outlet and thought he could just run the cord over to a standard plug 6 feet or so away (used by the sprinkler control system with extra plugs for whatever) but the cord was too short. My intuition would be that washers and dryers are usually on their own circuit for a reason, and running a heavy duty extension cord would be a bad idea.

So what do we need to do to hook this up? Is there an adapter or wiring change that would convert this plug to the voltage needed by the washer? Or do we need to exchange the washer for one designed for a 240 volt plug? Or would an extension cord actually be a reasonable solution?


texts: How to finish drywall under stair treads and risers seamlessly?

texts:
I'm a homeowner who's building new home and am in the process of finishing drywall against a staircase. We're trying to get the stair treads and risers to meet the drywall seamlessly and without trim or casing.

In order to accomplish this, ( the drywall below the treads and against the risers ) it seems like tear away bead is the best bet.

Questions

Is tear away bead the  recommended way to finish the drywall in this use case? If not, is there a better way? There is going to be vibrations from people waking on the steps.
Would J bead be more appropriate?


texts: Is there an electric tankless water heater that takes multiple electric lines as input?

texts:
I currently have a 50 gallon water tank in my house and I want to replace it with a tankless system. The primary reason to replace it is space.

I recently installed 2 HeatWorks Model 1 units to test them out (I left the tank in, luckily), but that failed miserably for reasons not germane to this question. I'm returning those and now I'm left with 3 separate 30A electrical lines, including the one the tank is currently using.

I would like the heater to be able to produce enough hot water for 2 simultaneous showers. I've seen that the units that can handle that tend to demand 60-70Amps. It's not easy to run new electrical to the place where the water is, so my question is whether a unit exists that takes multiple electrical lines. This would allow me to use the 2 or all 3 30A lines.


texts: I have a slow draining bathroom sink that backs up into my bathtub and vice versa.  I have removed what I thought was the clean-out plug, but there is move metal beneath.  Maybe I only removed the cover.  How can I remove the metal underneath the clean-out plug so that I can clear the debris in the drain?


texts: Installing drain saddle for Reverse Osmosis (RO) system in brass metal pipes

texts:
I am trying to install a reverse osmosis RO system under the kitchen sink. The pipes are all metal (brass, I suppose but not sure). where can I install the drain saddle?

The instructions with the RO system and online videos/PDF all assume that the pipes are plastic/PVC etc. Is it OK to drill that 1/4" hole in the metal pipe or will the pipe be too thin and not hold the drain pipe properly?

Thanks much!


texts: Use a 2-wire line voltage thermostat on a 24v / low voltage 2-wire furnace

texts: This is an ancient furnace at my aging mother's. Basic 24v thermostat, two wires only, the original from my childhood used a mercury switch. There are some commercial, line voltage, 2-wire thermostats on the market that are also just a simple SPST switch. The nice thing about them though is they have a single dial with the intended temperature and the temperatures are printed as large, black on white numbers. In other words, they'd be much easier for her to use. Without having to disassemble one, is there any reason one of them shouldn't be used? It'll be carrying only a fraction of the voltage & current it was designed for & there doesn't seem to be any added or different functionality unless I'm mistaken or uninformed.


texts: My electrician is installing a tankless water heater he told me to get 4/2 AWG with ground for 240v. I went to Home Depot and they have no idea what I’m talking about. Can someone tell me what I need to say to explain what I need?


texts:
I am about to create a frame for a mosquito net, and I have read in various places that the end of the logs of the frame should be cut diagonally, and the logs joined along this diagonal cut (see fig. 1), instead of just joining them along the edges (fig.2)
I never found an explanation, why is the diagonal cut better. So my question is: what is the advantage of this diagonal cut? Is it just aesthetic or is it also more stable in some way?

Fig. 1.

    _________________
    |\______________/|
    ||              ||
    ||              ||
    ||              ||
    ||              ||
    ||______________||
    |/______________\|

Fig. 2.

    _________________
    |________________|
    ||              ||
    ||              ||
    ||              ||
    ||              ||
    |________________|
    |________________|


texts: I was always told to let the wardrobe doors open sometimes, so "let the air circulate". And I wonder, does the wardrobe actually need to have doors? What would be the problems (other them visual) of let it always open?


texts: I'm trying to terminate some wires after removing a light fitting. Will it be fairly safe to terminate the wires using screw terminal blocks like these?


texts:
I am building a bay for a new 30" gas range.
Q1: I was wondering if there are specifications, or code requirements, for the position of the gas and electrical outlets, most specifically, is there a height at which they should be installed because I know that stoves normally have an opening at the bottom to which the height of outlets should roughly correspond but I am not sure if it is standard or varies by model.
Q2: I am planning to install this gas outlet.

Does the vertical direction matter? In the case of my pipe, it would be easier to install it upside down (if this picture is right side up) because the pipe is coming from above down? Or do I need to install it the way it is in the picture?


texts: Is there an alternative to a self-piercing saddle valve for a humidifier?

texts: I bought and installed a whole home humidifier.  The humidifier is located in my attic connected to the air exchanger.  The Self-Piercing Saddle Valve is located there as well to draw water to the flow through screen.  Since the valve is at the highest water point, I seem to get suction around the rubber gasket and air gets into the pipe and I have to flush that zone every day or 2.  Is there an alternative to the saddle valve?


texts:
I have a brand new Square D sub-panel installed in my barn that replaced an old  panel that had been there for many years and was deemed a fire hazard by the inspector. The new panel has a grounding wire that runs from the panel grounding bar to outside and is connected to a copper rod sunk 6 ft into the ground. For the receptacles on the ground floor I have a 20 AMP GFCI breaker installed in the panel that feeds a single line that they are daisy chained to. The breaker is wired correctly (hot wire to breaker as normal, neutral wire to the breaker neutral and then neutral pig tail from breaker to the neutral bar on the panel. Ground as normal goes to the ground bar on the panel).

When I plug in my outlet tester it reads "Bad Ground" on any receptacle I plug it into in the barn. I tested the same unit in my house and it reads green (all correct). Here's what I've tested so far with my multimeter:

continuity between receptacle ground pin and ground screw - good
continuity between receptacle ground pin and ground wire that comes from panel - good
continuity between ground bar on panel and the other end of the ground wire that connects to the grounding rod - good

What could be going on giving me this reading?


texts:
I have a spare bedroom which I'm converting to a home office. It's been stripped out and I'm about to start painting it. I'm looking ahead slightly to the next (I think!) step which is fitting a desk system.

I'm a software developer by trade, and I have a lot of PC's. I also need space for electronics and other physical building, space for drawing - I need a lot of desk space in short. On top of this, the room is pretty small 2.5m x 3.5m ish.

I have a plan for this which involves a single desk which runs around 3 walls of the room, with an T shape part in the middle of the longest side:

Potentially subject to some change, I could live without the second seat and turning it into a simpler C shape

I am already under the assumption that a modular desk system would be expensive, and difficult to fit precisely into the space, so my current plan is to use kitchen worktop.

I was intending to use kitchen units to support the ends of the runs / the corners. The shelf space will likely be handy anyway. I was also thinking of using wall brackets to prevent bowing in between.

I know I'm hardly the first person to do this, but I've never tried using worktop as desk before, and I have several questions:

1) Laminate or real wood? I much prefer the appearance of real wood, but is it hard wearing enough to use for this?

2) Height. My kitchen top is noticably higher than my current desk. Is there anything I can do to cut that down if I use kitchen units to hold the corner weight? Can I remove the feet instead of using kickboards?

3) Carpet. Do I carpet the room then put this on top, or fit all this and carpet around the units?

I have many more other questions relating to the task itself, i.e. one of the walls has a radiator on, one of the walls is just a party etc. but I'll save all those for future questions.


texts: I have a 1972 Kenmore,  the broiler is at the top of the inside of stove.  Can I completely shut off the pilot light to the broiler?  It has a screw that adjusts they flame.


texts: Why are my bathroom light and fan wired to the same switch?

texts: In my apartment my bathroom light and fan comes on at the same time. Is that standard for an apartment?


texts: Toilet with what looks like 11 inch rough-in. Do I buy 12 or 10?

texts: My current toilet is measuring at 11 inches even from the wall (not the molding) to the center of the bolts. Looking around I see a lot of people saying that they saw somewhere else that a 12 inch rough-in will fit, possibly with an offset flange, but I'd like a more authoritative answer if possible. My house was built in 1900, so a non-standard size wouldn't really shock me.


texts: How should I prepare an already painted plasterboard ceiling?

texts: We are repainting the interior of our whole house. We start with the ceiling of each room and the newer ceilings where gyprock has been used we don't have a problem. The older ceilings that are made from plasterboard are a nightmare! We scrape off the peeling paint and refill with filler and then wait for it to dry and sand. When we start to paint in the areas that we haven't touched (they looked fine - nothing peeling etc) the paint bubbles and starts to peel on the roller. Does anyone know what we should do to the ceiling to stop this happening?


texts: Easy question. I'm hanging drywall around a doorway. Do I put screws in both the jack and king studs or only one? For studs in the field, it's straight forward. But, for the doorway, where the jack and king are right next to each other, I'm not sure what to do.


texts: If I run CAT5/6 cables parallel to electrical cables, is it possible to shield the cables with copper tubes to stop interference?

texts: I'm remodeling my home and I wanted to hardwire some extensions of my ethernet near my 220v outlet, by near at least a foot away from it. I was wondering, would I be able block the interference if I layer the patch extensions with copper tubes and PVC tubes to prevent EMI from the 220v line? If not, what do I do?


texts: How easy is it to cut down a timber external door frame for use in a small door?

texts:
I have a small, weird side door with a rotten frame that needs replacing.  The rough openening is around 680 x 1830mm.  The wall is brick.  The door opens into a garage with a concrete floor.
I was hoping to get a pre-made frame that could be cut down to size.  Here in the UK, this seems to be feasible for internal door frames, but for external frames it is much less clear how much work would be involved.  Here are a couple that are available in my area:

This would seemingly require new recesses to be chiseled out at the top and bottom.

It is not clear to me how this joins together at the bottom although it says that it doesn't come assembled.  The upper joint looks easier to recreate than for the previous frame.
Are there compelling reasons not to use an internal frame instead?  I will likely need to pour a new concrete step under the frame, so I could ensure that there is a gradient similar to the included foot plate to keep water out.
Or would I be better off starting from scratch?


texts: Why do I have a coax splice behind this blank face plate?

texts:
Behind this blank face plate is a coaxial cable. I already have a coaxial cable in the middle of this room that I use for cable.

I'd like to just push this into the wall and patch up the hole but I'm not sure if its used for anything.


texts: why does my gas furnace exhaust constantly

texts: why does my high eff gas furnace exhaust run constantly ( when furnace isn't on ) the furnace turns on and off a few times before running then the blower comes on. now the exhaust wont stop without cutting power to the furnace


texts:
I'm totally new to woodworking (cabinetry, to be specific), and need verification that I'm going about this in the correct order, from a high level.

This is what I have in mind for a general workflow.  Is this what you'd recommend for a beginner?:

Cut/drill/etc
Dry fit
Sand
Glue up
Finish (stain/varnish)


texts: weight bearing ability of home made truss

texts: How much weight would a Pine truss support if it were made of two pieces 2 inch by 12 inch lumber with 3/4 ply board in the center?